10/20/2025
Creativity! And, necessity is the mother of invention! :)
People are living longer and rethinking how and where they want to live.
Denise Yarmlak, who is 69, single and didn’t want to live alone, bought a big house in Nevada with a friend. Franca Smith and Michael Marfia, both in their 80s and strangers until this year, share a Colorado condo. Trinidad Raya and his dad, 88, pooled resources to buy a newly-built multigenerational home. In California, the Burwens created a cohousing community on an acre of land.
About 75% of those 50 and older want to remain in their homes as they age, says Shannon Guzman, AARP’s senior director for housing and livable communities. But rising housing costs and upkeep, as well as health problems can make living in their home more difficult and many anticipate needing to move as a result. Some people have enough money, but travel often and want a housemate for oversight. Others want companionship.
“We need alternatives,” says Jennifer Molinsky of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
And people are coming up with them. About 990,000 older adults were living with unrelated housemates or roommates in 2023, which is up 8.8% since 2021, and more than double the number two decades ago, according to Harvard’s Joint Center.
Read more: https://on.wsj.com/3IWsDOi