This book maps out the path from the original thought, “Maybe I should find a housemate,” to actually living with one. Like a guidebook for tourism or hiking, this book describes the milestones and choices on the path. Pluhar shows where the traps and snags are, as well as where the well-trodden and proven paths can be found. There are stories about others who are sharing housing and the methods they have found that work for them. Like finding a job, finding a good housemate is a process with definite steps and decisions. This book maps that process, with helpful advice about what to look for, what to avoid, and when specific actions need to be taken. In conjunction with her blog, www.sharinghousing.com, Pluhar provides worksheets in the book as well as on the website for downloading. This book will hold the hand of the people seeking good housemates—the ones with whom they would wish to live in harmony and comfort.
This book presents a concise description and qualitative exploration of a new residential option for older adults: senior cohousing. It describes the practical, structural and communal aspects of senior cohousing and shares the lived experiences of actual residents. Pursuing an existential-phenomenological approach, the authors visited a selection of senior cohousing communities throughout the US and interviewed members to investigate their experiences in several regards: gathering together; developing the mission and architectural design; defining member expectations for the community; and engaging in cooperative self-management, consensus building, shared tasks and mutual activities as an ongoing way of life. In addition, the authors explored the benefits, challenges and surprises that community members have encountered along the way, and what these experiences have meant for their lives. Given its unique insights, the book offers a valuable resource for academics and all those working and interested in gerontology, sociology, psychology, nursing, public health, housing and the consumer sciences. It will also benefit active older adults who are considering new housing options.
This book is the first collection of original essays on the topic of elderly shared housing. The approach is multidisciplinary and reflects a rare combination of applied and academic analyses. The focus is on agency-assisted shared housing, a form of shared housing in which a homesharing agency matches a homeprovider, usually an elderly person with room to spare in his or her home and often with needs for assistance, with a homeseeker, usually a younger adult who seeks an inexpensive living arrangement. With the increasing scarcity of moderate- and low-income housing in many regions of the nation and the increasing costs of formal community-based services for the elderly, such homesharing options are becoming increasingly attractive for old and young alike. The first section of the book includes four introductory essays. The goals of this section are to provide a broad descriptive analysis of the history, growth, and current issues facing the shared housing movement, to consider both the urban and rural environments as contexts for shared housing programs, and to offer an overview of shared housing research. The second section contains three chapters which offer regionally specific perspectives on the development of shared housing programs. These include the states of Michigan, California, and the Canadian province of Ontario. Each chapter decribes the issues in service delivery system development within their particular geographic boundaries. The final section of the book contains six case studies of homesharing programs. They are located in Burlington, Vermont, Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wichita, Kansas, and San Jose and Orange County, California. Most emphasize the organizational characteristics and dynamics of the programs, and some present qualitative and quantitative data on homesharing matches. A theme running through the analyses is the fact that community level variables influence the organizational form of the homesharing agency as well as the kinds of clients who are likely candidates for homesharing in particular communities.
How to make your senior years healthy, safe, social, and stimulating. "Architect and author Chuck Durrett's recently released book Senior Cohousing Handbook comes at a time of high interest in greening, sustainable housing and affordable living concerns. Durrett's new book is a comprehensive guide for baby boomers wishing to continue vibrant, active lifestyles." - EPR Real Estate News "Make your senior years safe and socially fun with the idea of senior cohousing and a book on the topic that shows how seniors can custom-build their neighborhood to fit their needs. This is housing built by seniors, not for them, and emphasizes independence and social networking. Any library strong in gerontology or social science and many a general lending library needs this. - James A. Cox, The Midwest Book Review "As a Baby Boomer, I've joked for a few years that we'll all end up living communally again because Social Security will be broke...This is one of the better ways to envision it."-- Sacramento Bee No matter how rich life is in youth and middle age, the elder years can bring on increasing isolation and loneliness as social connections lessen, especially if friends and family members move away. Senior cohousing fills a niche for this demographic—the healthy, educated, and proactive adults who want to live in a social and environmentally vibrant community. These seniors are already wanting to ward off the aging process, so they are unlikely to want to live in assisted housing. Senior cohousing revolves around custom-built neighborhoods organized by the seniors themselves in order to fit in with their real needs, wants, and aspirations for health, longevity, and quality of life. Senior Cohousing is a comprehensive guide to joining or creating a cohousing project, written by the US leader in the field. The author deals with all the psychological and logistical aspects of senior cohousing and addresses common concerns, fears, and misunderstandings. He emphasizes the many positive benefits of cohousing, including: Better physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health Friendships and accessible social contact Safety and security Affordability Shared resources Successful aging requires control of one’s life, and today's generation of seniors—the baby boomers—will find that this book holds a compelling vision for their future. Charles Durrett is a principal at McCamant & Durrett in Nevada City, California, a firm that specializes in affordable cohousing. He co-authored the groundbreaking Cohousing with his wife and business partner, Kathryn McCamant.
If you've ever dreamed of casting off your worldly possessions and traveling to your heart's content, this story about two intrepid seniors will inspire you no matter your age. Michael and Debbie Campbell felt they had one more adventure in them before considering retirement in the traditional sense, so they filled two rolling duffel bags with life's essentials (including their own pillows) and hit the road. Three years later, having sold their home in Seattle, their "Senior Nomad" lifestyle has no end in sight. Ride along as they share tales of living full-time in Airbnbs in over 50 countries and pay tribute to the many hosts who not only helped them live daily life, but also offered unique opportunities to experience their cities. From the barber's chair in Dublin and the dentist's chair in Split, to a wild motorcycle ride in Athens, a peek behind the Soviet Curtain in Transnistria, and the demise of a chicken for dinner in Marrakech, hosts made the Campbell's dream of adventure come true. Discover how Debbie and Michael find their next Airbnb, how they get there, and the many ways they enjoy their new city just as the locals do. Learn their tips and tricks for using Airbnb and how they get the most out of each stay, all while spending little more than they would have spent settled into their rocking chairs in Seattle.
In this highly practical volume, the contributing authors explore some of the dimensions associated with aging in place. There are increasing numbers of older Americans who are faced with fundamental changes in their economic circumstances, health, and marital status which have an impact on their ability to age in place. Without the necessary supports many may have no other choice but to be prematurely or inappropriately placed in costly health care facilities or be forced to move into unfamiliar, less safe, less satisfactory housing environments. Aging in Place explores some of the dimensions associated with aging in place and informs readers about unmet needs and available living options for elderly persons. Experts discuss a number of crucial factors regarding the availability of social supports and the impact it has on the independence of the elderly, specifically their living arrangements. They address the issue of control and how access to social contact and real choices about services and facilities increases independence among the elderly; congregate housing as an alternative to nursing care for those elderly too frail for less supportive housing; discharge policies concerning frailty in senior living arrangements; and the lack of a full range of services in many alleged full service communities.
Leading scholars, offering international and multidisciplinary viewpoints, examine the meaning of home to elders and the ways in which this meaning may be sustained, threatened, or modified according to changes associated with growing old. Organized into four sections--The Essence of Home, Disruptions of Home, Creating and Recreating Home, and Community Perspectives on the Meaning of Home, this volume explores topics including: What makes a house a home? What role does the meaning of home play in the process of relocation to another place of residence? What is the relationship between a person's home life and cherished possessions such as symbolic jewelry or religious items in late life? How does the community/neighborhood environment influence the way that older people feel about the places in which they live? Contributors include Hans-Werner Wahl, Robert L. Rubinstein, Edmund Sherman, Carolyn Norris-Baker, and Rick Scheidt, among others. As a special feature, this volume concludes with critical commentaries from three eminent scholars, Amos Rapoport, Kim Dovey, and Marie Versperi. This volume will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, upper-level graduates/graduate-level students in gerontology, environmental psychology, social work, and nursing. It will be valuable to everyone in the helping professions who seek a deeper understanding of the ways in which "being at home" and attachment to place plays a key role in the life experience and well-being of their clients as they grow older.
This book is the first collection of original essays on the topic of elderly shared housing. The approach is multidisciplinary and reflects a rare combination of applied and academic analyses. The focus is on agency-assisted shared housing, a form of shared housing in which a homesharing agency matches a homeprovider, usually an elderly person with room to spare in his or her home and often with needs for assistance, with a homeseeker, usually a younger adult who seeks an inexpensive living arrangement. With the increasing scarcity of moderate- and low-income housing in many regions of the nation and the increasing costs of formal community-based services for the elderly, such homesharing options are becoming increasingly attractive for old and young alike. The first section of the book includes four introductory essays. The goals of this section are to provide a broad descriptive analysis of the history, growth, and current issues facing the shared housing movement, to consider both the urban and rural environments as contexts for shared housing programs, and to offer an overview of shared housing research. The second section contains three chapters which offer regionally specific perspectives on the development of shared housing programs. These include the states of Michigan, California, and the Canadian province of Ontario. Each chapter decribes the issues in service delivery system development within their particular geographic boundaries. The final section of the book contains six case studies of homesharing programs. They are located in Burlington, Vermont, Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wichita, Kansas, and San Jose and Orange County, California. Most emphasize the organizational characteristics and dynamics of the programs, and some present qualitative and quantitative data on homesharing matches. A theme running through the analyses is the fact that community level variables influence the organizational form of the homesharing agency as well as the kinds of clients who are likely candidates for homesharing in particular communities.
