As you age in place have you thought about sharing housing?

[ZuZuTheShare]

Recently I have been talking with and unearthing interviews with shared housing advocates around the country. I live in Manatee County, which along with Sarasota County has seen increases in rent and reduced purchasing power.

Locally, we have several authors and homeshare advocates who collaborate to elevate the practice of sharing a home.

Recently I started a blogger site focused on interviews and thoughts about how shared housing can improve our ability to live independently longer, affect positive health outcomes, revitalize communities and the associated financial benefits. 

I will post interviews and experiences related to all the ways we can thrive in our aging process through sharing. This is an audio file from a podcast I conducted several years about that features Marianne Kilkenny  https://theshareresource.blogspot.com/2023/04/interviews-podcast-rewind-marianne.html

The interview was held in 2012 with Marianne Kilkenny of Women for Living in Community and author of "Your Quest for Home: A Guidebook to Find the Ideal Community for Your Later Years"

Sharing housing isn't a new concept: many of our family members have shared housing and homes as they saved money for purchasing a home or built their nest egg. In Europe, and worldwide, home sharing is a normal part of life.

If you've considered, or are living in a PLATONIC shared housing situation, I'd love to hear from you. I'm on FB as The SHARE, a group and a PAGE and welcome your contributions to this invaluable topic.

[WebWiseWoman]

I wonder if "tiny houses" might be included in your consideration? We have very successful village here which is very close to "livable city" definition within our huge city. Many generations work together within small footage homes, caring and sharing resources, child-care, food and supplies, with and for each other.

I consider that ideal, as it's not the commune we tried and failed at in the 70s, it's not the shared duplex of our childhood when g-parents relied too heavily on their children, and personal space is larger than 1 bedroom.

This is a "township" we all thrive at being part of. And when the time comes, it doesn't feel like an obligation but a privilege to return the care we received.

I hope this isn't too rambling but I'm old, so there you go 😉

#StaySafe

[ZuZuTheShare]

Hi @WebWiseWoman ,

I think if there are shared resources like a common area/clubhouse/kitchen, laundry, courtyard for gathering and solidifying connections, yes, this is method of sharing space. Not necessarily housing but for sure sharing. 

Did you want to have a deeper conversation about what your community looks like and how it feels like a shared space sometime? I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts.

I've been posting a bit on the forums today and will try to be on this site more frequently. Thanks so much for your thoughts. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Zoe