With a Little Help from Our Friends: Creating Community as We Grow Older

Appendix B: Questions to Help Guide Our Choices

221 appendix B Questions to Help Guide Our Choices Would you like to grow old in your current home? • Is your home suitable if you had mobility problems? If not, do you have the resources and space to adapt it (e.g., adding a first-floor bedroom and bath or installing a chair lift or elevator)? have you considered consulting a remodeler who specializes in aging in place, to learn what it would take? • Are you friends with your neighbors? Could you call on them for help from time to time? • Would you need a car to live where you are now? If you were unable to drive, is there alternative transportation? how far are you from shops, post office, library, church, doctors? are there safe places to walk? Models to consider: the Village, NOrC, Community Without Walls, housesharing Would you like to live in an intentional community? • Is having a “built-in” set of friends important? (This may be especially valuable if you are single, shy, or lacking a support network.) • Do you like the idea of living among like-minded people? • Are you open to sharing common space (yard, community rooms)? • Would you prefer less maintenance than a single-family home typically requires? • Are you willing to spend some time volunteering in the community or going to committee meetings? Models to consider: Cohousing, niche community, housing cooperatives, Generations of hope 222 With a Little Help from Our Friends are you concerned about your finances? • Do you need to reduce your living expenses over the long-term? Models to consider: housesharing, limited-equity cooperatives, a few cohousing communities that include reduced-rent units, Generations of hope Would you prefer to live among people your own age as you grow older? • Do you like the idea of having a group of friends your age to hang out with during the day, potentially travel with, or discuss common concerns associated with aging? • Does the peace and quiet of not living around children appeal to you—or at least not bother you? Models to consider: Senior cohousing, some NOrCs, senior housing cooperatives, niche communities Is living among children important to you? • Do you enjoy the energy of kids around you? • Does the idea of volunteering with kids or helping a neighbor with babysitting now and then sound fun? Models to consider: Generations of hope, multi-generational cohousing or cooperatives, the Village, some NOrCs, family arrangements Is being near your extended family (e.g., grown children, grandchildren, siblings) important to you? Models to consider: New family arrangements, housesharing Do you want to shake the dice? • Do you feel you’re in a rut in your current living situation? Do you like the idea of living somewhere you’ve never lived before during the next stage of life? are you concerned that moving will mean you won’t make new friends? Models to consider: Niche community, cohousing, Generations of hope ...