More and more, home is seen as part of the continuum of care as many of the nation’s 72 million baby boomers intend to age in place. That presents several planning/funding challenges. Historically, housing design did not take into account the aging process. Renovations can be costly as can hiring help and aids when needs arise. Alternatively, you can consider moving your parents into your home. But that presents a whole different myriad of complications. Let’s just stick to the practical. Before the pandemic, just 6% of employees worked primarily from home. Post pandemic, home can be where we work, go to school, talk to doctors, do our shopping, work-out, and socialize. So where do you find extra space in the post-pandemic home? While new and old technologies helped us to quickly adapt to the new “home,” they did not provide the additional space for multigenerational living. The solution is to plan-in-advance for aging-in-place, especially if that you define ‘place’ as your home environment.
- Excerpt from "How Not to Tear Your Family Apart"
"A combination of demographic and economic shifts is creating
a large and growing need for affordable and age-appropriate housing
opportunities.
Most seniors would prefer not to leave familiar surroundings.
Aging in place is another discussion best included early in planning.
It’s where most of us want to be—at home. Consider if the home might
require a variety of costly and disruptive renovations. There is the issue
of upkeep and social environment to consider, all of which can be
decided and researched once critical conversations get started. It’s so
important to educate yourself about your options and to understand
what this type of care setting involves."