Are Senior Roommates Right For You?

For many seniors, living on social security or retirement benefits can make it difficult to maintain the kind of living situation they had during their working lives. Living on a fixed income provides challenges in an increasingly expensive world, particularly in regard to the expense of maintaining living spaces and the cost of an assisted living residence.

In recent decades in the United States, a new trend has developed for affordable senior living: finding senior roommates to share the cost of housing. By sharing a traditional home, they can avoid the costs of nursing homes or another kind of care facility.

Although the "Golden Girls" sitcom first showcased senior house sharing on television, it's become a popular living situation for many older adults. Senior house sharing has many benefits beyond the need to save money on housing costs. Home sharing among seniors provides an ideal independent living situation for companionship and safety for many.

Benefits of senior house sharing

Senior roommates provide many advantages for older people beyond helping with household expenses and chores, including:

• Saving money
• Companionship
• Safety and independence

Saving money

Saving money on shared living expenses is a major upside in senior home sharing. Older adults that opt to live together can save on rent, groceries, utilities, transportation and general living expenses. Even health care and medical care are generally lower in cost when not residing in retirement communities.

Sharing expenses while living independent can help extend a fixed income before deciding to move to a more expensive assisted living residence near you. The homeowner can also charge a discounted rent in exchange for household chores or maintenance. As long as the senior can maintain their independence, the savings over continuing care retirement communities can be substantial.

Companionship

One of the most significant benefits of shared housing is the companionship that a roommate can provide, when the loss of a spouse or the aging of a social network leaves older people socially isolated. A recent government report on the increasing social isolation among seniors notes that living alone is one of the risk factors for social isolation. It also points out that social support has "a strong protective effect on seniors' health." A roommate can reduce feelings of social isolation, and perhaps provide a new and enduring friendship.

Safety and independence

Having a roommate offers other benefits as well. Having another person at home provides help when needed, as in the case of falling or needing medical care, as well as assistance with household responsibilities. Their presence also offers some security in the event the senior has any problems bathing, dressing or with other activites of personal care. A roommate may have a car to facilitate errands or to do things for entertainment outside the house. Having another person close by makes independent living more possible by eliminating some of the hazards of being alone. Eventually, most seniors will move up to assisted living communities that offer personal care services and additional medical care, but in the meantime, home sharing can provide everything needed for far less cost.

How to find a senior roommate?

The growing interest in alternative senior housing arrangements has taken many directions in recent years. In Los Angeles, the nonprofit Affordable Living for the Aging (ALA) has worked for the last 30 years to find potential housemates and compatible senior roommates for those who can benefit from a shared living arrangement. The arrangements can include a single roommate to share a residence, or group living situations where several people live together.

The trend towards seniors sharing residences has produced numerous online options, such as Senior Homeshares. As with all other Internet sources, users should exercise caution when sharing information. However, such sites provide profiles of potential roommates that can help seniors find others with shared interests and backgrounds that may be a good fit for a compatible living situation.

Is shared housing right for you?

A 2012 Census Bureau survey showed that over a third of women in the US who are 65 or older live alone. One of the reasons cited in the survey is that the divorce rate for people over 50 has doubled since 1990, and other reasons include the death of a spouse or the choice to remain independent.

As the challenges of independent living become more difficult, the roommate option can be increasingly attractive, enabling people to stay in their homes and find interesting companions in the process.

Various sources online and through other forms of media report that senior roommate situations can be far better than living alone. One story, broadcast on ABC in Los Angeles, tells of one particularly successful living arrangement where two women in their 50s and 80s found a compatible living arrangement.

It is important to remember, though, that not all roommates are good ones, and all contractual arrangements should have an escape clause, should things not work out. Every potential roommate should be evaluated with background checks and considered with a long-term living situation in mind.

However, if things work out, a senior roommate arrangement can relieve the stress of fixed income living, provide valuable support, and potentially great companionship, all of which make independent living possible.

Interested in finding a senior roommate?

If you're interested in finding a senior roommate for yourself or a loved one, the Seniorly team has a list of comprehensive resources that can help you find what you're looking for. Simply call (855) 866-4515 or email us at help@seniorly.com.

You can also visit our friends at Silvernest to immediately browse homes with shared housing available.