According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of unmarried people in America 18 and older in 2012 was 103 million; 53.6 percent were women and 46.4 percent men. 17 million U.S. residents 65 and older were single – some 16 percent of all unmarried people. There were 87 unmarried men 18 and older for every 100 unmarried women. The number of people who lived alone in 2012 was 33 million – 27 percent of all households and up from 17 percent in 1970.
So we all can do the math. There are a lot of people living alone, some of whom may not want to. The number is growing, especially for the over 65s, and let’s face it, there aren’t enough partners to go around. So what are the options for a single person who would like to live with other people either for economic or personal reasons? These options are also available to couples and families who would prefer to live in a community, and enjoy the many benefits of communal living.
Communes are intentional communities where people choose to live together, sometimes share possessions, resources, chores and even incomes. They have been around for a long time and persist today. In the 1960s many counterculture groups established communes where people created, in essence, a new family unit and formed emotional bonds to one another as well as a shared system of values. One such is The Farm in Tennessee, formed in the 1970s and still in existence today.
Another example of co-operative living and intentional community is the co-housing model, started in Denmark, and now spread across the United States. In co-housing communities, as opposed to communes, residents enjoy independent and separate living spaces and share common buildings and facilities like the common house, where meals and meetings are conducted, and other facilities like workshops and gardens. Because housing units are separate, co-housing members may participate in group activities as they wish, and decisions on group related matters are often not a matter of consensus, but rather majority rule.
The nice thing is that everyone does not have to own everything they need and bicycles, gardening tools, books etc. can be shared. For further information on cohousing communities and a window into the many different incarnations, visit www.cohousing.org
Many co-housing communities are inter-generational, but a new version has been developed – elder cohousing. For people over 55 who desire to live amongst their peers, these communities are popping up in many states. In addition to elder co-housing, there is now a new option for female elders called The Golden Girls Network, derived from the popular television program The Golden Girls. For information on this terrific new concept, visit www.goldengirlsnetwork.org
With these great options, there’s no need to go it alone if you don’t want to. We can live as we wish, and hopefully make some wonderful new friends in the process.
Del Phillips is a California Licensed Real Estate agent. He is a member of the National, California and San Diego Association of Realtors. You can reach Del at Ascent Real Estate at 619-298-6666 or at Del@DelPhillips.com DRE LIC #01267333.
