Is a Golden Girls’ Style Retirement in Your Future?

Not in a million years! I was an only child, have no children and live a very quiet lifestyle. I cannot imagine sharing my living quarters with anyone, ever. I prefer my solitude. I should mention that I do live with my spouse and an elderly dog but we live a very quiet lifestyle.
I worked with a guy who came from a big family. When his dad died the mom had s slew of kids to raise so she opened a boarding house for college kids to generate income. My friend was so used to being around tons of people all the time that when he finally bought his own house, he was lonely. I think it really depends on your tolerance level to live with strangers or even family members.
I would rather live in a tiny apartment by myself than live in a large house with a bunch of people. There are way too many things that can irritate you on a daily basis.

Amen to everything you said. I have been thinking about getting a roommate but my house doesn't provide space so I can distance myself from anyone without feeling isolated in my own home. Not going to do it. I've been living by myself for too long to enable anyone to disrupt my peaceful existence.

Rob asked: Anything in CA?
Editor's comment: Not exactly sure what the question is here, but you could use our Advanced Search to look for co-housing communities in that State. https://www.topretirements.com/Browse.html Or, use the California Directory to find CA cities and communities. https://www.topretirements.com/active_adult_communities/California.html

Your editor's wife seems interested in home sharing. She often muses about recruiting a group of our friends to join together buy a former nursing home and turn it into our private shared housing retirement home, thus avoiding an old age living with strangers. Or, moving in with one of her sisters when the husbands are out of the picture.

I always thought this was a great idea when watching The Golden Girls years ago, but not my cup of tea. I did get to experience the concept through my mother when the Continuing Care Retirement Community we looked at suggested she try a new "Caring Cottage" idea . It was a nice ranch style home and three women would live there (along with an aide 24/7.) It was for independent living residents who were transitioning to assisting living. The 3 women did not know one another but all 3 had interesting backgrounds and had families nearby so there was a lot of visitors and socialization. However, there were many things that had to be worked out soon after they all moved in. One of the residents wanted the heat in the house turned up way too high, one claimed the remote on the tv all day and selected the television shows, and one was messy and her extended family was there too often. But the three women enjoyed each other's company for many months, although at times it was not easy. I think if you choose a Golden Girls life style it would be best to know the people you decide to live with and pick and choose your housemates.

I am 74 and I have four very dear (and old) friends. We seriously considered the "Golden Girls" idea and after a lot of research, decided against it. Two of us have children and three do not - the ones with kids wanted to live relatively close to them while the others wanted to be at the coast or in the SW. Ultimately the legal aspects became a huge impediment, like how would someone with developing dementia be accommodated? Or what happens when someone wants out of the agreement or dies or becomes physically incapacitated and needs caregivers? We missed the boat - the time to do "Golden Girls" would have been in our 50s when all of us were still physically healthy and we could have enjoyed a lot of activities together that not all of us can still do. If you are considering this lifestyle, get a CELA (certified elder law attorney) and explore the business side of cohabitation, that was the wake up call for us.

Thank you!I often bring up to my kids (2 in30s unmarried but w/SOs) that if we could just agree on a location, we could buy one large parcel of land, preferably rural near a small town & not too far from a larger city with medical & easy shopping. We could each build homes to suit each family's unique needs - i.e. my son& gf are professional musicians & need a music studio, I'm disabled & don't want stairs. daughter crafts & raises bees, but then we could build 3 smaller homes to suit individual needs & share a building for things we all do like a workshop with tools & garage with pit for working on the cars, and geenhouse. I call it a compound, though that term has derogative perception. Seems a great use of resources & provides wonderful support for aging as well as great for children to benefit from older generation.Of course, we're a family that gets along & supports one another & I realize many aren't. I've often thought it was better back when families lived in multigenerational situations & have pondered why that changed & I find it rather sad. But now that my children are beginning to think of settling down & we're looking at retiring, this idea has arisen. Pooling & sharing resources seems to make much sense, though I'm certain I'm overlooking some pitfalls.
Thank you very much. Once again hitting home for me!

Laura,
Sounds like a wonderful arrangement. Although even living close to each other could work out well. I hope it works out for you all.

No way! I was an only child and have no children. I value my privacy. I'm also a night owl and sleep until o a.m. I love all my friends but in limited doses. I'd rather live in 600 square feet on my own than a bigger house with others.