The other day, I was driving down a main thoroughfare in my town, and I saw a billboard that read: “The Roles are Reversed.” It showed two pictures of the same family, one with a young child and parents about my age; the other picture showed the child now the age of his parents and his parents just this side of elderly.
My own parents both turn 67 this year, and I will be 40, and the billboard made me think about how the roles indeed reverse as we age: the caretakers become those needing care. Those of us who were cared for become the caretakers.
Yet in today’s world, people like my parents are planning for their aging a little differently than generations past. They are thinking purposefully about things like the communities in which they live, which directly impact their mental and physical well-being. Professor Emily A. Greenfield, who teaches social work for Rutgers Online, conducted a study that correlated neighbor interaction with mental well-being, especially in the aging population.
The study’s outcomes showed a vicious circle of low self-esteem and decreased interaction among neighbors. The older the aging population, the more they must rely on the community planners to which Greenfield refers for increased interaction. However, baby boomers like my parents can plan accordingly, and do so. Sometimes with surprising results.
You Did What?!
After living for 10 years in a tiny community of 300 people, my parents decided to return to our large metropolitan area. They did so in a big way. They went from around 1000 square feet of down-sized retirement house to 2200 square feet and 2.5 acres.
When they told me and my sisters what they were planning to buy, we all thought, “Are you sure?!” Our father still works full-time as a welder and metal fabricator. He will likely never “retire,” in the true sense of the word, so he at least needed a shop. Yet the huge house and the acreage they showed us appeared daunting.
With the trend toward aging-in-place, however, up-sizing like this makes sense. Why? Because boomers like my parents can be deliberate about their real estate choices.
My parents were lucky in that they had a large real estate portfolio at their disposal. Instead of taking out a reverse mortgage on one piece of property, like many retirees must do, they could sell property and pay cash.
For that cash, they got a house in which they could live out their lives. It was built by an elderly retired couple who had planned the same thing. The home plans for in-home care for the owners, with a caretaker wing on one end. For now, this acts as the ultimate guest suite, but for the previous owners, it was living quarters for a hospice caregiver.
It could be argued that in the long-run, I’ll be living in that suite. I’m the oldest child and the single one. It’s my job, right? The roles have reversed. My parents have thought of that as well. They have an insurance policy that is funded specifically for their in-home care by a licensed provider, likely a nurse.
As noted during a webinar on RNs and healthcare transformations, “nursing gets very involved in how do we allow the aging population of the United States to age in their homes and what are the kinds of intervention and things that we might create and do to ensure a really high quality of life for our older population.” One way is to educate boomers like my parents on up-sizing rather than downsizing. If it is a viable financial option, it can be key to aging in place.
Meet the Neighbors
Along with picking their house carefully, my parents chose their neighborhood wisely, for two reasons. One, my father’s vocation is such that an urban neighborhood isn’t viable. It’s basically illegal for him to practice welding in dense subdivisions in city limits.
Secondly, they were unwittingly practicing what Professor Greenfield and her fellow researcher preach: find a like-minded, supportive community. Their neighborhood is full of other active baby boomers and the aging. My parents and their neighbors practically come and go as they please from each other’s driveways.
They socialize regularly and share hobbies and interests. There is a true sense of community on one small country lane of large homes full of retirees and the aging.
Do I worry about my parents and their safety? Not even a little. Even though my sisters and I were at first concerned they were biting off more than they could chew, up-sizing to their new community has been a great plan for their retirement and for their care once they can no longer care for themselves.
Photo Credit
House by HVargas on flickr
Guest Author Bio
H. E. James, MBA
Hattie is a writer and researcher living in Boise, Idaho. She has a varied background, including education and sports journalism. She is a former electronic content manager and analyst for a government agency. She recently completed her MBA and enjoys local ciders.
Follow Hattie: Twitter | Linkedin
How wonderful for your parents! Keep in mind that in addition to being able to use a reverse mortgage to stay in their current home, seniors can use a reverse mortgage to purchase a home too. It’s like any other financing option, but instead of having a monthly mortgage payment, the loan balance grows over time and becomes due when the last borrower moves, sells, or passes away. For buyers who were going to pay for the new home with cash, which would tie up their liquid assets in the home, a reverse mortgage allows them to hold onto some of that liquidity and finance the rest w/o a monthly mortgage payment.