Driven by rising retirement costs (11 million older households—up from 8.8 million in 2011—spend at least 30% of their income on housing), shared housing is a smart way for older people, especially women, to regain autonomy while staying economically afloat. Given nearly 70% of single Americans over 50 are women, it’s not a surprise that older women are choosing to live together. In fact, half of women 65 and older are single.
But it’s more than savings. Loneliness is real—one in three adults over 45 reports feeling isolated—and shared living can reduce that in a big way. Senior cohousing communities cut isolation rates from 25% to less than 10% by rebooting everyday social life—shared meals, mutual care, and built-in support systems. From chopped housing bills to warm companionship (and a growing need for non-acute caretaking as we age), Golden Girls–style living answers both pocketbook and soul needs. It’s not nostalgia—it’s becoming a modern model for aging vibrantly, together.
And, this recent New York Times’ article, 11 Women, 9 Dogs, Not Much Drama (and No Guys), captures the zeitgeist of this new housing movement. The article, which profiles a Texan tiny-house village (called The Bird’s Nest) of women ages 60-80, starts with these two sentences:
“These retired women in Texas have been through infertility, illness, layoffs, addiction and disappointing marriages. Now they are trying to create a utopia just for themselves.”
Later in the article, the journalist explains why she researched this story:
“I traveled to The Bird’s Nest in mid-July because I had been searching for real-life examples of a fantasy I have had since my 20s. After child-rearing and a career, my friends and I would buy a big house somewhere affordable and cohabitate the way we had done in college: cooking and laughing and hanging out, chipping in for accessibility ramps and health-help as needed. This fantasy, or versions of it — aging among female friends — is rampant among the women I know. It circulates on Facebook groups; we share news articles about this community in London, that one in France.”
As some of you know, my MEA cofounder Jeff Hamaoui developed Baja Sage (with me as the other investor), 26 homes around a regenerative farm just a mile from the MEA Mexican beachfront campus. We’re intending to do the same in Santa Fe with possibly a series of regenerative communities (not retirement communities) in the area. Stay tuned for more info on our Golden Girls homes which are more likely to be 4- and 5-bedroom homes than tiny houses. No doubt, there’s a growing need for this kind of housing.
-Chip
P.S. One of my mentors, Ken Dychtwald, gave one of the best speeches in his life recently on the topic of aging and longevity. I think you’ll enjoy it including his POV on older women.