Future shock




 

 

I have a vision. It involves a lot of older single adults who might find themselves alone, poor and scared.

I know it’s not a pretty thought, but it’s something I personally worry about because, after all, I’m certainly not getting any younger. I wanted to share my thoughts with others who might be in such a situation or who feel they could be heading that way because, being the eternal optimist that I am, I think if we put our heads together, we could do something about this frightening reality before it’s too late.

We all know the recent recession affected many Americans, and it had an even greater impact on those of us who worked hard our whole lives in order to put away money for our retirement. However, many of us who created modest nest eggs have found them severely depleted or possibly even emptied.

So where does that leave us? As many of our children and grandchildren are also struggling to maintain their own growing families, how will they ever be able to also take care of us when we get too old or infirm to take care of ourselves?

For the few of us like myself who don’t have children or other family members who could even potentially care about us, the future seems even bleaker. As much as I’d like to rely on the government to offer assistance, I’m afraid that any help might not be enough to create decent lives for ourselves in our golden years.

So, like I said at the beginning, I have a vision.

Having grown up during the time when hippies were full of love and peace was supposed to guide the planet, I was impressed even then by those brave souls who created affordable communities for themselves and other like-minded residents with the common goal of living in fulfilling and nurturing environments.

Although these communes, collectives, kibbutzim—whatever you want to call them—sometimes got a bad rap, I often wonder if such communities could still exist in my not-as-far-away-as-I’d-like future.

My vision involves villages or settlements where older adults could live harmoniously— and affordably—somewhere on large properties where nature still exists in all its glory. I’m not talking about remote areas near swampland or in cold northern states because I’m guessing that anyone reading this column is in SoCal for a reason!

Residents could live in small mobile units, in single rooms in large homes or even in tiny houses so everyone could have privacy, yet there would be common eating and living areas, gardens, recreational activities, plus accommodations for caregivers, who would be offered free room and board in exchange for their loving attention to their older neighbors.

These caregivers would be an integral part of each community, too. They could be responsible, loving college students who need affordable housing; single parents who would be more than happy to have a community of caring elders to watch their children while they go to work; or even those sometimes discriminated-against folks with pets who often can’t find suitable accommodations because they may have more than one animal or their furry companion exceeds some ridiculous pound or size limit.

I’m idealistic enough to hope that these communities would be self-sustaining and green, places where all the residents, young and old alike, could live fulfilling, productive, serene, loving—and affordable—existences.

Also, I feel a sense of urgency to create new types of dynamic communities sooner rather than later because, face it, the days of nurturing families who take in and respect their elders is long gone, along with the flower children, world peace and the ozone layer.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments and suggestions on this very important subject.

Failing any positive solutions, does anyone have a nice little beach house they’re not using or a boat or small guesthouse for me and my little pooch—just some place where we could move into now and where we could “ripen” gracefully? Or if there’s a forwardthinking family out there who would love to “adopt” a sweet young “granny” like me, you know where to contact me.

Ela Lindsay is a single, freelance writer in Ventura County. To catch up on her bimonthly columns, visit www.theacornonline.com and type in “Life in the Single Lane.” For comments, email her at Lindsay.Ela@gmail.com.


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