Aging With Friends: More And More People In Europe Are Choosing To Live In Collaborative Housing.
In the past, being a neighbor was much more than living a few meters away: it was knowing that you could count on a person, perhaps sharing moments together and establishing something akin to friendship.
Today, relations between neighbors have changed a lot, in most cases, you don’t even know each other or you are not in a good relationship. In Europe and the United States, however, neighborhoods are emerging in which we try to restore the values of solidarity in the neighborhood and where many people choose to grow old.
#1
One of the concerns of the elderly is knowing where they will spend their old age: many feel that they do not want to be a burden on their children, others that they do not want to be alone.
The so-called collaborative housing was born to make these concerns disappear, each family can enjoy private spaces and common spaces to meet the rest of the neighborhood.
There are already many neighborhoods in Europe that have been created with this prerogative: to restore the values of solidarity between neighbors and establish mutual cooperation.
#2
Co-housing (co-housing in which a real community is born) is the solution to the problems linked to aging, to the management of the house, and to the person himself: in this type of neighborhood, we age actively, we are in company, you keep your body and mind moving, you feel part of a community, you save money and you have fun.
Cooperative housing was created in the Netherlands in the 1970s, when young families decided to move to “ad hoc” neighborhoods.
#3
At that time, private spaces were inhabited, but cleaning and housework, raising children, and organizing common events could be shared. However, as young families began to age, they realized they had different needs than new young families.
This has led to the creation of “senior” neighborhoods, those inhabited exclusively by people of a certain age who seek calm, serenity, friendship, and the certainty of being able to count on the people who live nearby.
#4
image credit: CoHousing Solutions
It’s a way of living old age completely differently from a more traditional life, with appropriate assistance in a neighborhood that meets your needs.
Collaborative neighborhoods demonstrate that you can grow old in complete serenity, surrounded by friendly people and that it is also very practical.
And you, would you spend your “old age” in one of these neighborhoods?