Dreams of a Community

No idea is new it seems.  I thought I had conceived of a solution to the economics of growing old during our recent travels.  Now I see many options are already invented for living with fewer material possessions in less space.

The reality is that economics is a definite problem for the aging in many cases.  They must rely on what's left of savings after the "Great Recession" and a meager Social Security check.  What to do about a place to live?  Property values and mortgages that are only supported by a two-income, still working couple are now out of the picture as one quits that vicious cycle.  Rents are the same or worse considerations for these elderly.  Senior "living" in income assisted apartments offers the tiniest of living space down long, lonely and possibly socially restrictive hallways.  What to do?

A "tiny home" isn't a new invention.  There are RV/mobile home parks throughout Florida, Arizona and beyond that call their version of tiny homes a "Park Model" and in some cases these parks include activity centers for their "active adults" to play/socialize within.

The population of elderly literally living in RVs and calling it a "life style" are also abundantly evident along our travel stops.  All of this is wonderful to some degree.  And yet it is worrisome if this is all that our elderly can afford in the current society we elder Americans find ourselves occupying.  Even our young people at the other end of the age spectrum are finding housing to be an issue.  I've lived in versions of this concept in both Arizona, in Florida and now on the road.

Tiny Home Magazine recently had an article on front porches and the new found joy of those rediscovering the beauty of getting outdoors and talking with your neighbors.  We know the joy of these conversations traveling in an RV where often you converse with your neighbors.  Recently we met and shared coffee with two interesting gentlemen traveling over 6,000 miles round trip in only a roadster who slept on the ground in sleeping bags and they were our age!

A real Tiny Home community we saw recently is growing up in Lemon Cove Village RV Park in California.  The park is even incorporating a community garden along with a communal kitchen for their residents.  So there are advantages to Park Models and RVing that others are also seeing and combining into real life styles.

So here is my dream:  I would love to see a retired, elder community of Tiny Homes/Park Models built in circles around a common lawn with parking behind and the same gardening, activity centers, communal eating room and kitchen put in around the property's perimeter.  This concept has been used in Israel successfully with a younger generation to foster their young and provide stable homesteads.  Why not try it here with the elderly who are willing to embrace this type of lifestyle.

Maybe we could mingle in some young people too and build an intra-generational relationship as we had in generations past that my parents experienced.  Let the pendulum of life swing back a bit from the separatism we've fostered in my lifetime.  There was a recent show on television where college students were given living arrangements in a Scandinavian elder community with the stipulation that they had to interact with and help their elders for a portion of their day.  Both age groups benefitted and a bridge was created between the generations that was healthy for everyone involved.

If I win the lottery, I'll build one of these communities.  I'd love to.  Then I could say I'd left something behind for humanity-"making my mark" so to speak.