When I was a prolific blogger years ago, I wrote this about the boomers:
“Emmylou Harris has just released a new record which by all accounts is excellent. Reading the reviews I learned that Emmylou, who is 64, lives with her mother, who is 89, just outside Nashville. That got me thinking, yet again, about the future housing behaviour of the boomers. Coincidentally we have been cleaning out files and found an ’05 article from Australia written by Val O’Toole called Baby Boomers Housing Demands. The article references psychologist Erik Erikson, who theorized that when people are enmeshed in one stage of life it is very hard to foresee the next. That is certainly true of the boomers—it is probably true of everyone. When you are, say, 60 and fit, how can you possibly foresee what you might want when you are 85 and frail? People are always saying the boomers will be different when they are 85 but I am not so sure. It’s one reason I am looking forward to actually being 85—finding out how the story ends.
The Australian article speculates about all the possibilities and concludes that most older boomers, like Emmylou Harris and her mum, will choose to remain in the family home no matter how inappropriate it may be. That certainly mirrors the situation in North America as well.
But that is partly a matter of options, or lack of options. Today there isn’t much choice for mobile seniors beyond active adult type housing and service-enriched type housing. There are a few cohousing communities around, but very few other examples of more communal type living arrangements. That is one area I think is going to be a much more prominent part of the landscape in future years.
And now in 2023, that post still stands up pretty well. The boomers have yet to make much of an impact on the seniors housing industry, including communal options.”
And now in 2026, that post STILL stands up pretty well.
However, it has occurred to me that rather than bemoaning the absence of hard data on what the boomers will or won’t do, we should find out.
Step 1 – organize a focus group of boomers to talk about it. Done, on March 6th 2026.
Step 2 – analyze the results of the focus group and publicize said results.
Coming Soon!