"Young professionals who fled big cities for small towns during the pandemic are providing an unexpected boost to a type of real estate geared toward communal living ... They have been looking for companionship at remote co-living spaces, where tenants rent furnished rooms in big, shared homes." - Konrad Putzier, The Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2021.
Essentially, youth is circling back to the multi-purpose boarding house. That's where millions of Ok, Boomers bunked during the college and graduate/professional school years.
That living arrangement saved money. It was usually less expensive than the dorm, one-bedroom apartment or even an efficiency. It provided a built-in system for companionship. At any time, day or night, there was someone to talk with. And there had been the safety of numbers.
With housing costs currently so inflated and given the difficulty making friends once you leave your formal education, Millennials are pivoting to a version of the co-living we Boomers had treasured.
Enlightened policy planners for the aging should be lobbying to bring back the boarding house for those over-50. That would prevent homelessness. It would reduce the isolation that is common as we lose family and friends to death and relocation. And it would be safer than other kinds of shelter. One challenge is the zoning. Not every neighborhood wants a boarding house.
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