I’m pleased to report that the Aging in Place conversation
that started with my July 30 blogpost continues. People who agreed to fill out
and return a questionnaire on the topic have not only done so, but forwarded it on to friends and family throughout the country, people living in
cities, small towns, suburbs, and rural areas.
And just last week I held the first in-person AIP discussion
at a local support group for gay seniors. In November, the Budlong branch of
the Chicago Public Library is hosting a round-table discussion on the subject.
At the same time, the articles with an
aging-in-place focus continue to show up in print and online, including an October 14 piece in the New York Time’s
Business Section, “The Future of Retirement Communities: Walkable and Urban,” by
John F. Wasik.
(Please note: I do not believe that “aging in place” and
“retirement” go hand in hand. Many Boomers & Beyonders interested in the
AIP process are still working and plan to do so indefinitely.)
There are several important points made in Wasik's article, and
for me they start with the phrase “aging in community” used by one of the
people he interviewed, Ben Brown: “We realized ‘aging in place’ means a lot more than just a
comfortable house,” Mr. Brown said. “So we began thinking more about ‘aging in
community.’”
This broader use of aging in place makes
the process a genuine reflection of what we value in a place beyond the walls
of a particular residence. If understood from that perspective, then our search begins
with a clear understanding of those values.
For Mr. Brown, 70, and his 66 year-old
wife, Christine, that meant urban and walkable, a community where they
could live comfortably without a car. The place they chose? Not the obvious major urban centers
that might first come to mind, but West Asheville, North Carolina.
To read more about what Wasik describes as “clearly a
growing demand for walkable, urban retirement communities” no matter where they
are situated:
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