Council on Aging Answers 2016 - 62

Trend: Senior Roommates
COUNCIL ON AGING - ORANGE COUNTY

HOUSING

n Terry Yabonsky Stat

Women are turning to home sharing to find companionship among female senior roommates. Learn how
finding a roommate can be beneficial.
When Gloria Flores' husband passed away in 2009,
she decided to rent out the studio apartment within her
San Francisco home to help manage expenses.
Through a home sharing program, a service that
matches clients that have space available to clients who
are looking for a place to rent, she found Linda Clark,
64, who was starting over after a divorce. A grandmother of two, Clark works nights and is home during
the day.
"I have a separate entrance and small kitchen as
well as a washer and dryer," Clark says. "Home sharing works very well for me because rent in San Mateo
County is over the top."
The arrangement has been helpful to Flores as well,
especially since the 85-year-old had a stroke last year.
During her hospital stay and month-long rehabilitation,
she had the comfort of knowing that Clark was by her
side.
"Linda is very helpful," she says. "When I was in rehabilitation, I could call her and she would bring me what I
needed. I like knowing she's around. We cooperate with
each other."
Clark and Flores are part of a growing trend of
women choosing to share households later in life. Four
million women age 50-plus live in U.S. households with
at least two women older than 50.
The advantages of roommates for senior citizens
Women live five years longer on average than men.
On top of that, the trend of gray divorce is on the rise:
Since 1990, the overall divorce rate for the 50-plus
demographic has doubled, according to the National
Center for Family & Marriage Research. More than onethird of women ages 65 and older now live alone due to
divorce, loss of a spouse to death or the decision to remain single, according to a 2012 American Community
Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Living alone means leaving all the bills and home
maintenance to one person-without the security of
having someone near in case of emergency.

Answers Guide 2016

Beyond the benefits of security and having an extra
hand to help with household tasks, home sharing creates
a sense of community that women tend to lose when
they live alone.
"Women are more inclined to be social," says Tamara
McClintock Greenberg, a clinical psychologist at the
University of California, San Francisco. "Even before
this trend took hold, many women had phone trees to
keep tabs on one another. If you didn't hear from someone within two days, you'd call her.
"Home sharing is a way to be social at a time when
life may become more isolating," Greenberg says.

Roommate agreement guidelines
Before you embark on a joint housing venture, spell
out your expectations ahead of time. Use this checklist
to determine your preferences:
n Determine if you would enjoy sharing your living
space. If not, consider a communal building where you
can have neighbors close but not in your home. "You
have to have the kind of flexible personality where you
can be able to room with someone," Greenberg says.
"Some women want to be around other women all the
time, while some just need their solitary time."
n Decide if you'd like to room with someone you
already know or if you'd like to find a roommate. If it's
someone you already know, make sure it's someone you
already get along with. "Conflictual relationships are not
good for your health-don't room with someone you
fight with all the time," Greenberg says. If you're beginning the search for a roommate, visit nationalsharedhousing.org to find a shared housing agency in your area.
n Decide whether you'd prefer to eat meals with
your roommate and state your preferences.
n Clearly outline how you want to handle expenses
and household tasks before entering a shared housing
agreement.
n Set boundaries for pets, smoking and overnight
guests.
n Know the other person's health care preferences in
the event of a me
Terri Yablonsky Stat is a freelance writer in Chicago.
This article first appeared in www.mysilverage.com in
January 2014

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