Moving from the old ‘hood? Consider every angle

Ben Swankey, of Burnaby, B.C. writes and gives talks on aging issues. He once told me: “If you ever contemplate moving, think of the lifelong friends you’re leaving behind. Are you prepared to make the effort to make new ones? And, if you’re a couple and one of you dies after you’ve moved, what happens to the survivor?”

Sage advice indeed. Before deciding to give up the house and the old neighborhood — whether as a result of a tightening of the purse strings or because the once busy family house is now an empty nest — carefully weigh up all your options. As Swankey intimates, moving away is not a decision to take lightly.

One alternative to moving is:

• Renting out a room or part of your home to a younger person. That provides income as well as human contact.

However, if the work and the bills remain too much for you, don’t become a slave to your house.

• You may even think about moving to a smaller home within the old neighborhood.

On a larger scale, Toronto’s Older Women’s Network in 1997 opened a 142-unit OWN co-op building in the city’s historic St. Lawrence Market area. If governments ever loosen up funds for more co-ops, that could be an option for older people living alone in many parts of the country.

The needs of women should be carefully considered when the time comes to think about your retirement housing needs. After all, they generally outlive their spouses. Lynn suggests a woman on her own should look carefully at her housing options, buying if possible, and perhaps having a basement apartment for income.

Here and there, people are choosing to share a house. A couple of years ago, I wrote about four women and two men, ranging in age from 51 to 89, who bought a 19-room Victorian house together so they’d never grow old alone.

It’s important too, says Lynn, to be with people with whom you share a common culture and interests. She cites a Finnish seniors’ residence and Chinese senior homes.