Aging, Losing Your Home, Nowhere to Go
6 Ways to Redefine "Home"
The emotional trauma for the aging had been pulling up roots where they had done their careers and made so many friends to relocate to where it was more affordable. Now, that pain point has mutated to The Horror.
Once unthinkable, the emerging trauma is this: The real possibility of losing the house with nowhere they can estimate they can afford to go.
BusinessInsider reports on their:
“ … rising home repair costs, insurance premiums, and property taxes while also facing a scarcity of affordable retirement housing options. And working all their lives isn't enough to prevent a growing number of older people from experiencing homelessness.”
If you’re over-50 and single, currently there’s a 50 percent chance you could wind up without a permanent roof over your head.
Even those supposed LCOL (low cost of living) areas aren’t so low cost anymore. Former affordable mecca for the semi-retired and retired - Tucson, Arizona - now has the distinction of being among the locations experiencing rapid rent increases. The average monthly cost of a one-bedroom is $1,005. In 2014, that was about $500. The current rental expense would take a whopper of a bite out of the average Social Security monthly payment. In a worse pickle are those not yet eligible for Social Security who can’t land steady work.
The good news is that there are solutions to prevent homelessness. Here are six.
Hitting the road. In the film “Nomadland,” the fictional Fern, a widow whose industry had collapsed, retrofitted a beaten-up van and hit the road. From the real Bob Wells, Patron Saint of RVers, she learned survival skills. She found contract work with businesses such as Amazon. And, she made new close friends who shared her struggle to put together a fresh definition of “home.”
In this YouTube, Wells explains how to convert a van into livable mobile space on the cheap. One couple I coached carefully map out locations where they can apply for seasonal assignments. They are never without work.
Free lodging with the work. Another solution is to search for a job or contract work which folds in free lodging. You’ll be surprised how many opportunities there are. They include live-in caregiver, groundskeeper, resort host worker, building manager, leasing agent, after-hours security guard, park ranger and personal chef.
Where LCOL still exists. Some LCOL areas are still authentically low-cost. That will require research on the internet. For example, key in the name of states which you already know are not HCOL (high cost of living) and then add “cheapest places to live.” In Indiana, a one-bedroom in Gary is $700 a month, in Muncie, it’s $675 and in Terre Haute, $692.
Moving abroad. There’s also the option to relocate abroad. A reliable source is International Living. Here it gives a breakdown of costs for Ecuador. A furnished one-bedroom in the center of town has the monthly nut of $400. To have access to the national healthcare system is $79 a month. Another popular location is Portugal where migration from the US has increased 500 percent since 2014.
Co-living. A less radical idea is to launch co-living. Finding boarders not only brings in income. Be strategic about it and much of the maintenance can be done by them, in exchange for a discount on rent. The house can be saved!
That’s a common fantasy: Save the house. But most of those over-50 I coach are relieved to let go of the property that has become a drain not only on money but energy and a good night’s sleep. To their surprise what it takes, after the sale of the house, to keep a roof over their heads hasn’t been that brutal an adjustment.
The concept of “Home” is being disrupted.