Are You a Good Fit for a “Golden Girls” House?

Are you, like me, one of the millions of Americans who learned about the “Golden Girls” house through the TV show hit and loved the idea? Have you been wondering if you could live in a shared home with close female friends one day?

This blog, part one of a two-part series, will answer what a Golden Girls home offers. I personally know about this subject because I have lived in a Golden Girls-like home in Asheville, North Carolina for two years. However it took me close to six years to create my shared house and I’d like to save you some of the time!

To give you a quick overview of characteristics needed to live in a shared home, here’s a link to a one-minute video from a presentation I gave at the “Creating Community Anywhere” Conference in Sarasota, FL.

Simply put, a Golden Girls house creates an intentional community for female friends around the age of 50 to live together under the same roof. Typically each person has her own private bedroom (and possibly bathroom) while sharing a common kitchen, living and dining area. The benefits of creating a shared living situation are many: companionship, laughs, and the support of women at a similar point in life. Other advantages simply unfold as you live this lifestyle.  

For me, I did not want to live alone anymore. I wanted to age in a community setting. Plus, sharing the house rental made it possible for me and my housemates to live in a more expensive home and neighborhood than any of us could have afforded on our own.

For many of us Boomers, your only shared housing experience to date may have been in college with roommates in a dorm or in a group house off campus. As boomers in this new shared housing model, we are moving from roommates to “housemates” with shared values and needs.

Take a minute to consider if any issues came up from your college days or other experiences in shared living that are useful to consider now? Please jot down any valuable insights.

Remembering the positive aspects of that time and what worked and didn’t can help guide you as you create a current version of a shared with its unique social and financial benefits for Boomer Women. So I ask you: Why age alone when you can age in community? Answering this question is one of the workshops and services I offer in my work with the Women for Living in Community Network.Please check out next week’s blog for specific characteristics about what would make you a good candidate for a Golden Girls Home.

Click here to continue to Part Two.