Elderly Roommates – Seniors Living with Younger Companions

Finding the right housing situation can be tough at any age and seniors often face additional challenges. Many will be on their own, especially if they recently suffered a loss or if family lives some distance away.

This situation is far from ideal. Living on one’s own can be an isolating experience, especially for anyone who struggles to get out on a regular basis. Plus, there are relatively few options for elderly roommates.

One interesting trend is the idea of seniors living with much younger roommates. The idea often provides advantages for both parties and can be a useful alternative. For some seniors, this may allow them to live at home for longer and to be more independent.

The idea is also becoming more common.

Some people are starting to advertise for this type of arrangement in local newspapers or on sites like Craigslist. Some organizations may also help to set up such an option.

Alternatively, there may be a solution within your own family, such as someone who is in college.

The Advantages of Differently Aged Roommates

For the senior, a younger companion helps to reduce isolation and provide much-needed interaction. This may be especially rewarding if the senior has little contact with their own family or has no children themselves.

The younger roommate can often help out with chores that the senior isn’t capable of doing – making it much easier to maintain a clean and healthy living environment.

The roommate isn’t a caregiver, so they’re not normally expected to care for the senior in any way. Instead, the arrangement is much like any other shared housing situation, with ground rules established from the beginning.

This also makes it best for seniors who are capable of living on their own.

Having a roommate also helps to lower the cost for seniors. In some cases, this may mean they can afford to remain at home, where doing so wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

The biggest benefit to the younger roommate is the accommodation.

They often end up with less expensive rent or the ability to live in a more desirable location. For example, a program in Helsinki offers inexpensive rent to young adults, as long as they interact with elderly neighbors regularly. Other locations follow similar themes.

Even if there is no program in place, the senior may simply be charging less than many alternative living situations.

The young person also gets the chance to interact socially and to learn from their elderly roommate. It can also lead to a more stable living environment – compared to living with other young adults.

Disadvantages to Consider

Even so, there are some significant disadvantages too.

Some of those apply to any shared living situation. For example, the senior and their roommate may not get along. There could be fights or misunderstandings as well.

Such issues may be more significant because of age differences. After all, different generations tend to have their own points of view.

Young people also mention that the living situation doesn’t always end up as well as it could. For example, one article in The Guardian highlights how the young adult’s chores increased over time, partly because the senior viewed her as an employee, rather than an equal.

This highlights the importance of having ground rules in place from the beginning.

But, even with ground rules, the capabilities of the senior may change, especially if they get sick. This can place the young person in a challenging situation, where their grades or health are suffering, but they feel like they cannot leave.

Having a supportive family around can help avoid such situations. But, they can still occur.

Is it the Right Fit?

Having a younger roommate is often a perfect solution for some seniors. The benefits will often far outweigh any negatives, especially if the roommates get along with one another.

Even so, it’s important to be careful.

Make sure that anyone you choose is going to be a good fit and that expectations are reasonable right from the beginning. Putting some ground rules in place can help with this and you may even want to develop some type of documentation so that everyone is on the same page.

As a caregiver, you should also make sure there’s a way out if things don’t work.

• You don’t want the senior to be stuck with a housemate that is doing more harm than good.
• Likewise, it’s not fair for a young person to end up as an unofficial and unpaid caregiver for a senior they had no previous connection to.

The idea isn’t a good choice for seniors who are struggling either. The roommate is not expected to fill the role of a caregiver or an assistant – and most wouldn’t be willing to do so.

If you’re stuck for housing ideas, you can also check out our Guide to Affordable Housing. This free guide covers a wide range of accommodation considerations and highlights various approaches that seniors can take.

If you’re simply trying to improve quality of life, check out our post on Practical Ways to Make Caregiving Easier. This highlights various services and tools that can help reduce strain and stress for you and your family member. Many of the options apply for part-time caregivers too and for seniors who live on their own.