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I read this story in the N&O this morning, and all I can say is someone there needs to take a basic math class. One headline says the 65+ population will "double," but the story itself says it would grow "by 200%" (which effectively means it will triple). I'm not sure which it is, but I guess either way it's a lot.
wouldn't it be quadruple? ex 100X100%=200X100%=400
just saying
I just wish the builders would get on board with this and start building for this group!
Vicki
What the builders are building is expensive. I guess they assume that the elderly have money (and many do). But, in 20 years, we will have most new retirees end their careers without pensions.
Our whole country is experiencing this kind of senior growth. Women delaying having babies because of careers, economics, and old folks living longer because of advanced medicines, etc is the main reason. In some countries people are actually being paid to have children because the ages are not at all balanced.
Instead of building nursing homes and assisted living, I think builders should be focusing on single level homes for lots of folks. I don't particularly like age restrictions for neighborhoods as I like the energy and fun of children. And older folks are not the only folks who like no stairs.
If I'm not mistaken, a recent trend is to have first-floor master bedrooms, correct? That's not the same as single-story homes, but everyone "needs" lots of square footage these days, and given impervious surface regulations and land costs, it's not as economical to build one story as multiple stories.
If I'm not mistaken, a recent trend is to have first-floor master bedrooms, correct? That's not the same as single-story homes, but everyone "needs" lots of square footage these days, and given impervious surface regulations and land costs, it's not as economical to build one story as multiple stories.
Bingo. My neighborhood is fairly large two story homes almost all with first floor masters. Most are 2800-3100 sq foot. Many have both up and down masters with full baths. Works out well for space and flexibility. It also helps to deal with the changes that are happening in families as economics force parents and their children and in many cases their children's families to live under one roof.
Assuming they mean double, this is pretty close to the growth rate of the area overall. 3.5% a year growth for 20 year means that population will double, both 65+ and under. That's impressive growth, but it's a problem for everyone not just seniors.
If they mean triple, that's a slightly different story. In that case, it means that the the 65+ population is growing by something like 1.5x the rate of the rest of the population. That's a more interesting problem.
But without knowing where this projection is coming from and what the growth rate actually is it is hard to speculate about a solution.
The crisis coming is not folks over 65 who are eligible for Social Security and Medicare but those in their 50's who are unemployed and their insurance is expiring etc etc. Where is the local infrastructure for them? I was on the river in downtown Wilmington a two weeks ago during a week day. That very nice area during a week day was populated by people who worked there (expected) older visitors (expected) homeless people (not expected). The homeless appeared to be about 50% of the folks on the street. There was a line to get in both public rest rooms along the river. Another person waiting in line explained that it was normal to have lines as homeless people were often using it to clean up and some were in line. They were not your traditional homeless people in that they appeared well spoken and their clothes were recently nice and not as well worn. They were as well groomed as could be expected and very willing to engage in conversation. What gave them away was the fact that they were carrying their possessions with them. Had I not had it explained to me I might not have been sure. We often talk about transplants not coming without jobs but I wonder if we might see a rise in older unemployed folks in their 50's trying to survive coming here.
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