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Actually, it is possible but people in 2018 don't want 1950s lean living. A family of four used to live in 1000 square foot houses. One TV with an antenna. A telephone. The library for books. A very inexpensive food budget. The kids with hand-me-down clothes. The family vacation was a tent in a state or national park somewhere. Restaurant pretty much never happened. A very basic used car.
In 2018, that is considered to be poverty level. In 1960, that was middle class.
Yup, that's how I grew up. If we were poor, nobody told me. It was normal and we were happy too.
In Germany, homes are built with secondary private entrances, so that elderly parents/in-laws can live with their children and come and go as they please, without disturbing their children.
You need only look at US Census Bureau records to see elderly family members living with one of their children, or one of the children remaining unmarried and living with an elderly parent.
What changed culturally was Social Security and the automobile.
Social Security allowed the elderly to live on their own, and the automobile allowed people to travel far from their birth-place for any number of reasons, primarily job-related.
Changing life circumstances have always been common-place. It's hardly new.
Having lived in Germany, this is news to me. Do you have a link? As far as I know, only .5% of Germans live with 2 or 3 generations under one roof.
It worked for me and I have neither FB nor a WSJ subscription. Usually, as other posters recommended, you can Google the article title or a line of text.
Do you have a public library card? Many public libraries have online access to various resources as SportyandMisty pointed out. Access to the PROQUEST database is pretty standard for urban libraries (I’m not sure about very rural areas with more limited budgets.) Logging into PROQUEST with your library card gives you access to the articles for many major newspapers, including WSJ, NYT, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Barron’s, Christian Science Monitor, Financial Times, etc. Thanks to the library, I can look up cited articles from home or work.
Not at all. It used to be common for better off elderly women to hire younger women or take in impoverished younger relatives to live/travel with them as Lady’s Companions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady%27s_companion
For those who live alone and like it that way, or for family members who worry about an aged relative far away, charlygal made a great suggestion about hiring a Geriatric Care Manager.
I think you missed my later post where I said I did get did get to read it and found it to be a waste of time. Thanks for the other suggested links though, I will keep them in mind. I have a regular library card and digital access that allows me to download books and publications from my local library through my Kindle Fire.
It’s not the case. My father was able to buy a suburban home where my brother and I had our own bedrooms (early 60’s) via the GI bill, and was able to support us with my mom at home, on a department store appliance saleman’s salary. We didn’t have hand me downs. We even went to Burger Chef once or twice a month. My mom used a diaper service.
That lifestyle would not be possible in that job today. That job today would pay $10 an hour with $600 a month taken out for family health benefits. They could live in a studio apartment with a crib in the closet and watch antennae tv and mom would still need to work full time in order to pay basic monthly bills.I don’t know anyone who grew up in a 1000 square foot house with hand me downs in the 60’s btw, maybe the 30’s.
People love to believe for some reason that the economy today is the same, that the only difference between then and now is poor decisions made by people, it’s just not the case.
I don't think anyone is trying to say that this lifestyle is possible for all people or in all areas, and in general, I agree things have gotten tougher over the years. It's still doable in much of the interior of the country with some planning and low debt.
I don't think anyone is trying to say that this lifestyle is possible for all people or in all areas, and in general, I agree things have gotten tougher over the years. It's still doable in much of the interior of the country with some planning and low debt.
Every generation thinks they have it tougher than their parents did. That's standard.
I'll tell you something else no one wants to seriously discuss. Who is going to provide care for all these "alone" seniors, especially if they choose or whatever to age in place.
As noted even those with children/grandchildren or other family automatically translates into ready made help being available.
Good honest and capable home help aides are hard to find now for even those with funds. Those planning on or will have to rely upon whatever Medicaid or whatever program supplies are going to be in for a shock. Most are underpaid and over worked immigrant women with various levels of capabilities and or even interest in their work.
In the old days one could find a type of general purpose woman who came in to clean, maybe cook, help with ADL and so forth. Sort of a cross between home help, maid, housekeeper, driver and almost surrogate child/family. Those women are still out there but cost dear if you can lay hands upon.
According to BLS data massage therapists earn more than nursing assistants, which gives you an idea of this country's priorities.
Someone upstream typed Golden Girls living arrangement. Like that idea. Never alone, always a roommate to annoy you. Lived like that in college.
EGADS! GOOD GOD!
A co worker asked me yesterday about moving in with me and that, silently, was my reaction. My verbal reaction was absolutely not.
I tried to discourage them with my quirks at home such as slipping into an SS uniform nightly or that when I am not going around killing strangers, I am a very disagreeable drunk......in my usual style, I was quoting lines here and there without saying that I was.
This morning when I was thinking about it, it occurred to me what really bugged me about it. Since I am the one with the house and the land, they were proposing the roomie situation in my place. There are 2 issues at least to that.
First of all, someone who finds a place 10 miles out of town, spends close to a half a million to live out there, is someone who is not really looking for company. Secondly, it feels like someone is taking a look at my lifestyle and deciding it needs to change.....or equally as bad, I have, they want, and why shouldn't I give up?
As far as college roomies go, I marvel at those who get along perfectly for it really was not mine. My first two were bullies to me, my next one at the next school (say Michelle) I was practically ready to kill. Sophomore year, I had two, we got along decently well but neither one survived the academic year. I only had one my junior year and we were practically staring at each other across the DMZ, wondering if we saw the other one moving to arms, could we react fast enough to take them out. Senior year started off with TPTB saying it was going to be MICHELLE! because you two seem to get along freshman year. It ended up with someone else and essentially, we were struggling academically so much, we didn't have time to acknowledge each other.
"I'll tell you something else no one wants to seriously discuss. Who is going to provide care for all these "alone" seniors, especially if they choose or whatever to age in place."
In Eskimo culture - at least as portrayed in old movies - when elders could no longer chew their own seal meat, they were sent away on an ice flow to die. I suspect we'll slowly but surely arrive at a similar solution as a society. Not saying that's good, not saying that's bad, but I certainly don't expect anyone to take care of me with tender loving care for years like I took care of my own dear mother...
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