Yet for most boomers, housing worries are over the horizon.
Heather Jamieson and her husband, Jean Haché, have been in their 2,100-square-foot Orléans single since 1990.
At 72, Haché is not a boomer, but 59-year-old Jamieson is.
“As long as we can continue looking after things here, we wouldn’t even consider moving,” says Haché, who, like his wife, is retired.
“Our friends who are the same age as us have only moved if there was a death or a divorce,” says Jamieson.
While they are well-organized and forward-thinking in most other respects, they have not looked into alternative housing should one of them abruptly begin to decline or researched what they can do — adding grab bars in the bathroom, looking at other kitchen configurations — to make their home more suitable for aging at home.
“Life can change in a heartbeat, but I don’t think you have to always have a Plan B. You handle what comes along,” says Jamieson.
They’re hardly alone in not being prepped for inevitable aging. A national survey commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies and recently reported in the Citizen found that only 38 per cent of those aged 65 and over were “worried” or “somewhat worried” about growing older. That compared to 56 per cent in the 18 to 24 age group.
Having come of age in relatively prosperous and secure times, maybe boomers are just indelibly optimistic.
However, cautions Dunn of the Seniors’ Advisory Committee: “What I hear from seniors is that when a crisis hits, things fall apart because the anticipation hasn’t happened and the knowledge (of where to seek help) isn’t there.”
If there’s no family nearby — an increasingly common occurrence in a transient society where seniors are less likely to live with their adult children than in earlier generations — “people get into a challenge.”
Haché and Jamieson say that with condos springing up in Orléans, they could perhaps downsize without leaving their community. That would keep them in touch with their network, considered a key factor in maintaining health and happiness as we age.
Maybe there’s not that much to agonize over anyway.
“For 20 years we’ve been hearing about this crisis of boomers and housing, but aging happens at a glacial pace,” says Ryan Berlin, a demographer with Urban Futures, a Vancouver-based research and consulting group that helps cities, provinces and developers plan for growth. “I always think the market will adjust to the demand. Developers will see it coming and there’s lots of money to be made there. If we need apartments, we’ll build apartments.
“The leading edge of the baby boomers is just now turning 66 and they’re still very active. The typical baby boomer is still 45 or 50 and their housing needs won’t change for another 15, 20 years.”
There are signs some developers are responding to market forces.
Westhills, a 209-hectare development of condos, townhomes and single-family homes in Langford, B.C., includes secondary suites — independent, fully equipped units for elderly parents or other tenants — in most of its single-family homes.
In Ottawa, meanwhile, Courtyard Developments is building Hyde Park in Richmond, a mix of bungalows, suites and apartments for those aged 55 and above where residents will be able to access meal plans and even on-site medical care. The idea is that not only can you remain in your community as you age, you can stay in your unit.
While such developments are still rare and often too expensive for those of limited means, they are a step toward meeting the need for a range of seniors’ housing options.
