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When he was in high school, Evan Easterling was part of a volunteer program that visited older adults at a nearby senior center. “We’d eat lunch with them and ask them questions about their life,” said Mr. Easterling, a New York Times editor currently working on the Real Estate desk.
That’s about as far as his experience with senior housing went.
So when he took the lead on editing The Times’s new series about where older adults live, Mr. Easterling was surprised to find how wide the spectrum of options had become in recent years, as the United States prepares for an aging population. By 2035, the Census Bureau estimates, older adults will outnumber people under 18 for the first time.
On one side are ultra-luxurious lakeside penthouses that cost more than $15,000 a month, and apartments designated for older adults in the middle of a bustling college campus; at Arizona State University, some pay about $500,000 as a partly refundable entry fee.
In the middle are many renters, such as those in New York’s rent-stabilized apartments, where the low cost makes it tough for residents to leave even as their living conditions may be deteriorating. In some places, intergenerational families, like one The Times profiled in Canada, are opting to move in together, sharing a mortgage and a roof.
On the opposite end are the older adults who have become homeless, a rapidly growing population. Conversions of hotels, hospitals and other buildings — even a repurposed mortuary in Los Angeles — are helping to address a supply shortage. But obstacles including government restrictions and a lack of investor interest often prevent these solutions from becoming more common.
That spectrum offered a wide range of subjects to cover in the series. Nikita Stewart, who recently led the Real Estate desk and is now the Metro editor, said she “knew that articles about senior housing resonated with older people, their adult children and folks who are aging.”
In an interview, Mr. Easterling discussed the “silver tsunami,” the creative solutions to housing shortages and how looking overseas might provide some ideas for future changes at home. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
How did you choose the topics for the articles in the series?
Downsizing, for instance, interested both Nikita and me. There’s this idea that when you downsize, you’re usually going to come out ahead and be able to buy your next place free and clear. And sometimes that’s not the case, especially now with interest rates being higher than they were a few years ago.
We also wanted to include some service journalism, and answer questions like how to make a home more suitable for aging in place, for example. One of our stories was a kind of list of the different types of living arrangements that you can have, whether you’re staying in your own home or you need to move someplace with more intensive care.
We also looked at some more fun ideas, like niche retirement communities. For example, there’s one for former postal workers, and another for Jimmy Buffett enthusiasts, which the Magazine did a piece about a couple years ago.
How will senior living change in the United States in the coming years?
There’s going to be what people call a “silver tsunami.” The share of the population 65 and older is supposed to go from 58 million people in 2022 to 82 million by 2050. And those people will require a wide range of housing solutions, based on how long they stay in the work force, where they want to be geographically, a number of factors.
Those solutions will have to serve people up and down the income scale: people who have saved and can retire comfortably, as well as people who have lived paycheck to paycheck.
One thing from the series that surprised me was that older adults are the fastest growing population of homeless adults.
Sometimes it can take creative solutions, like converting buildings that weren’t meant for housing. And that’s already happening, whether it’s churches, hospitals, schools. But that’s been only a small piece of the puzzle so far.
What do you want people to take away from this series?
This will definitely be a recurring topic. If policymakers aren’t thinking about it now, then they will eventually have to.
One thing that would be interesting is to compare our situation in the United States to how it’s being addressed in other countries, especially those that are facing similar or even steeper age curves. South Korea and Japan have lower birthrates than the United States does, so they are likely on track to have a similar, if not steeper, increase in their 65 and over population. I wonder if the ways those countries might go about making sure people have adequate housing could provide lessons for the United States, and vice versa.
Stefano Montali is a news assistant at The Times who contributes reporting across various sections.
The post This Is Not Your Grandma’s Retirement Home, an Editor Finds appeared first on New York Times.
