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Table
of Contents
1.
'Granny' Flats Revisited
2. Where to find the 2young2retire
Course
3. Purpose Prize Fellows
3. Money Magazine Wants You
(to Live Your Dream)
When
I was 16, my maternal grandmother came to live with us. In the
Anglo-Burmese culture in which I grew up, this was a given.
Providing a home for one's elders was more than mere duty; it was
considered a singular honor. Perhaps for this reason, we adjusted
quickly and with few difficulties to the new family configuration and
dynamics. Over time, what had begun as economic necessity, became a
blessing.
I
am reminded of this period in my life now, in light of a growing
popularity of 'granny' flats, aka,
accessory dwelling units. These can be anything from an apartment in
the basement of a main house or over the garage, to a separate guest
house or cottage on the grounds used by an elder family member. Some
11
million Americans already have an elder living in their home,
according to a new Money/CNN
report. We foresee a mini-boom for
architects, remodelers and contractors interested in this
opportunity, as the population ages. We
take a personal interest in the concept, too, as our own needs for
housing change.
For
many families, intergenerational housing makes economic sense. The
average
annual base rate at an assisted living facility is $30,000, while the
daily rate for a private room in a nursing home is $203 a day
($74,095 a year), according to a MetLife study. Costs have been
rising every year, and are not likely to retreat in the future.
That's a lot to spend to preserve the sanctity of the nuclear family.
The
savings aside, there are other issues that argue in favor of
intergenerational housing, whether for you, as you age and your
housing needs change, or for your elderly parents. Let's face it:
at some point, even the most independent of us will need some
assistance. A granny flat solves the problem of long distance
care-giving, and the stress that goes with it, not to mention the
environmental impact of travel itself. “Accessory units are an
easy way to get more people into the same area and therefore support
low vehicles miles traveled and all the good environmental outcomes
from density,” says developer, Bob Chapman. Neighborhoods are
safer and livelier with more eyes on the street, as well.
The
truth is, although transportation gets the headlines, housing –
particularly the kinds to which we have become habituated -- extracts
a huge environmental toll. Think about it: we've become accustomed
to lighting, heating and cooling spaces that stand empty for hours
every day. “Making more efficient use of the existing housing
stock, by sharing homes or creating accessory apartments, is one of
the steps that can be taken to reduce the impact of our housing
choices on the environment,” says a Canadian Government report.
Remember the slogan: Save water, shower with a friend? Could the
granny flat be the next revolution in the way we house ourselves?
Some
resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_suite
http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/14/pf/make_room_for_moms.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2007061511
http://www.newurbannews.com/accessory.html
http://blogs.rockymountainnews.com/denver/speakout/2007/06/a_place_for_granny_the_case_fo.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/realestate/greathomes/16tiny.html?ei=5124&en=15d48cc6ae034090&ex=1329368400
POTPOURRI
Certified
Facilitators have been breaking new ground in getting the
2young2retire course into various community venues. Here are a few
places you will find courses:
Chautauqua, NY. Susan
Larson will facilitate a
workshop entitled: Too Young to Retire: Recharge and Rebalance for
Your Bonus Years at the Chautauqua Institution Special Studies
program, July 23-26 at Chautauqua, NY. Four sessions, $71. Drop in
$22 at door. Register for course #1709:
https://www.netsync.net/secureweb/ciweb/Tickets2/?select=special
General
Information: http://www.ciweb.org/about.html
Seattle, WA. Halimah
Bellows' Retire With Fire at
the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of
Washington, Seattle. Schedule: Tuesdays, July 24, 31, Aug. 7, and
Friday July 27; 1:30-3:30 p.m. (4 sessions), Reg. # 90733. Max:
25. Note: the first session was sold out. Info
and registration:
http://www.outreach.washington.edu/olli/courses/coursedetails/90733.asp
or
call 206-543-2310. You register once for $90 and take all the
courses you can get into.
Tucson, AZ. Carolyn
Monjoi has signed a one year
contract with the City of Tucson to facilitate the 2young2retire
Course with city employee pre-retirees. We include this as an
idea-generator. If you are a state or city employee 50+, you might
ask about getting the course into your place of work. Find a
facilitator: Arizona
- Missouri
Nebraska
- Wisconsin
Madison, WI. Jan
Fulwiler and Karen Ostrov are facilitating
2young2retire brown bag lunch workshops for State of Wisconsin
pre-retirement employees. Ask at your workplace, and get yourself a
2young2retire facilitator. Arizona
- Missouri
Nebraska
- Wisconsin
DEEPLY
HONORED. We (Howard and
Marika Stone) were named Purpose Prize Fellows for 2007 for our work
on 2young2retire. We are in a group of 60 'social innovators' who
will attend a summit at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, in
November. The Purpose Prize is a program of Civic Ventures. More
information:
http://www.purposeprize.org/finalists/fellows2007.cfm?awardyear=2007
LIVE YOUR DREAMS
. If you’re a baby boomer (born between 1946 and 1964), Money
Magazine is interested in helping you achieve your dreams. What's
the one thing you really want to make sure you do in your
lifetime? Is your Must-Do Goal to climb Mount Everest? Join the
Peace Corps? Launch your own charitable foundation? Open a
restaurant? Become a teacher? Money magazine
wants to hear about
your Big Dream. If you’re chosen for the magazine's feature
article, you'll be paired with financial planners and other
experts who can help you make your dream a reality. E-mail your
Name, Age and Contact Information and a brief description of your
dream to drosato@moneymail.com.
TRAVEL & TEACH. Our
friends, Susan and David Cooper, spent a week in May in Spain,
teaching conversational English to a group of motivated business
types in exchange for accommodation and food (they had to get
themselves there on their own), and came back with glowing reports and new friends.
If this sounds appealing, check out Pueblo Ingles,
http://www.vaughanvillage.com/ - INTERNATIONAL SERVICE. Got work and life experience you'd like to use in another country? NGO Abroad is a unique service that matches your skills with international humanitarian needs. Check it out: http:www.ngoabroad.com
Your
Great Idea to make the work a
better place makes you eligible for cash prizes: $10,000 and $25,000
respectively in the Case Foundation “Make
It Your Own Awards,”part
of a "citizen-centered" approach that involves the public
in every aspect, from developing the grant guidelines to voting on
the final grant recipients. Brief
applications will be accepted online June 26-August 8. To
learn more and to apply, click here:
http://www.casefoundation.org/make-it-your-own/awards
A group of
people from diverse backgrounds and communities will review all the
applications and select the top 100 semifinalists. These 100
semifinalists will then be invited to pitch their ideas as a full
proposal starting in early September. A smaller group of reviewers
will then choose the Top 20 finalists in early November with each
finalist receiving a grant of $10,000. In November, the online
community will select four $25,000 grant recipients from the top 20
finalists.
Stay well, make it new, make it better.
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