As Baby Boomers hit 60, the retirement home undergoes big changes
As Baby Boomers start hitting 60, the retirement home isn’t what it used to be.
Neither is the family home.
Two show houses built for the International Builders’ Show, which drew about 100,000 people in the home-building industry here recently, illustrate the changing shape of houses.
The Baby Boom generation, 78 million strong, is healthy, wealthy and wise to the marketplace. With the money they have amassed, Boomers want their retirement residences — often a second or third home — to emulate resorts with fine amenities. They’re realistic enough to know that they might be sharing their house with aging parents with limited mobility, or that they might one day need a live-in caregiver. But they want their homes to reflect their vitality rather than vulnerabilities associated with aging.