Roommates Forever? Seniors Seeking Shares on the Rise

Like other expensive American cities, New York seems to be home to a higher proportion of post-graduate adult roommates than suburban areas. In NYC, sharing a home with a stranger or friend is seen not so much as a sign of utter incompetence as it is a consequence of the obscene rental market, which has compelled people to share for far longer than they had ever anticipated. Who among us has not inserted earplugs to drown out the sounds of roommate fornication, while dreaming of liberation from cohabitation? However, judging by the increasing numbers of elderly people looking for roommates, that dream may be considerably deferred. According to City Room, a home sharing program run by the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens has been inundated with elderly applicants seeking apartment shares because of lost jobs or rent increases. Of course, the silver lining, should you find yourself trolling Craigslist for shares in your golden years, is that you'll probably be so hard of hearing you won't even notice your roommate's drum and bass marathons.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on April 14, 2009 1:55 PM

Comments [rss]

JacqueMehoff

I remember when I lived by myself....sniff...snifff..Sob..

oh well, I did a lot of crazy stuff then that would have gotten me killed now. since I made some enemies, here's one, I lit off fireworks on the roof or hoods of cars.

that one's for you mr. what part of it's not yours don't you understand.

ANGRYGOD11

This ruins the grand NYC tradition of looking over the newspaper obituaries for cheap vacant apartments.

Rocknrope

I don't like pits, pits, pits....in my juice, juice, JUICE!

Rocknrope

I don't like pits, pits, pits....in my juice, juice, JUICE!

zodak

i don't have a roommate

(suck it losers!)

Spirit of 76

I do have a roommate. And she is great. If I'm a loser, I'm a happy one. Actually, two roommates, if you count the little, furry, four-legged one.

Outter Burrougher

ok, i'll even share a room when i'm elderly - but i draw the line at death. i'm not sharing that hole with anybody.

NYC Air Conditioning Professio

This idea of living with a roomate is definitely correct. There is no city other than NYC that it is so well accepted to have a roomate. It is great to split the high cost of rentals and of course the energy, air conditioning, cable, and water costs.