Showing posts with label adult living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adult living. Show all posts

Monday, December 1, 2008

adult(erated) living

There is an article in today's WSJ about "adult living communities." This crazy idea, thought up by a fellow called Del Webb, attracted many well-off baby boomers, who envisioned an "active" retirement life-style. Active but without noisy children or misbehaving teens. In short, an artificial consumer-oriented life-style that is foreign to the human condition.

These aging baby-boomers wanted to be safe and isolated in their gated communities. Ensconced in their fairway villas and green lawns. Far away from the nuisances of life, they would devote their golden years to playing dominoes and golf with like minded friends. Unfortunately the financial crisis caught up with them. Maybe they don't realize it is a good thing. Bring some new life in the game before their graveyard hideaway becomes just that.

Now they are forced to admit younger residents to help pay the bills. But with younger residents come children, teens, and young adults. Oh horror of horrors !

It is not just the aging adults in their protective cocoons who are complaining. Cities too are unhappy because now they will have to provide services like schools, etc. That cuts into their profits. In some cases, cities had granted tax breaks to the adult communities. Adding services that are unpaid for is not to their liking. However, it is not the profit and loss that strikes me as odd. Surely people will find a way to handle all that. 

It is the very (sick) notion that drives people away from one another into secluded hiding with like minded individuals. Sadly enough, for seniors such an idyllic hideaway slowly decays in synch with their aging bodies. Soon enough they won't leave their homes. With nothing to watch except other aging creatures stumbling around on artificially green links, life will seem desperate indeed. I am not sure it is that much better than looking at an abandoned construction site. 

Why these people want to depart the real world in order to cling to a virtual reality is beyond me. It is all part of consumerism I guess.