We do not have a housing shortage. We have a privacy excess. How did we Baby Boomers, in the space of a generation, become a people—and I include myself among them—who cannot share living space with others? It has gotten to the point that not just the affluent, but also the financially-challenged, feel entitled to a bedroom of their own. In most cases, this extends to an unwillingness to share a living room or a bathroom with anyone but a spouse or partner. Heck, some don’t even want to share a bathroom sink with that person.
We live in a time when shared college dormitory rooms and army barracks seem distasteful and consider it unfortunate if our homes are not large enough to avoid a three-year old having to share a bedroom with a sibling.
How many older adults are living, often alone, in a three- or four- bedroom house, wringing their hands about “the homeless”? How many of us aging adults are concerned about our finances —or should be, considering the skyrocketing cost of the long-term care that we likely face—but would never consider housing a college student or a roommate? Maybe we reluctantly downsize, but we always want that second bedroom for the guests that come once or twice a year. And hopefully, they don’t stay longer than three days.
We seek “creative solutions” to our “housing crisis.” We want laws changed to encourage more and more and more building. We want our city leaders to allow accessory dwellings, not just for non-family members to generate possible revenue, but also for our parents. Heaven forbid that we become one of those failed parents with “boomerang children.” For those children—for everyone’s children who haven’t thrived in the mess we’ve created—we would rather build them a tiny house without a bathroom. They need their privacy, after all.