Sunday, August 11, 2013

Hip, Urban, Middle-Aged

The migration of baby boomers to cities, which started in the 1990s but slowed during the recession, is now regaining steam. According to online real-estate brokerage Redfin, more than a million baby boomers moved to within 5 miles of the downtown of the 50 largest cities between 2000 and 2010, while the same number of baby boomers moved away from neighborhoods located 40 to 80 miles outside those 50 cities' downtown areas. Read more.

1 comment:

lagatta à montréal said...

Dear Mr Haynes,

This is an interesting article, but like a lot of "lifestyle" and real estate pieces, it centres on boomers with very high incomes and expensive properties they can offload to find smaller dwellings wherever they want.

I've always lived in central Montréal neighbourhoods and intend to continue to do so for the rest of my life, but I'm a freelancer with a much lower income. Fortunately I've worked on housing issues for many years and am now in a co-op in Petite-Italie, in a very nice little flat, but that does not have such pricy amenities. My borough is building a swimming pool and community centre, as well as a library, a few short blocks from here and of course I have the Jean-Talon Market for healthful fresh food.

Friends on the other side of the CP railway line, in hipster-central Mile-End, have been working on a co-op for some years now. Since the postwar school they secured is full of asbestos and not worth remediating, it will be a new-build, so it will be accessible to people of all ages, including disabled people.

By the way, I think grab-bars in showers should be installed in all apartments, then there would be no more stigma. There are many injuries in bathrooms, among people of all ages.