Is this the future of retirement?

Is this a real-life equivalent of the movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, where a group ‘retire’ to a house in India?

Seven women have bought a house together for their retirement. “[At first] it was just a joke,” the friends say in a YouTube video that shows their renovated home near Guangzhou in south-eastern China. “We [said that we] would get together when we were 60 and live the retired life together.”

That was in 2008, but they are following through with their intention and have pooled enough money to buy and remodel a dilapidated redbrick house an hour outside Guangzhou.

“We’ve known each other for over 20 years,” says the video’s narrator, who notes that their ages span about 10 years. “We were colleagues, and sometimes we are even closer than siblings.

“We’ll probably cook together, barbecue in the fields, sing and collect food in the village.

“We joke that each of us should practise one skill so that we won’t be lonely and fight with each other 10 years later … Some can cook beautiful food, some know traditional Chinese medicine, some play instruments and some grow vegetables.”

The women say their new communal home will keep them together forever.

“Ten or 15 years later, our children might have grown up,” they say, “so we also hope that we can still be together in the next years.”

6 comments

The Golden Girls.

What a great idea!  I wish it would work in our society, but here in the West our culture is so geared to individualism that group living like this is difficult to achieve.  I know scores of communities with high ambitions that failed because of greed and individual attitudes unwilling to flow and compromise for the good of all.  That is an admirable culture trait in Asia and many other parts of the indigenous world that we in the West are missing. This is also the reason for the huge problem of lonely old people (and increasingly young too) who live isolated lifes disconnected from themselves, others and nature.   

This has nothing to do with culture. It has everything to do with having close friends who all will be in the same position at the same time. Note there is no mention of partners/husbands and only passing reference to children.

In Chinese culture the eldest son has responsibility for his parents. Clearly that is not going to happen in this case. In fact these women are taking care of themselves and planning for thier future together.

No, this is not a cultural thing at all.

It sounds ideal but ther ladies curely have  argument sometimes What if they dind potential partners at 60 plus. Can happen

It sounds ideal but ther ladies curely have  argument sometimes What if they dind potential partners at 60 plus. Can happen

I wish them all the success they need. Lets see how it works out. I may join them. They surely need a rooster to keep peace in the henhouse!

I don't have a problem with living in a house with 7 women. My wife might though, hahahah

Best hope the wife does not read your comment      Image result for hitting husband on head cartoon

6 comments



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