More aging parents say 'No' to living with their children


When Bill and Jackie Merz’s two daughters asked their 75 year-old parents if they wanted to live with either of their families, Bill and Jackie’s answer wasn’t unclear at all.

“I told them we'd have somebody shoot us before we did that,” Bill told the Sacramento Bee.  His wife told the newspaper that the biggest reason they turned down their daughters’ generous offer was that they wanted to keep their independence.

The retired couple lives at Eskaton Village Roseville, a community northeast of Sacramento which offers both independent living and assisted living.

According to the news source, while many older people who are offered lodging with their adult children may feel the same way as Bill and Jackie Merz do, but might give other excuses, such as that they don’t want to trouble their children or cause them inconvenience. But in reality, they just want their independence.

And these retirees are enjoying their independence.

“I don't have to check in with anybody. I'm out and about and doing my own thing,” one retiree, 71 year-old Jeannie Obrien told the newspaper.

And independence is a lot easier in 2012 than it ever was. With tens of thousands of senior living communities across North America, there’s no shortage of options for independent-minded seniors.