Housing Choice in Retirement: Community versus Separation

Abstract

This study explored influences on the housing choices of retirees. Sixteen convergent interviewing processes were conducted in inner urban, suburban, coastal and rural locations in South Australia and New South Wales, Australia. In each location, separate interview processes were conducted with retirement village residents and retirees living in the surrounding community. Eighty-one village residents and 73 community residents were interviewed. Convergence (agreement) emerged within and between interview processes about two key themes: community, reflecting social connection and support, and separation, reflecting privacy and independence. A desire for community was pervasive, but was achieved differently in different locations and by retirement village and community residents. Community residents were more concerned about independence and had more negative perceptions of the impact of retirement village living on separation than village residents. Implications for retirement housing are discussed.