How Laguna Beach, Calif., residents are helping to age in place

on 77% of adults Those ages 50 and older hope to remain in their homes long-term, according to AARP. In Laguna Beach, the rate is even higher, with about 90% of the population, according to Ricky Redman, director of the city's aging services, called Lifelong Laguna.

The program, which provides services through a nonprofit in his hometown, was piloted in 2017. Lifelong Laguna is based on Village movementwhere aging is encouraged with community support.

The Laguna Beach program aims to meet a specific need for a city where about 28% of residents are 65 and older, while assisted living and local memory care services are scarce.

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Many older residents have lived in the city since they were in their 20s and 30s, and now find themselves in their 70s and 80s, according to Redman. A lot of it goes back to the city's artistic roots, she said.

“They make this city unique,” ​​Redman said. “They are the placeholders of the laguna we know now.”

It is worth noting that there is no cost for seniors in the city to participate in most services.

The program, which currently has about 200 participants, relies on grants and local fundraising, according to Redman. Its services meet a wide range of needs, including a city-run home repair program with Habitat for Humanity, nutrition counseling and end-of-life planning.

Other cities have also adopted community support models for aging residents through the Village Movement. This includes tens of thousands of elderly people 26 states and Washington, D.CAccording to Manuel Acevedo, founder and CEO of Helpful Village, which provides technology support to seniors and participating communities.

Experts say the high costs of aging are one of the biggest obstacles preventing older people from fulfilling their desire to survive.

About 10,000 baby boomers are expected to turn 65 each day through 2030. An estimated 70% of these individuals will need long-term care services at some point, according to Genworth Financial.

Genworth's research found that in 2021, the highest year-over-year cost increases were in home care services. The average annual cost of home care was $61,776 for a home health aide to provide hands-on personal care and $59,488 for homemaker services to help with household tasks.

These costs were affected by supply and demand, according to Genworth.

As more people age and need care, the COVID pandemic has led to an insufficient supply of professionals to meet care needs, as well as high staff turnover.

Aging preferences are also emerging in the real estate market.

Baby boomers currently represent the bulk of homebuyers, according to Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors. More than half of boomers say the properties they buy now are where they plan to live for the rest of their lives, a sentiment that has increased since the Covid pandemic.

“There's definitely a change in mindset, where people are saying, 'I want to stay where I am, I don't necessarily want to move into a nursing home or assisted care,'” Lautz said.

Sylvia Bradshaw, 84, a Laguna Beach resident who moved to the city in 1983, describes it as “paradise.”

She has lived there ever since, except for a period when she and her husband moved to Ireland. However, the couple kept their home, the third oldest in the city, built in 1897.

“My husband had thoughts about selling our house,” Bradshaw said. “But I would never sell it, because I said: once it's gone, it's gone forever.”

Bradshaw's husband was a city high school teacher who later became a lawyer. Bradshaw said he had recently had health problems that made it difficult for the couple to continue working in the yard.

As members of the Laguna Community Aging in Place, they were able to get help.

Redman helped arrange for a team of workers to come clean up the yard, which included removing 17 bags of junk and pruning a nearly 30-year-old fig tree.

“Now people can see that there was a house there, but they couldn't see it [before]said Bradshaw, who said she was “forever grateful” for the gesture.

Community support was also particularly helpful in resolving elder care issues prior to her husband's recent death.

“I got all the help I needed,” Bradshaw said.

That included help sorting out insurance options, legal advice, and assistance with transportation, classes and social events, said John Bradshaw, Sylvia's son.

John said having the support of the larger community for his parents is a “huge relief,” especially since he no longer lives in Laguna Beach.

“It's just a wonderful convenience,” John said. “It's like having a second family, this team of people really supports my parents and others like them, so they can stay and enjoy this part of the country.”

Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner, said… Founder Life Planning Partners (Jacksonville, Florida).

“We're really starting to ask it with clients in their 50s and 60s: Where do you want to live the end of your life?” McClanahan said. “Of course, most people say, ‘I want to live in my own home.’”

It's important to be realistic about those plans.

“Ask yourself whether the decision to age in place is just 'justifiable inaction,' or give yourself a leg up when it comes to facing other important aging decisions,” said Tom West, senior partner at Signature Estate and Investment Advisors in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

If you decide that staying in your home is the best option, be prepared to make changes to your home, he said. This may include wider doorways to accommodate wheelchairs or walkers, as well as grab bars to help prevent falls.

As with the aging-in-place models created in Laguna Beach and elsewhere, it helps to have community support. McClanahan recommends developing strong relationships with your neighbors where you agree to take care of each other.

It's also helpful to set certain boundaries when staying home doesn't make sense.

For example, staying home could cost you $240,000 a year if you need 24-hour care, McClanahan said.

“Even if you're very wealthy, a lot of families hate seeing that much money go out the window, when you're paying half the cost to actually go to the facility,” McClanahan said.

Furthermore, be sure to state your wishes in all possible circumstances. Although you may want your children to promise not to put you in foster care, there may come a point where going to a foster unit becomes more cost-effective and safer, McClanahan said.