When the dementia of her husband required more help than she could handle alone, Kathleen began looking for someone who could help lighten the load. Not someone who is a professional caregiver, but simply another pair of hands. Using Her Network She found Alice through her network of friends and community. Alice, in her early […]
Read More...Red Flags in Interviews (and How to Recognize Them)
I’ll get to the red flags, but first you need to understand the situation. Catherine, in her early sixties, lives in a small town in New Hampshire. She owns a house with four bedrooms and large piece of land. She likes living with others and finds her housemates through a combination of networking and craigslist. […]
Read More...Remember “POSSLQ?” Now it’s POSSSLQ!
POSSSLQ is the phrase that Sharon and Deb use for their relationship. When they got in touch with me and I read their booklet, POSSSLQ: ELDERS LIVING OUTSIDE THE BOX, I was deeply gratified and excited. Their experience is one that I know is possible if and when we are open to it. It goes beyond […]
Read More...Feedback — Essential to Successful Home-Mating
Here is excellent article about feedback that showed up in my inbox. This one offers a slightly different twist on this most important aspect of good relationships. I’m republishing it because the skill of giving and receiving feedback is essential in a home-mate situation. It is written by Michael Bungay Stanier, the founder and Senior […]
Read More...Why You Shouldn’t Have Sex with Your Roommate
One word. Don’t. Don’t even think of it. Do yourself a favor. . Sex with your housemate alters the comfortable, familiar, even familial relationship you had before. Really. Sex is like that. There is a reason it is called making love. In reality, there are only two long-term scenarios going forward. One— you live happily […]
Read More...4 Simple Secrets to Roommate Bliss
Laura Drucker over on The Daily Muse wrote a post called, “Four Simple Secrets to Roommate Bliss.” (It’s no longer on line.) Her four simple secrets are a bit different from the four principles for successful home sharing described in “Sharing Housing, A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates” – but they aren’t far off. […]
Read More...How to Find a Housemate
Looking for a housemate is a treasure hunt. When you conduct a treasure hunt it is a good idea to have a map of the area and a few supplies for the journey. This is also a good idea when you are looking for a roommate. Your map is composed of what you want and […]
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