Aging in place used to mean staying in the same home for as long as possible. Even when the house no longer fits your needs or budget. Maybe making a few renovations to improve mobility, like adding grab bars, swapping a tub for a walk-in shower, or replacing carpet with hard flooring.

In the end, many people are left with a home that is simply too big for how they live now. Larger homes often come with higher taxes, insurance, and utility bills. Repairs add up, especially as homes age. When fewer people live there, the costs stay high even as income often shrinks.

For years, the main alternatives were condos or townhomes. Of course, you could move in with family or even a close friend but sometimes, we just need our own space. Now, there are more options on the table, and more people are rethinking what aging in place really means.

It is about staying independent, comfortable, connected, and financially stable in a place that fits your needs in this season and future seasons.

That shift is why newer housing options keep showing up in retirement conversations.

Exploring These Options in Real Life

In 2026, I plan to explore several of these aging in place options more closely in my monthly articles here on Sixty and Me.

These articles won’t be focused on offering you home renovations to make life easier or options like assisted living, although those are equally important. The articles I have planned will help you learn and explore some alternative options to age in place. Perhaps some that may be completely new to you.

My goal is not to promote one solution over another.

It is to understand how these choices actually work for people living in them, especially those navigating retirement on a limited budget or living alone.

Why Aging in Place Is Being Reconsidered

Many people today are retiring earlier and living longer. At the same time, more adults are living alone or as empty nesters. That combination changes how housing feels. Homes that once made sense can become harder to afford and harder to maintain on a fixed or limited income.

Any extra money often goes toward the basics instead of enjoyment. Things like rising insurance costs, yard upkeep, and everyday expenses slowly whittle away at our bank balance. As a result, many people are asking a different question: What kind of home actually supports the life I have now?

For many, this question comes with frustration and confusion. The house may be paid off or nearly paid off, yet it still feels expensive to maintain. Money goes out every month, but the home does not feel easier to live in or more enjoyable.

There can be a sense of being stuck. The house is familiar, but it no longer brings comfort. Downsizing feels overwhelming, and staying put feels just as hard. Either choice can feel like a loss.

The Problem with Too Much House

Large homes often come with hidden costs. Unused rooms still need cleaning. Extra space still needs heating and cooling. Maintenance does not shrink just because fewer people live there.

For many, the house begins to feel less like a comfort and more like a full-time job. This is especially true for those living alone. When most of daily life happens in just a few rooms, the rest of the house can feel unnecessary and draining.

A New Definition of Aging in Place

Aging in place is no longer a single path.

Today, it is about choosing a living setup that allows people to stay independent while adjusting to changing needs. It means having options that provide privacy, support, and flexibility.

When the traditional choices no longer fit, people start looking elsewhere. People are tired of trying to fit their lives into someone else’s options.

This is where newer housing choices come into the conversation.

Housing Options More People Are Exploring

Rather than one solution, people are choosing from several paths depending on family, finances, and health. Each comes with its own pros and cons.

Accessory Dwelling Units

An accessory dwelling unit, often called an ADU, is a small home built on the same property as a larger house.

These are often built in the backyard of an adult child or other relative.

ADUs allow parents to live close to family without sharing daily space. They offer privacy, independence, and the comfort of knowing help is nearby if needed.

This is what many people refer to as a granny flat and is often part of a multi-generational home.

Co-Living

Co living arrangements allow individuals to share a home while maintaining private bedrooms or living areas.

Think of the Golden Girls. They were in a co-living setup. Costs are shared, and so is daily connection. For some, this reduces isolation and makes housing more affordable without sacrificing independence.

Tiny Homes

Tiny homes are smaller, purpose built houses designed for simpler living. They typically have lower monthly costs and require less upkeep. For people living alone, tiny homes often feel easier to manage and more aligned with daily routines.

Tiny Home Communities

Tiny home communities combine private living spaces with shared outdoor areas or amenities. These communities are designed to encourage connection while still offering personal space.

For many, this setup provides a balance of independence and community support. There are even some all-female communities available.

Why These Options Matter Later in Life

What connects all of these choices is flexibility. They allow people to reduce financial pressure, simplify daily routines and make it easier to live near family or supportive communities.

Most importantly, they give people more control over how and where they age.

There Is No One Right Choice

Aging in place looks different for everyone. What works for one person may not work for another. Needs can change over time, and that is normal.

The goal is not to find a perfect solution. It is to understand the options and choose what feels right for this season of life.

Taking the Next Step

Learning about these housing choices does not require making a decision right away. Exploring options, asking questions, and understanding how others are approaching aging in place can help make future choices feel less overwhelming.

Today, aging in place is about more than staying in one house. It is about choosing a life that still feels manageable and your own.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What part of your home feels supportive right now, and what part feels like it no longer fits this season of life? If you were to rethink aging in place today, what would matter most to you? Cost, independence, being near family, or something else? Which aging in place options have peaked your curiosity?

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You can be financially ready for retirement – and still feel completely unsure about whether it’s time.

Anne appeared on my Zoom screen looking tense and tired. Before we even got into the details, she said, “I feel like I’m on a ledge.”

She hasn’t decided whether or not to retire yet. She’s financially ready. She’s been thinking that if she does it, June 30 would probably make sense. Clean. Logical.

But what she brought into the conversation wasn’t logistics.

“What will I do all day?” she asked. “Will I feel lonely? What if I regret it?”

Anne wasn’t stuck on the math.

She was trying to make a big life decision.

Why This Decision Feels Harder Than We Expect

Many thoughtful, accomplished women are surprised by how difficult this decision feels – especially when the financial pieces are largely in place.

Work didn’t just provide income. It gave our days structure. It offered social connection. It created identity, status, and a built-in sense of usefulness.

So when retirement approaches, the decision isn’t just whether to stop working. It’s whether you’re ready to step away from a role that has organized much of your life.

In my work with women who are close to retirement – and women who’ve recently stepped into it – I see how unsettling this phase can be. I also recognize it from my own transition. Big life decisions often stir anxiety, self-doubt, and second-guessing, even when everything looks “fine” on paper.

My intention here is not to push you toward an answer – but to support clearer thinking as you stand near a meaningful decision.

What Psychology Tells Us About Decisions Like Retirement

Psychology is clear about one thing: decisions like retirement aren’t meant to feel simple – especially when they touch identity, time, and relationships.

When women are deciding whether to retire, they’re rarely just deciding when to stop working. They’re also thinking about who they’ll be without a familiar role, how their days will feel, and what they’re moving toward next. It’s no wonder uncertainty shows up.

What tends to help most isn’t forcing clarity. It’s slowing the process down.

People make better long-term decisions when they give themselves room to think without urgency, take their feelings seriously without feeling pressured to act on them right away, and look beyond immediate relief to how life might feel over time.

Retirement, after all, isn’t a single moment – it’s a transition. And transitions tend to go better when we allow ourselves to think in stages rather than demanding a yes-or-no answer before we’re ready.

Feeling unsure can be a good thing. It often means you’re taking the decision seriously.

A Way to Think More Clearly About Readiness

I developed A Retirement Emotional Readiness Checklist to help accomplished women slow down and notice what’s really going on beneath the surface as retirement approaches.

Each question points to an emotional signal – anxiety, depletion, longing, anticipation – not as a problem to solve, but as information worth listening to.

This isn’t about arriving at the “right” answer.

It’s about approaching the decision with more awareness and less pressure.

A Retirement Emotional Readiness Checklist

1. Can you picture a regular weekday – not just trips or special plans?

Many women can imagine the highlights of retirement, but not the long stretches in between. Those ordinary hours matter more than we expect – they’re where life can feel either quietly satisfying or oddly flat.

2. Who are you without your professional role organizing your days?

When a role you’ve held for decades begins to loosen, it’s common to wonder how you’ll feel about yourself without it – especially when that role has provided status, rhythm, and a sense of competence.

3. What will give your days some shape – without filling them by default?

Work often protected boundaries more than we realized. Without it, days can fill quickly unless we choose differently – and many women notice a subtle but real sense of drain when everything becomes optional.

4. Where will your sense of contribution come from?

Many women want to stay engaged and useful, but don’t want retirement to turn into another job. Finding the middle ground often brings a noticeable sense of relief.

5. Do you know what you’re ready to leave behind – but feel less certain about what you want to build in its place?

Leaving a draining role can feel liberating, but direction matters too. Even a loose sense of what you want to move toward can steady the transition and reduce that unsettled, floating feeling.

6. How do you feel about open, unscheduled time?

Relief and unease can coexist here. Paying attention to which feeling shows up more often can be surprisingly informative.

7. Who will you spend time with on an average week?

Social connection rarely reorganizes itself automatically after work ends – and many women are surprised by how much they miss the casual, everyday contact they once took for granted.

8. What are you hoping retirement will change for you emotionally?

Being honest about what you want to feel more – or less – of helps guide decisions with more care and compassion.

Questions like these tend to show up when someone is paying attention to what actually matters.

A Note from My Own Retirement Transition

When I retired, I was surprised by how quickly I let go of my title – and how vulnerable I felt saying the word retired out loud. I also underestimated how much social connection I’d need once work stopped organizing my days.

As part of my retirement, I began coaching women through this same transition. What I’ve learned – from my own experience and from sitting with many thoughtful women – is that clarity comes more easily when we give ourselves permission to think honestly, without rushing.

If You’d Like to Keep Thinking This Through

If this article surfaced questions you’d like to explore more deliberately, I created the Retirement Vision Starter Kit as a companion resource.

It’s a free, short, thoughtful guide you can work through at your own pace – either right on your computer or printed out if you prefer pen and paper. The questions help you explore identity, structure, and meaning without pushing you toward a decision.

 https://elainebelansky.com/free-retirement-starter-kit

Let’s Have a Conversation:

If you’re standing near this decision – or already on the other side of it – I’d love to hear from you.

When you think about retirement, what feels most uncertain right now: how your days will feel, your sense of purpose, or your sense of connection?

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