5 Key Benefits of Living in a Multigenerational Home
By HiLine Hal
It’s becoming increasingly common for adults to share living spaces with relatives, whether adult children moving in with their parents or their parents moving in with their grown kid’s families. If you’re considering a multigenerational household, read on and discover key benefits to life with loved ones in the same house.
What is Multigenerational Living?
Multigenerational homes are households that consist of two adult generations living under the same roof and come in three primary categories:
- Three Generations: the most common of multigenerational homes, it includes grandchildren, adult children, and grandparents. Also known as the “sandwich generation,” it’s a typical setup for adult children caring for their parents.
- Two Adult Generations: this style of multigenerational living is where adult children move in with their parents or vice versa.
- Grandfamilies: a living arrangement where grandparents live with their grandchildren.
A multigenerational home is sometimes less direct than parents and children or grandchildren. Many other dwellings include extended family or close relatives like aunts or uncles or in-laws. No matter how you set up your multigenerational house, there are many advantages to living surrounded by family.
Benefits to Life in Multigenerational Homes
Sharing Household Expenses
The cost of living can be challenging for many people, especially senior family members and those with children. However, everyone can save money by pitching in and sharing the cost of groceries, bills, and other home-related expenses. Also, some senior members need help to live independently. However, a retirement home or care center can be expensive. By inviting them to live in your home, you cut the cost of these facilities and save money on your own home.
Lightened Daily Life Responsibilities
Working all day and caring for home responsibilities like cleaning, cooking, and laundry can be exhausting. But with a family living together, they can lighten the chore load considerably. With more people to rely on in the household, there is less to do for everyone, more time to pursue other activities, and more can get done as all hands are on deck.
Deeper Family Relationships
Closeness and togetherness require time and being together. Living under the same roof provides this opportunity. Spending time with your parents and them with their grandchildren helps foster deeper family ties, bring new perspectives, share life wisdom, and pass on important traditions down the line. In addition, senior family members in such multigenerational living arrangements have better emotional and mental health.
Helping Senior Family Members
For people with aging parents, having them live alone with chronic conditions can be risky. By having a multigenerational home, your senior family members can live more safely with others being around in case of emergency. The other family members can also help them with their medications and get to medical appointments. Furthermore, having aging adults with younger relatives in the same home as them allows them to adapt better to newer devices and avoid a technology gap.
Living Without Loneliness
Loneliness and isolation is a problem that affects many senior citizens, and the pandemic expanded that mental health issue to all ages. Households filled with adults, children, grandchildren, and senior loved ones help to dispel depression, loneliness, and fear associated with being alone in the house. Multigenerational living also means childcare for working parents, knowing your kids are safe with their grandparents or relatives in your own home.
Multigenerational Home Built to Live Your Way
As said earlier in this article, the top issue with multigenerational living is finding a home that can fit your loved ones comfortably and everyone having access to common areas, enough bathrooms, etc. Here at HiLine Homes, we have a selection of floor plans perfect for multigenerational living for you and your family to browse through. One of our knowledgeable Home Consultants can walk you through the home-building journey to determine how to achieve your multigenerational household. Set up your free home-building consultation today.
