What Are “Boommates?”

Being a boommate can be a great way to save on housing costs.

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University report indicated that in 2021,approximately 11.2 million older adults were cost-burdened, aka spending above 30 percent on housing – which is the percentage that many financial experts typically say you should ideally stay below. One way around this is to open your extra bedrooms to roommates who can help to pay a portion of your housing expenditures. Imagine having extra money coming in each month from people renting out rooms. And you can even split some basics like cable and Internet with them. It can be a great way to take the pressure off housing expenses and can come with an array of additional benefits as well.

Roommates also give you somebody to socialize with.

For some, being lonely can have a negative impact on your health. In fact, the World Health Organization has described loneliness as being as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day! Having roommates may be a great way to get some social interaction every day. You can eat meals with one another, watch movies together and read the same books and talk about them. And having a boommate can be fun!

Happy hours, game nights, someone else in the house to gossip with are just some of the perks of living with someone else. A roommate can also open you up to new experiences and introduce you to other people you might not have previously known.

Living with others is also a great way to keep tabs on one another.

Living alone and being socially isolated can be associated with a higher risk of falls or household accidents. Having another person in the home means someone else will be there to check in on you, and vice versa. You can also have another person to double check things like making sure stovetop burners are off, lights are turned off when you leave rooms and that home alarms are set at night. 

Sharing responsibilities means less chores for all.

Just like you split up bills, living with another person means you can split up chores. Instead of having to do everything yourself, you can designate some tasks to roommates. They can take out the trash, take turns walking the dog or can even try their hand at cooking a communal meal. This means less time you must be doing responsible things and more time for you to relax and do things that you enjoy.

Boommates can be friends or even strangers.

While many boomers are opening their extra bedrooms to friends, others are offering rooms to people they don’t previously know. People are finding these people an array of ways. You can ask friends of friends for referrals; through organizations you belong to like clubs or churches or through ads placed somewhere. There are even websites you can use such as HomeShare Online that help people to find compatible housemates. When you join the site, you can list your space for free or sign up to rent a room from others. The National Shared Housing Resource Center also has a comprehensive list of agencies across the United States that can help to pair people up with others who want to share housing.