Reply #75: I think we might see a return to extended families living together [View All]

[ninkasi]

In our family, for instance, there have been many instances where one member was a little down on their luck, or had lost a job, and had to live with relatives for awhile. No member of our family would ever be homeless. My daughter and son-in-law just assume that if I were widowed, I would come live with them, even if I could afford to live on my own.

I also have two nieces who have said I would be welcome with them. I have a dear cousin who says she'll have to work til she drops dead, but if her husband passed away, she knows she would always have a home with us. There is no question of her having no place to live.

Maybe some families don't get along to the same degree, but in our family, most of us have few friends who are NOT family, to one degree or another. They might be 2nd or 3rd cousins, but because we're close, we really have never had as much time to form many other friendships, because family get-togethers keep us pretty busy.

I know this isn't a solution for everybody, but since society is changing, the family structure which was common before might become more common again. I'm retired, and know that if I were alone, I would be welcome with any of my children; there are, in some cases, mutual benefits of couples with school age children having an aunt or grandmother live in, and being able to save on the costs of child care. Certainly this wouldn't always work out, but sometimes it could, and might be a way to mitigate some of the financial devastation the Republicans have inflicted on average Americans.