Cost and community are the principal benefits of co-living

Co-living has a number of clear advantages as a solution for elderly living as elderly care specialist Korian’s group chief real estate and development officer Frederic Durousseau explained.

He said that while nursing homes are tailored to people with the greatest need and who are no longer independent, co-living facilities enable the elderly to retain a higher degree of independence.

“You can live in a in a smaller house of eight to twelve people where you have your private space – a private room, private bathroom, but you share a dining room, a kitchen and living room and you lso share activities.”

He said co-living helps people to maintain good social relationships, and it is less expensive than a nursing home. In France, co-living costs about €1 700 per month, per resident, while a private nursing home will cost €3 000 per month on average. Even a public nursing home will cost €2,000 per month.

“The ingredients of why it is cheaper include that we focus on rural areas or peri-urban areas, so the land is cheap, the land is available, the construction costs are also cheaper so, at the end of the day, the building costs less even if it is a high HEQ Norm building with all the comfort that you might expect in other facilities as well.”

The cost and size of the facilities also means that they can be developed in a small town or village with a population of 1,000 to 3,000 whereas a nursing home would normally be in a town with a population of 10,000 to 15,000.

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