Australian experiences in living together apart over 65?
As usual for "arse end of the world experiences" - lagging years behind Europe?
Having read the article I would disagree on the selfish to the bitter end. From what I understood they are talking about two older people who form a relationship not a couple that has been married for years.
My take from the article is that the women have a measure of independence which they want to keep. Many of them probably did most of the child rearing and may have already cared for a partner. They know the hard work that goes into that, it also depends on their own health status, most women end up with osteoporosis which would pretty much rule out caring for a partner as a simple fall could end up in broken bones which could put them into a nursing home.
A group of 25 is also not a large enough sample to make statistical studies from.
The article was mainly about the legal ramifications of two older people being in a relationship but choosing to live separately for financial or other reasons but also having to deal with end of life issues and complex family issues that there are no laws to cover.
The godbothers have ruled the laws of personal relationships for far too long.
I agree 25 is a pathetically small sample.
I'm not swayed by your osteoporosis argument. Men also suffer. And other afflictions. Not least of which is women claiming equality but not prepared to give it in return.
@FrayedBear I would suggest that saying women claim equality but are not prepared to give it speaks more to your own experiences.
As to osteoporosis this article talks about the statistics of women vs men with osteoporosis.[everydayhealth.com]
Also despite men doing more around the house women still have the burden of household chores. If you are living separate then each person is responsible for their own living space.
[nytimes.com]
Women know how exhausting physically and mentally it is to look after someone. Most men would say they would stay but I can guarantee they would get more support from family and friends than a woman would.
Point in case, I needed to have knee surgery. My brother moved into my house to look after it and my animals while I was in hospital and in rehab afterwards. People came over with food or invited him to dinner even coming to pick him up. People rang to make sure he did not need help with his shopping etc, even with clothes washing.
I came on on crutches, unable to drive. NO ONE offered anything. A neighbour watched me push a basket of washing down some steps and a path to my line then try to balance with the crutches while I picked up an item and hung it on the line.
I asked one friend if I could go shopping with her (she lived across the road) and so I would go shopping when she went shopping. That was the most amount of help and I had to ask for it. Also my brother left dirty dishes in the sink and everyone just said "Oh well he is a man he probably did not notice."
Yes I know this is a sample size of one but I am not able to find a broad scale study based on this.
So things are not yet equal and to say women are selfish to the end from this article is somewhat erroneous.
@Budgie ATM I'm not in the mood to follow your links.
As for knees, 2 years ago my crushed knee was replaced after being victim of a a hit & run motorist thirteen years previously who left me for dead in the road. Two years after the attempted killing a surgeon who had scraped it clean 6 years previously could not believe that I had not been back for a replacement 2 years prior to being smashed into.
Within 16 hours of leaving the operating table thirteen years later I was up and walking and doing full squats using only my walking stick acquired twelve years earlier and corridor rail.
They had never seen it before and after being sent to my local hospital for one night before discharge they were equally astonished.
As a result I believe that procedures for all intending patients has now changed - they have to exercise for a minimum of two months prior to the operation.
When I returned home the PAWS kennel returned my very elderly cat in poor condition vomiting green fluid, I had to have her put down several months later. I believe that she was mistreated.
The only help for myself that I had managed to effect was aged care cleaning once a week and driving to shops or doctor if necessary. The latter proved unnecessary. The bandage put on by the local hospital had been so inefficiently affixed that it filled with water when showering & so had to be replaced. I simply drove myself to have the bandage replaced at the local clinic.
I therefore have no sympathy with your story.
The article weakly if at all supports the headline.
Thank goodness it's not daily!
‘Living Apart Together’: The New Trend in the Over 60’s is the headline.