GOLDEN GIRLS

Re: “There Goes the Neighbourhood,” [March]: I think that Peter Muggeridge missed a very positive answer at 100 Perry St. in Port Perry, Ont. The four unrelated but I think very smart “Golden Girls” did have to adhere to planning and zoning regulations but began with an old home closer to the centre of town, which had the advantage of a good-sized lot, some old features which could be incorporated but which definitely needed more than updates. Port Perry prides itself on its unique homes and historical downtown, and from all that I hear when I visit friends who live there, they are very proud of this shared home ownership example in their town. Although I live in Oshawa, as a single woman I can see many advantages of pooling resources to provide for social, family, nutritional, safety, esthetic as well as housing needs.

The four women in Port Perry have a beautiful home and wellplanned interior and exterior environment, which features an elevator, guest space/living space for future caregiver(s), infinity pool available year round, as well as very manageable monthly expenses which include food, wine, taxes, insurance, cleaning, lawn and snow as well as general maintenance. To me, it is a much better model for others to follow, and worth sharing photos and researching the process to happily provide a new way of planning for our own future. —Laurie Ball, via email