For many people, living in a multigenerational household makes a lot of sense. Not only can it be beneficial for everyone from a financial standpoint, but if you have a loved one that would otherwise have to be in an assisted living facility, living with family members that are younger and can help take care of them can be the solution they need.
However, living with family can also be difficult. But luckily, there are things that you can do to help make these issues a little bit easier to deal with.
To help you with this, here are three tips for living in a multigenerational household.
Practice Being Flexible And Forgiving
When people reach adulthood, they often get pretty set in their ways. So if you’re trying to integrate your adult life with the adult life of another family member and their own family, it can be hard to handle all of the potential interpersonal problems.
A few things that you can do to help make this easier on everyone is to come into the situation committed to being as flexible and forgiving as you can. When you can give those you’re living with the benefit of the doubt on things that might rub you the wrong way or be bothersome, you may find that it’s a lot easier for you to get over those things and extend grace and forgiveness for issues the ordinarily might really irk you.
Set Expectations Early And Revisit Them Often
Once you and another generation of your family have decided that you’re going to be living in a home together, you should sit down and discuss what expectations there are on both sides. This way, you can try to nip any issues in the bud before they become problems that spiral out of control.
There are all kinds of expectations that you or other family members could have about how the house is run, who’s responsible for what, and what roles everyone is to play as you live together. As long as everyone is in agreement about things and can accept the expectations of the other side, things should go relatively smoothly.
Have Areas To Gather And Be Alone
The way that you’re going to want to set up a multigenerational home will be similar yet different from how you might have a home that only your family lives in. For one thing, you might need a lot more storage space for everyone’s belongings, which could necessitate using areas like your garage more efficiently.
While all homes can benefit from having spaces where people can be alone while also spending time with each other, this becomes even more important when you live in a multigenerational home. Having spaces where you can gather together and share one another’s company is vital for maintaining your relationships with one another and ensuring that you still are able to appreciate spending time together even while living with each other.
If you have plans to start living in a multigenerational home soon with some of your family members, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you and everyone else involved experience this in a successful way.