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The housing situation and residential strategies of older people in France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2008

CATHERINE BONVALET  and
JIM OGG
CATHERINE BONVALET*
Affiliation:
Institut National d'Études Démographiques, Paris.
JIM OGG
Affiliation:
The Young Foundation, London.
*
Address for correspondence: Catherine Bonvalet, Institut National d'Études Démographiques, 133, boulevard Davout, 75980 Paris, France. E-mail: bonvalet@ined.fr
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Abstract

During the later 20th century, France experienced a dramatic turn around in the quality of its housing. The current cohort of older people witnessed and lived through the transformation. Most people aged over 50 years in France are homeowners and almost one-in-four own a second home. Although the oldest age groups are much less residentially mobile than younger people, home moves are more likely around the age of retirement or widowhood. In recent years, new forms of residential mobility in later life have been emerging. These include a weakening of the commonly observed pattern of a permanent drift away from cities and towns towards areas of childhood origin or family connections. One current trend suggests a preference for preserving residential links with areas of relatively high population density and good access to amenities, coupled with being able to spend time elsewhere, whether in second homes, in children's and grandchildren's homes, or elsewhere. The arrival of the post-1945 baby-boom cohort at retirement has begun, and this may increase the current level of residential mobility and lead to more diverse types, although the change will depend on the development of the housing market as well as residential preferences in old age.

Keywords

FranceParishousing conditionslongevityresidential mobilityresidential strategiessecond homesbaby-boom cohort
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 28 , Issue 6 , June 2008 , pp. 753 - 777
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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