Ageing: I want to age in place with robots but co-living may be okay too

I want to age in place with robots but co-living may be okay too

For subscribers 

https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/i-want-to-age-in-place-with-robots-but-co-living-may-be-okay-too

2026-03-15

Denise Chong 

Senior Executive Sub-Editor

The Straits Times 

=====

At 3am, it felt as if someone was drilling into my skull, then thumping my head on a table with gusto to make my liquefied brain slosh around. But the noise actually came from a cheerful housemate blending a smoothie – stopping to thump the blender on a counter to make the ingredients settle, then blending it again while shaking the appliance – repeating this almost nightly.

It was a dark cocoa and honeyed berry smoothie, and I knew this because bits of the ingredients were left smeared on the kitchen counter and floor. Welcome to co-living, where you have to take the bitter with the sweet.

I was rudely awakened to this reality when I tried out co-living – accommodation that blended private rooms with common areas like kitchens – for a few months, as I waited for my home renovation to be completed.

As a not-so-sociable person, I had considered renting a whole shoebox apartment for myself. This is to keep the status quo where my current home is my castle, with a metaphorical moat and arrows at the ready to keep people out.

However, as I eyed a range of short-term renting choices such as soulless studio or serviced apartments, I was tempted by the unusual chance to experience what it was like to stay for months in an architecturally charming property that was more expansive and, yes, more expensive. But I could make it happen in a more financially responsible way by sharing it with several housemates.

Baby steps to future aged co-living

It was also an unusual chance to take baby steps towards a possible future as a super elderly person co-living with younger residents.

I would love to continue living by myself forever, with only robots gliding silently to help me and a smart home catering to my every whim even as, at some decrepit point of my life, I would need help in my daily activities.

But I may need a few billion dollars more than I have to completely fulfil my electric dreams.

Hiring humans to help me to the same degree will rack up scary bills too.

So, co-living may be a more financially prudent way to age in place. Instead of being admitted into institutional care, I could share the cost of rental, basic healthcare and more with other tenants, who don’t even necessarily have to be senior citizens.

In Singapore, intergenerational co-living is emerging as a type of private housing option for the elderly, according to media reports.

Commune@Henderson, which officially opened in 2025, is the first intergenerational co-living concept introduced by the Singapore Land Authority that houses seniors and younger people. The facility supports seniors who prefer an independent living environment with lifestyle amenities, while also encouraging social engagement.

With the help of the property’s facilitators, who organise regular social mixers, young people and seniors are encouraged to mingle with one another instead of staying within their own circles.

The co-living chain I rented a room from organised social events for the tenants too. For example, one could take a dish from your home country to a cultural evening and talk about it while enjoying the food and music from around the world.

Well, others could do so. Not me.

Baby steps, remember? I wouldn’t have considered it previously, but at that time, I took a step towards the social side of co-living just by even considering whether to go for it. Then, true to my nature, I took big steps back towards my private room.

That’s a good thing about co-living for a not-so-sociable person: You can enjoy the vibe and option of social events, but you can always wave a friendly hello and goodbye, and retreat to your room.

More On This Topic

Singapore crosses the super-aged threshold in 2026. Can its health system cope?

They’re 100 and full of life: Super seniors defy expectations at S’pore’s active ageing centres

It made me feel hopeful that living in an elderly co-living place in the future would not be as stressful as I feared it could be, with obligatory mingling.

It made me feel hopeful that I would not stubbornly cling to living by myself as a future super-aged senior citizen, declining the community’s help despite really needing it.

Making decisions about how you are going to live for many years as a senior citizen is going to matter to more and more of us in Singapore.

In 2026, the country is projected to become a super-aged society, where at least 21 per cent of the population is aged 65 and above. By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will likely be a senior.

Intergenerational co-living is just one of the rising number of housing models that Singapore is exploring to help seniors age gracefully within the community.

Operators had started a few options for seniors, ranging from living in one’s home to staying in a nursing home, The Straits Times reported.

Community Care Apartments combine senior-friendly features with integrated care and social services. “Retirement kampungs” like Kampung Admiralty combine public housing for seniors with healthcare, wellness and eldercare facilities, alongside childcare centres to encourage interaction with pre-schoolers.

Taking the bitter with the sweet

So what are the bad things about co-living?

Remember the nightly blender noise at 3am?

I never did make a complaint about it – yes, the co-living chain had rules for tenants to abide by, like quiet hours, and would have stepped in when needed. But I worked the late shift and was likely still up watching movies when the blending and thumping happened. I also wasn’t planning to rent the room for a long time.

Ditto for when big dinner parties stretched on into the wee hours.

The housemates were usually invited to join the parties, but I just enjoyed listening to spirited conversations and the clink of wine glasses going on all night.

I tolerated the smeared ingredients and the sink filling up with dirty dishes because regular cleaning of the common areas came with the lease.

If future aged co-living came with such services, ground rules and a referee for similar issues, it may not be such a bad thing.

I must confess though that I had at the same time started fitting my renovated home with a whole lot of smart tools, from switches to curtains. The smart apps could be the rudimentary beginnings of – who knows – a future home that almost seems sentient.

You know what, I am still clinging to my electric dreams of co-living with only robot helpers.

More On This Topic

Ageing in place: Inter-generational co-living spaces take root in Singapore

Co-living with youth will help seniors feel less lonely and more connected: The Assembly Place CEO

Denise Chong is senior executive sub-editor at The Straits Times. She also writes opinion pieces.