Mention "communal living" and the image that may spring to mind is the free-love, back-to-the-earth hippy communes of the 1960s, complete with bandanas and fringed suede vests. But communal living is once again very much part of the zeitgeist - albeit with a very different look.
Many of the current trend's most ardent proponents are older adults buying property and land together to create their own intentional retirement communities with good friends. Their reasons for banding together to face their later years surrounded by the companionship and care of friends rather than family are driven by expediency and a desire for mutual support, seasoned by a large pinch of - often painful - reality.
"The fact is, you can't always rely on relatives - even your own children - for care," acknowledges culture critic Karen Tongson, professor and chair of gender and sexuality studies.
What was once the family norm - mom, dad and kids under one roof - has become the exception in America.
In place of the traditional nuclear family, new definitions of kinship are flourishing - close-knit households bound by love and friendship that focus on shared responsibility, connection and mutual support.
