Synopsis

This research story reflects on the situated experiences, attitudes and opinions of one UK ‘baby boomer’ couple; referred to here as Matthew and Eileen, or the Cees. The informants are also my parents. In some respects, therefore, this is an autobiographical or ‘close’ account, since we once shared a home context, as well as formative life experiences. We have also sustained positive relationships into adult life. Furthermore, the dialogues that are examined here refer to family relations, including my siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, as well as family friends. While the research draws upon a deep and part situated relationship with the informants, the ‘story’ focuses on two research-framed events: a semi-structured interview in the informants’ home, and a guided tour or walking interview conducted in a local Pink & Knight development. The resulting data – clean verbatim transcript and field notes – were cross-examined in relation to a desktop contextual review and literature review undertaken at the time. In these terms, the individual story of my parents and their retirement lifestyle is situated within a wider cultural and theoretical context. The story recounts two recent property purchases, in Northern Ireland and England, and reflects on the couple’s preparedness for retirement living over the longer term. The Cees do not envisage moving for at least another ten years, and – not untypically – the idea of moving into retirement housing has not featured in their thinking.

Methods

The interview took place on 27 December 2014, following a busy Christmas spent in the Cees’ new Sussex home; a festive period that was considered to have ‘put the house to the test’ by three generations of family members. The interview was conducted in the kitchen-diner, and while conversational in nature, was structured around six questions:

I also referred to visual material including promotional literature, architectural drawings and computer-generated images relating to Pink & Knight’s Avon Villa, as well as my photographs of the same. These were used to elicit first impressions and feedback on a retirement-living product and setting that were unfamiliar to the Cees.