The Casa de Mañana retirement community has an environment unlike any other senior living community I've seen before. It included a variety of living space options, all spacious, clean, and a block away from the beach. Architecturally, the space was extremely diverse. However, the residents were predominantly white, wealthy, and highly-educated. For example, a section of the library on premise featured books written by fellow residents. The folks we met at the meet-and-greet led adventurous lives in the past and praised Casa de Mañana for the up-scale amenities, prime sea-side location, enriching classes, and opportunities for socialization.
Unfortunately, the only people of color I saw were the lower-wage service workers cleaning the facilities and working in the café. This segregation in the workforce is a trend not unique to Casa de Mañana, and is reflected throughout La Jolla, California, and the United States at large. Something about the extravagant facilities, and our past site visits to affordable housing units, amplified this disparity between the educational opportunities and work positions made available to whites, as compared to everyone else. When will our society be able to overcome the legacy of exploitation of people of color and dismantle systemic inequalities to produce ethnically-diverse communities and work places?
Deciding to live in Casa de Mañana made me think of choosing between a first class ticket and coach. A huge expense for a relatively short amount of time. Certainly one is more comfortable in first class, but how many benefits are required to justify the cost? To many residents, cost likely isn't much of a concern at all. But what else could that money go towards? If longevity and prosperity are largely attributed to relationships with others and a sense of purpose, how much of that can be bought? To what extent can you buy your quality of life?
Unfortunately, the only people of color I saw were the lower-wage service workers cleaning the facilities and working in the café. This segregation in the workforce is a trend not unique to Casa de Mañana, and is reflected throughout La Jolla, California, and the United States at large. Something about the extravagant facilities, and our past site visits to affordable housing units, amplified this disparity between the educational opportunities and work positions made available to whites, as compared to everyone else. When will our society be able to overcome the legacy of exploitation of people of color and dismantle systemic inequalities to produce ethnically-diverse communities and work places?
Deciding to live in Casa de Mañana made me think of choosing between a first class ticket and coach. A huge expense for a relatively short amount of time. Certainly one is more comfortable in first class, but how many benefits are required to justify the cost? To many residents, cost likely isn't much of a concern at all. But what else could that money go towards? If longevity and prosperity are largely attributed to relationships with others and a sense of purpose, how much of that can be bought? To what extent can you buy your quality of life?