4

An extensive literature, both scientific and political, exists on the living space of seniors. Based on a sociological survey led via interviews in a rural town in the Vosges with a population of 2,500, this article furthers these investigations by examining how seniors see their residential future in their territory in the light of local housing options. We observe that seniors do not follow a linear residential journey despite the idea institutional representatives have of that journey. The senior population takes into account urban amenities and the local housing supply, but their residential future also takes shape through the prism of family requirements, the relationships cultivated with caregivers, and the determination to safeguard a local reputation. “Senior” housing, then, does not serve the expected function of “intermediate” residence and the services (care, local, etc.) presented as advantages for the elderly are not necessarily taken up by the inhabitants.