As a widow I can't afford to live alone, pay for a house, car payments, eat and feed my pets and still have some money left over. I don't want to live from paycheck to paycheck and getting further into the hole. Living alone is also very lonely. You need interaction with other people.
What is the answer? The answer is "hey things are getting more expensive"
So you have to find something that works for you......
My option is living with other people, all people pulling together for a better life than we could have living on our own. Now I don't want that old roommate situation that failed during the '70's, living with someone to share living expenses and have nothing in common. You have a lot more barriers than you had in the '70's and you were in your '20's then. As we get older we get a little more set in our ways.
The ideal living situation is to find people that are a lot like yourself, which really mean someone that you can get along with and accept you as you are and vice-versa of course.
There are a lot of obstacles to overcome, learn each others temprement, moods and strange habits.