Strolls on the Presidio Promenade or nightclubs in Nolita; we all made the hard choices about where to live and build. The talk of remote work and “moving back home” faded like paper vaccine cards. We found our groove, got hitched, settled into brownstones and high‑rises. And yet a question keeps echoing from the burbs: who’s taking care of grandpa?
That’s the question millions of city‑dwellers will face this decade. And it isn’t as easy as booking a ride home. The harsh truth: no matter how high that TC (total comp) goes, finding the right caregiver for our parents is a problem bigger than money. The home front needs care and it’s time for our best minds to make that happen.
I think about Vinesh, a PhD dropout whose family immigrated when he was three. His father came on a student visa to study engineering in Kentucky. They lived the American dream: from middle class aspiration and entrepreneurship to elite education and a real retirement plan. Vinesh lived up to his parents’ ideals: hard work, dedication, service.
Then, in his thirties with a son of his own, came what no one planned for: a father with cancer, hundreds of miles away. At first, logistics didn’t matter. He flew home, met doctors, sorted insurance. The system, slowly, stubbornly, worked. His dad’s care team got him on the right treatment. Crisis averted.
But Dad wasn’t the same. And Mom had aged a decade in a few years. Vinesh wasn’t ready to give up the life he’d built in the Valley. He needed to be home. But “home” now meant two places now.
So began his journey into home care. First call: Senior Helpers, the long‑respected private provider serving thousands. The first caregiver was new to the agency but handled Dad’s care plan well: groceries, appointments, even learning to play Carrom. Then the call‑outs started. A later visit was fine. Until it wasn’t. A no‑show. Then a different caregiver every week. His calendar filled with blocked time to interview other agencies. He quickly realized: this wasn’t an exception; it was the norm.
Senior living? Mom wouldn’t hear it. Home was non‑negotiable. And so the hard choices stacked up. His dreams in one hand, his family in the other. Onward he went, in pursuit of the perfect caregiver.
This is the hidden truth today and the visible future for many more. We dreamed of big city lives and dread the nightmare of our parents with no one to care for them. At Zingage, we’re a collective of builders who know this struggle intimately. We’re building to solve it. And while we’re making progress, it’s still Day 1.
Thousands of seniors don’t have a son like Vinesh or the resources for top quality care. There is a path forward. It starts by empowering the providers dedicated to caring for our parents and by convincing the best engineers in SF and NYC to aim their talent at the home front. If that’s you, let’s build for dad in Louisville.