Could be in your future, especially if an aging parent or infirmed loved one doesn’t want to go to a nursing home, and you can’t afford one of those nice assisted-living facilities.

The “Granny Pod” is actually called the MEDCottage – a mini-mobile home that resembles a small cottage, sits in your backyard hooked up to your home’s water and electricity, and rents for about $2,000 per month. Inside, it resembles a nice hotel suite, complete with kitchen, bathroom, security cameras, safety lighting, and monitoring systems that let you check on the resident’s temperature, heart rate and whether he or she is taking required medications.

The pods, which go on the market early next year, may well catch on with those who don’t want to live in the homes of their grown children and be a burden on them, yet have an improved quality of life by having family nearby. When someone wishes to retain a level of independence but recognizes it is no longer wise for them to live alone, a MEDCottage could be just what the doctor orders.