You’ve spent your days tirelessly working, caring for your family and planning for the day you’d reach retirement.
Now that it’s here, what does an ideal retirement look like to you? Maybe it’s a maintenance-free lifestyle so you can relax. Maybe it’s more time to spend with loved ones and pursue your hobbies.
If you’re wondering how to pick a retirement community, keep reading for a closer look at types of senior living communities and 10 tips to choosing a retirement community that’s right for you.
Various Levels Of Care
Step one to choosing a retirement community is determining what senior living offering is the right fit for you. Here’s a breakdown of the types of senior living communities you may discover on your search:
Independent Living
In an independent living community, everything is designed so you can spend each day exactly how you want to. From maintenance-free living to luxurious amenities and features, multiple apartment floor plans, chef-prepared meals, and so much more, independent living means retiring in comfort.
Enhanced Living
For those who could benefit from personalized care but prefer an independent apartment setting, enhanced living can be a great option, too. This service is unique to Independence Village communities, and it allows residents to personalize their care with additional support services like mobility support, medication assistance, wellness and safety checks, and more.
Assisted Living
Residents and their families choose assisted living for many different reasons. Maybe they’re searching for peace of mind that their loved one is cared for, or maybe they could benefit from 24-hour support, assistance with daily activities and more. Whatever the reason, assisted living is specially designed to provide any care residents need, when and how they need it.
Memory Care
In memory care neighborhoods, specially trained employees, intentional programming, and unique amenities and features support those experiencing dementia, Alzheimer’s or other memory impairments. At Independence Village, our Director of Aging and Dementia Service develops memory care initiatives that are shared across all our communities, so we’re always up to date on the latest research and findings.
10 Tips To Choosing A Retirement Community
Now that you’ve determined your desired level of care, you can begin looking at other amenities, features and services offered at senior living communities. There’s so much to consider, and it’s common to feel overwhelmed at first or like you don’t know where to begin.
Here are 10 tips to help guide you to choosing a retirement community that’s right for you:
1. Location
Do you want to retire near your grandkids? Or stay within the community you’ve always called home? When choosing a retirement community, consider the location of the community and where you would be most comfortable.
2. Dining
Doing the dishes is often one of the household chores that seniors are most excited to rid themselves of. And with chef-prepared meals, restaurant-style dining and menus personalized to your taste, dining options at senior living communities offer many benefits to seniors.
At Independence Village communities, meals are even cooked from scratch using fresh produce from local farms. When you’re touring a senior living community, ask what kind of ingredients they use or if you can stay for dinner to try a meal.
3. Daily Opportunities For Socialization
From game nights to resident-led clubs, family events, excursions and more, many communities provide weekly activities calendars so residents can fill their retirement with events and activities that interest them. Staying active and social in your retirement has numerous health benefits, too.
4. Community Culture
When you walk through the doors of a senior living community, pay close attention to what you see. Did the employee at the front desk stop to greet you? Do you hear laughter coming from the dining room or see residents mingling in common spaces? How residents and employees interact can offer a glimpse into what life at the community is like.
At Independence Village, employees take the time to get to know residents. Extra time is even built into caregiver’s and maintenance team’s shifts so they can spend time connecting with residents throughout their days.
5. On-Site Amenities
Stop to get your hair done at the community barbershop, grab a book from the community library or bask in the sun in the courtyard. Each community will have unique amenities that help to make your retirement everything you’d hoped it would be. Make a list of what amenities are most important to you, and check that against what’s offered at communities in your area.
6. Unique Community Features
Did you know that many Independence Village communities have koi ponds, community gardens and accessible walking paths so residents can connect with nature?
It’s small features like these that make it easy to see when a community is going above and beyond to consider the needs of the residents they serve. When you’re touring a community, ask what features make them stand apart from other communities in the area.
7. Community Appearance
Many senior living communities have maintenance and housekeeping teams to maintain the community’s overall appearance. The cleanliness and upkeep of a senior living community can affect how comfortable you are making yourself at home there, so keep this in mind as you’re touring and researching communities.
8. Pet-Friendly Living
Some senior living communities offer pet-friendly senior living. This is great if you are a proud pet owner yourself, but even seniors without pets enjoy offering the occasional treats, snuggles and smiles to their furry neighbors.
9. Various Levels Of Care
When a community offers various levels of care, residents can adjust their care as their care needs change and stay at the community they call home. When you’re searching for a retirement community, think about services that may be helpful in the future in addition to what fits your needs now.
10. Cost
Many senior living communities have partnerships with local elder law attorneys and VA benefits organizations to help you navigate the costs of senior living.
Independence Village makes visualizing these costs easy with our complete cost comparison guide.
Click here to download our complete cost comparison guide
We’re Here To Help
At Independence Village, we understand that every senior is unique.
They all have unique perspectives, experiences and considerations when choosing a retirement community. That’s why we are here to guide you on your journey and help you find the community that’s right for you.
Call 1-844-403-6569 today to speak to a Community Specialist about your search for a retirement community and find out if Independence Village has what you’re looking for.
