3 Things To Know About Independent Living Communities
by Tony Grant
As you age, there may come a point when your own home has become a burden and you want to move to a community with other seniors who have the same interests as you. One great option is to move to an independent living community, also called a retirement community. In these communities, you are still living alone in an apartment or condominium, but everyone in the community is around the same age. The communities often offer special classes and features for seniors, including transportation, arts and crafts, movie nights, education classes, and fitness classes. Here is more information about independent living communities.
What Independent Living Communities Offer
Every independent living community is different in what they offer, and this is often what can help you decide what community to choose. They like to cater to their residents by offering services, features, activities, and amenities they believe you would be interested in. Some communities will offer recreational activities, like a weekly knitting club, book club, computer room, and game room. Others have fitness centers or walking groups, along with specialty classes like yoga or aerobics. Many communities offer transportation services for residents who don't drive, bringing you to doctor's appointments and outings like local restaurants and shopping malls. They also frequently provide services like preparing meals and doing your laundry, though you can also opt to do these things yourself.
Types of Facilities
When you begin looking at different independent living facilities in your area, you will notice that there are many different types of facilities. They vary in what features they offer, whether or not they include nursing or medical care, and how much they cost to live in. Here are just a few different types of facilities you might come across:
Senior apartments – The first type of independent living community is an apartment community with all senior apartments. It will be similar to a typical apartment building, except it is limited to seniors above a certain age. They often include extra features like meals and transportation services.
Retirement communities – Retirement communities are another way to live independently, but with others your age. These are for seniors who have retired and would rather socialize and live with other people who are of retirement age. They are similar to senior apartments, though many retirement communities offer extra options like townhouses, mobile homes, and even single family homes. They tend to be larger communities than the senior apartment buildings.
Continued care community – A continuing care community is a type of retirement community that also offers in-home nursing care. Not all senior communities offer this, so you will need to look specifically for independent care that includes basic medical services.
Reasons to Consider Moving to Independent Living
You might be wondering why you should move to an independent living community if you can still take care of yourself. While you may be able to cook your own meals, clean your home, and do laundry on your own, it can be difficult taking care of an entire house on your own. You might have a flight of stairs you have to go up and down, a yard that needs maintaining, and extra bedrooms and bathrooms you aren't using. This is extra space you are being expected to clean and maintain during the years when you want to relax. It is much easier taking care of a small apartment or townhouse and making it a home, without this extra burden.
To learn more about independent living, visit Mayfair Village Retirement Community.
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About Me
When you're facing putting your loved one into a nursing home or assisted living facility, you want to make the best possible choice for your loved one. That can be difficult when you don't know much about the nursing homes in your area, or about what you should be looking for in a nursing home to begin with. It's a good idea to tour as many facilities in your area as possible to get an idea of which ones you like, but you still need to know what the signs of a good or bad nursing home are. I used to work as a kitchen assistant in long term care facilities, and I learned a lot about them during that time. I started this blog to share some of my insights into what makes a nursing home great, and how to spot problems in a facility that you're considering.