Know What to Look for in a Retirement Community
Living in a retirement community has many advantages and can be summarized into four basic components that will surely let you enjoy your twilight years. Convenience, safety, active social life, and independence are ensured when you enroll in a retirement community.
Compared to when you are living in your home, a big task of maintaining your home is removed from your shoulders. You can also access various forms of amenities and have the opportunity of meeting new friends in a secure environment where your health status is a primary concern. And most of all, you can live an independent life, as you wish and if you can.
Understandably, you may not be keen on the idea at first. Generally, that is the situation before a senior move to a retirement community. But once you do, you will surely not regret your decision to move at last to a community where convenience, safety, active social life, and independence are ensured. But with the many retirement communities to choose from, it may be challenging to differentiate the best from the next in line. Here are some things that you should look for in a retirement community:
Type
There are three types of retirement communities. You should know if you belong to the first type, which is independent living. In this community, you have a greater degree of independence because your condition allows you so. The second type is assisted living, which means that you must have some handicaps in the performance of your activities of daily living.
The third type is memory care, which is specially built for Alzheimer’s disease patients and other related conditions.
Cost
The cost is very important when deciding on a retirement community. Even if you want the best facility but you do not have the budget, you may only enroll in other facilities where your budget fits. But it does not mean that the more expensive a retirement community is that it is suited for everybody. We have our own individual preferences. What may be more important is you are getting the real value for your money.
Rules and Guidelines
You should never enroll in a retirement community without reading the rules and guidelines first. Some facilities can sometimes forget that their rules are interfering with one’s independence, which is contradictory to their purpose. It is always important to know the guidelines on visiting hours, parking, transportation, leisure, and pets. Without reading the guidelines, you may be up for some misunderstandings with the administration of the facility sometime soon.
Health Care Provision
What are the health care services and programs that are available in the facility? This is important as a senior. You might have some ailments. You should know if there are reputable hospitals or doctors nearby. If an emergency happens, is there a staffed ambulance that will rush you to the hospital?
Socialization Activities
One of the aspects that you should also look into is the different socialization activities that are held in the community. Retirement communities usually have a set of activities that seniors are encouraged to attend. These are crafted by the facility’s activity director to enhance camaraderie among seniors in the community. You should also consider recreational activities nearby.
Food and Dining
Do you know that in a survey conducted among enrollees and caregivers of retirement communities that food is always graded the lowest? Yes, the survey included the friendliness of staff, activities, environment, facilities, and food. Yes. Food is almost always the issue, so you should see the usual menu if it fits your taste. Otherwise, there should be restaurants nearby.
Financial Service
One of the common problems besetting seniors is their lack of full understanding of their finances. If a retirement community has a financial advisor, that will be of great help to the senior. He will explain about insurances, mortgages, and even probable investments. You can ask almost anything and be cleared of doubts about things about your resources if a retirement community has financial services for seniors.
When comparing things, there is always what we call the “X” factor that may sway our decision to something else that may actually fall short of the criteria that we set. To avoid being swayed by something that does not justify our decision, you should read as many reviews as possible or visit as many retirement communities to have a first-hand experience before zeroing in on one. You will never regret your decision after considering all these factors. That’s for sure.