When Should You Move To A Retirement Community?

While many people always wait for a crisis to occur before making the move, it’s often advisable to plan ahead of time and move before something bad happens.

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Deciding on when to move into a retirement community is a very complicated decision. While many people always wait for a crisis to occur before making the move, it’s often advisable to plan ahead of time and move before something bad happens.

Moving into a retirement home is, unquestionably, a very big decision that requires lots of careful thought and, of course, planning. If you’ve been considering moving into a retirement community, you’re perhaps wondering the best time to make the move. Honestly speaking, age isn’t the only factor to consider when making this decision. The right time to move into a retirement home generally depends on the individual. You shouldn’t, however, wait until a crisis happens to decide to move to a retirement community.

When should you move to a retirement community? Many people will tell you that the right time to move to a retirement home is when you’re ready to surrender the burdens of everyday life. You should move when you’re ready to simplify life’s hectic must-dos. In essence, the simple answer is there’s no perfect time to move to a retirement community. Well, this is a very personal decision that suits different people at different stages of their life.

Here are some of the things to consider before deciding if it’s time to move to senior community living.

Table of Contents

There’s No Right Age

There comes a time in your life when moving to a retirement community may be beneficial to you and your loved ones. While most people become eligible for senior community living at the age of 55, there’s no right age to move into a retirement community. As such, the right time to move into a retirement home is when you start feeling the burden that comes with living on your own and maintaining the daily household chores such as cooking and showering.

Again, there are a lot of retirement communities that accommodate various levels of independence. This means that you can adopt the retirement community lifestyle even if you’re a younger senior who wishes to live in a supportive and socially appropriate retirement community. While retirement communities typically appeal to seniors in their mid-to-late 70s, you can still move to a retirement community if you’re a younger senior citizen looking to embrace the freedom of having your daily chores handled by caring support.

If You Need Close Support

Accidents can become a common occurrence as one gets older and daily activities such as cooking and showering can turn into medical emergencies. Seniors are also prone to taking bad falls and breaking bones and these can be serious situations, especially if they cannot seek out immediate medical attention or make emergency phone calls. Such scenarios are clear indications that it might be the best time to move to a retirement community.

If You Have Slow Recovery Times

When a serious incident happens to a senior, recovering fast is usually a good sign that he/she is still in good shape to handle life on his/her own. But if the recovery time becomes slow, this can be a great cause of concern and could be an indication that it’s time to move to a retirement community.

If You are No Longer in a Stable State of Emotion

The emotional and mental state of a senior is of great importance as living alone can be quite challenging. When a senior faces health issues, loses a spouse or feels lonely, anxiety and depression can set in. This is a perfect time to move into the retirement home. Moving into a retirement community brings together individuals facing almost similar situations and can be a great place for new friendships to blossom.

If You Cannot Carry Out Simple House Chores

There’s arguably no bigger indication that it could be the right time to move into a retirement community than when a senior can no longer perform simple house chores such as keeping the house in order. For example, if the home is in disarray, full of dirty dishes, and the bathroom hasn’t been cleaned for months or weeks, this could be an indication that it’s the right time to move to a retirement community.

If You Can No Longer Maintain Friendships

Friendship is an important part of life and is an indication that one’s life is thriving. While most of us rely on local clubs and church communities to remain socially active and stimulated, it can be a bad sign if a senior can no longer maintain a friendship. For instance, if a senior is no longer interested in having weekly luncheons with friends and relatives, it can be a real cause of concern. At this point, it could be the right time to consider a retirement community.

When there is no one to Look after the senior

Having family members, caregivers, loved ones or even neighbors around is significant to seniors. However, many people are very busy with their life hassles that they may not have time to take care of the seniors. In such situations, the viable option can be a retirement community. In a retirement community, the seniors will get round the clock care, something that may be lacking back at home.

Inability to Manage Finances

To many seniors, managing their financial affairs can be overwhelming. They’ll have piles and piles of important unopened mails, unpaid bills, and inability to take care of their financial affairs. In such a situation, it only makes sense to turn to a retirement community.

Why Moving to a Retirement Community Earlier is better

Here are a couple of reasons why you should consider moving to a retirement community earlier.

Safety and Security

Living alone can make seniors vulnerable to safety and security threats. When living alone, seniors are more likely to be targeted by burglars and may face other security and safety mishaps. This is far from the situation in a retirement community where security and emergency response is provided to keep the seniors safe at all times. Additionally, almost all retirement communities provide emergency call buttons services to ensure that seniors are assisted around the clock.

Improved Health and Wellness

There comes a time when a senior will find it quite challenging to manage his/her health and wellness. As such, moving to a retirement home is a perfect way to access a wide array of amenities and benefits that can improve their health and wellness. From nutritious dishes to physical exercises and treatment of diseases, retirement communities will improve your health and wellness.

You can Socialize

One of the main benefits of moving to a retirement community is the opportunity to socialize and have fun with fellow residents. Retirement communities provide various daily activities such as gardening, games, movie nights, book clubs and many more. These activities are a perfect way to socialize, which is essential in boosting their emotional and mental health.

Bottom Line

Truth be told, deciding on the right time to move to a retirement home is not an easy decision. In most cases, there are no one-size-fits-all and the right time to move to a retirement community can vary depending on an individual’s situation and needs. However, it’s not advisable to delay the decision to move to a retirement community until when a crisis hits and things get critical. Move when the time is right and you’ll probably never regret it.

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