You may be retired or approaching retirement age, which makes you wonder if you should move to a safer, quieter, and more casual living environment. In this case, moving to a retirement community may be the best way to reinvent retirement with amenities, recreational activities, social activities, and most importantly health care assistance for those in need.
In addition, it allows you to save on living expenses by living in smaller apartment houses or larger shared communal spaces. Another thing is that you don’t have to be in poor health to move to such a community. After retirement, you can move there and get the care you need in that place as you age.
But before you decide to move to a retirement community, you need to understand the nature of the lifestyle you’re going to live in such a place. To that end, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of living in a retirement community.
Table of Contents
Pros of living in a retirement community
Living expenses could be less: As we get older, it becomes increasingly difficult to live in a large house with so much unwanted space and chores. So, moving to a retirement community can help you to scale down to a smaller home or apartment with communal space to share with your neighbors. In addition, there are many living arrangement options in the community that can be customized to your liking. As a result, you can reduce the cost of living while making your life easy and comfortable.
No household chores: When living in a retirement community, you can save a lot of time because you don’t have to spend time cleaning and maintaining your home and yard. The cleaning service in the retirement community will do the housework for you. This gives you more time to engage with your interests, hobbies, and social activities.
Onsite medical care help: We will all come to a certain point in our lives where we need medical care or help with 24-hour assistance. In this case, the retirement community is the best place to live, and you will have access to on-site medical help and care as well as all the resources and amenities.
Active social interactions: Most often, in retirement communities such as Trilogy in Summerlin, there are many recreational and social events, including concerts, wine tastings, cultural offerings, and other fun activities. This will give you the opportunity to socially interact with other adults of your age while relaxing your body and mind.
Cons of living in a retirement community
Expensive: The cost of living in a retirement community may be higher than living in your own house. But much of this depends on the location, the type of housing, and the amenities offered by the community. For example, if you need medical care or 24-hour assistance, the cost of living in a retirement community will be higher. In addition, moving to a retirement community will cost you fees of upfront, monthly, or both. Therefore, it is important to consider that the cost of living in a retirement community will be more expensive or less expensive than living in your own home or any other living arrangement.
Less independence: Not all people are the same, and some may prefer to be more independent in a calm, quiet environment, while others prefer to live in a more community environment, socializing with others on a regular basis. If you fall into the first category, then retirement communities will not be ideal. But if you’re the kind of person who likes to socialize with people, then the retirement community will up to your ally.
No kids around: In retirement communities, you can only socialize with people of a certain age, usually over 50 years old. There are no young families or children in this community. So, if you’re used to be around kids and young people, then living in a community like this can be boring for you. You might miss seeing kids playing and running around.
However, even if you decide to move to a retirement community after considering all these pros and cons, still you have to consider certain things before actually moving to such a community.
How to find the right retirement community?
Once you or your loved ones decide to move to a retirement community, the next big question is “Which retirement community best suits the needs of you or your loved one?” The three basic criteria that contribute to making such a big decision are (1) distance from family and friends, (2) services and amenities, and (3) the cost of the community. If the home you choose meets these criteria, then you have to delve deeper into them to determine which one is best for you. Here are some ways to evaluate your choice of residence.
- Your current and future health needs play an important role in choosing a retirement community. Because not all communities provide medical assistance or ongoing care to those in need.
- Before deciding to move to a retirement community, you must consider your current and future financial situation. Some communities may be more expensive for you.
- Ask who is responsible for the community, as knowing the management level will help you understand the place.
- Search and find the community’s track record to see if there are any unusual events or activities. You can visit CARF.org to find a list of certified communities by state.
- Review the current and previous financial status of the community.
- Tour the neighborhood and chat with residents to get more familiar with the place.
- Find out what kinds of recreational and social activities are available for you to engage in?
After all this, the bottom line is that some of you may enjoy living in a retirement community and some of you may not. It really depends on your lifestyle, financial stability, health conditions, required amenities, and likes and dislikes. So, you must think about them before deciding to move into a retirement community.