During retirement, you have complete freedom, are able to spend more time with friends, and can finally devote more time to completing that bucket list. But still, reality often gets in the way of these things, even during your retirement years. You are definitely not alone in this. Many seniors find out that retirement isn’t as fulfilling as they thought it would be.
The missing ingredient to spice up your retirement might just be a vibrant senior living community. Keep reading….
1. Low Maintenance Lifestyle
The necessary evils of grocery shopping, laundry, paying bills, and lawncare never seem to go away even during retirement. Plus, they get more and more challenging to manage as time goes by. These responsibilities can interfere with the long-term goals and plans you had set for yourself, like traveling or going on road trips.
But if you were living in a senior living community, these dreams could quickly become a reality. That’s because you’ll be able to live a low-maintenance lifestyle, which will enable you to pursue your dreams.
2. Consolidate Your Living Expenses
One thing that doesn’t go away even in retirement is bills. Aren’t you tired of seeing that stack of bills in your mailbox every month?
Plus, do you have any idea how much all of these things are really costing you every month? From property taxes, home repairs, and home insurance, you would do well to check how much a senior living community might cost you vs your current living costs.
A senior living community can definitely make this aspect of your life simpler by consolidating all of your expenses (such as food, rent, entertainment, and utilities) into one simple monthly lease payment.
3. Live the Good Life
Have you always wanted to own your own swimming pool? How about a golf course or a poker table?
A senior living community that’s tailored to upscale living can make these wishes come true for you. These things are out of reach for many independent homeowners. In senior living, you’ll find amenities that you couldn’t even dream of owning in your own home.
Here’s just a tiny sample of what you might find:
- Exercise gym equipment
- Walking and jogging paths
- Jacuzzis
- Spas
- Massage Centers
- Swimming pool (indoor and outdoor)
- Tennis Courts
- Theater Rooms
- Putting Greens
- Billiards
- Darts
4. Good Company and Lots of Fun
Making new friends is never easy, but in retirement, it can become even more daunting. Thankfully, a senior living community can fill in the gaps in your social life quite nicely. Your empty schedule will quickly become filled with fun activities and newfound friends.
Here are some of the activities that you may find:
- Meetups over coffee
- Book clubs
- Local volunteer organizations
- Happy hours
- Morning brunches
- Sports lounges featuring national games
- Cards clubs
5. Stay in Shape
Keeping active as you get older is essential for many different reasons. One of those reasons is that regular physical activity will help you prevent possible falls or other injuries. However, self-motivation is often the thing that’s missing for people (not just seniors). A senior living community can be just the thing to spark that motivation inside of you. Most senior living facilities offer some outdoor activities and fitness classes to help keep residents more active.
Do any of these appeal to you?
- Yoga classes
- Fitness classes tailored to your age group
- Gyms with free-lifting weights
- Golf outings
- Local hiking
- Swimming
- Water Aerobics
6. Eat Healthily and Happily
Oftentimes it’s too troublesome to cook nutritious meals every day. A senior living community can help keep you on the right track with daily meals that will nourish your body and satisfy your soul.
7. Travel, Learn and Grow
Getting older doesn’t mean that fun and exploration must come to an end. These are things that we continue to want even as we grow older. A senior living community can help in this goal by providing you with an easy excuse to go outside your front door and experience the world.
Here are some possible planned travel events and other excursions:
- Shopping days
- On-site gardening programs
- Visits to theaters, museums, and art galleries
- Travel events within and outside the US
- College studies
8. Assistance With Personal Activities
As we get older, certain daily activities become much harder than they used to be. It’s nothing to be ashamed about, but that’s just the way it is.
Whether you need housekeeping services or assistance with personal hygiene now or are aware that you’ll need these in the future, a senior living community has got you covered. You’ll be living with the peace of mind of knowing that when the time comes, you’ll be well taken care of.
9. Someone is Always There for You
You might not be in the position of needing help with your personal care yet, but accidents can still happen at any time.
Household accidents and falls are an unfortunate possibility that you must always consider, especially if you live alone. If you live alone and don’t get the help you need right away, the consequences can be devastating.
Thankfully, there is always someone there to help in a senior living community if you are involved in any accidents. Also, senior living facilities are built with safety and accessibility in mind, which reduces the chances of getting into any accidents, to begin with.
10. Transportation
Driving is also something that can seem to get harder and harder as you get older. Not only does it take more energy out of you the older you get, but the road conditions themselves are constantly changing (and not always for the better). Between new roads, increasing amounts of traffic, and inconsiderate drivers who are always in a hurry, the act of driving can begin to seem more and more like a chore.
A senior living community will handle transportation for you in most areas. From shopping to scheduled events and activities – a good senior living community will have many outings planned to keep their seniors active in their local community.
This doesn’t mean that you need to give up independent driving altogether – you can still go driving around whenever you feel like it. But when you don’t feel like making an effort to go to the grocery store, you can let another person handle it.
