Category Archives: Senior Housing Options and Information

Help Your Aging Parents Find a Place to Retire

As parents grow older and their children begin their adult lives, maintaining the family home can become a burden. When children have their own homes and families, they might feel sad to see their parents put a For Sale sign on the lawn of the home where they grew up. Still, adult children understand that […]

Retirement Communities Are Using Technology to Meet the Needs of Seniors

A common stereotype portrays older Americans as tech-phobic. Many developers of senior living communities understand that retiring Baby Boomers tend to be tech-savvy. As they search for housing alternatives, they expect technology to enhance their living experience. The children of Baby Boomers —members of Generation X — often help their parents search for the right […]

Washington Showcases Intergenerational Models of Senior Housing

Retirement communities are often the right choice for seniors who are ready to downsize after selling a family home. Typically designed with safety and convenience in mind, retirement communities allow older adults to live independently while offering amenities (such as swimming pools, fitness centers, and golf courses) that encourage residents to remain active. Property managers […]

The Enduring Stigma of the Old Folk’s Home

Families have always been the primary source of care for older adults who can no longer live independently. In medieval times, older adults who had no surviving family were relegated to residences in “poorhouses” or “almshouses.” Even in more recent centuries, poorhouses paid scant attention to safety and sanitation. Neither were they designed to give […]

Questions to Ask When Comparing Retirement Communities

When their children leave home, many older adults decide they have no further need for a large house. Cleaning more rooms than are in use becomes a tiresome chore. Maintaining property requires an expenditure of time and money that might be spent on more pleasurable activities. Many couples think about relocating to a more hospitable […]

Don’t Sign a CCRC Contract Without Having a Lawyer Explain It

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) allow residents to change their housing environment to meet changing needs without relocating to a new community. Healthy retirees live in a part of the CCRC campus that is devoted to retirement community housing, complete with amenities that may include swimming pools, housekeeping, and dining halls. The community takes care […]

Older Adults Live Longer When They Move into a Senior Living Community

Older couple on a couch

A recent study concludes that moving into a senior living community promotes longevity. Research conducted by the nonpartisan organization NORC at the University of Chicago found that older adults who move into senior living communities — including independent living communities, assisted-living facilities, and memory care facilities — live longer than comparable adults who live in […]