Moving to a retirement home is a big step for many people, and a stage in life that some are afraid to reach. But moving to a retirement home does not mean giving up your independence or submitting yourself to bland, mushy meals.
It means joining a safe and exciting community of people who are in similar stages of life and alleviating the stress of owning a home or living alone without relying on other people to do so.
Retirement homes offer many attractive features which make them excellent places to live either short term or long term.
1. Retirement homes alleviate stresses around meals
Most retirement homes offer the standard three meals a day, often cafeteria style where you have a few options to choose from. You will also be provided snacks in between, if you would like. These standard three meals and snacks are normally covered by your fees.
This means you are not required to do your own grocery shopping and carry heavy bags of groceries, nor do you have to worry about cooking your own meals. These tasks are taken care of by staff alleviating the responsibility from your shoulders and allowing you to focus on other things.
2. You can choose your accommodation set up
If you prefer to live alone, private rooms are available, but if you prefer to live with someone there are also accommodations for two people. This allows you to keep your ability to choose your living situation, but everything will be set up for you, furnished, and your only responsibility is to get yourself and your belongings there.
3. Different care for different levels of independence
People move to retirement homes for a variety of reasons. It could be because they require a level of care that their family can’t manage on their own, or it could be because they no longer feel safe living alone but would like to maintain a level of independence. Whatever the reason, there is a level of care available.
For people who require full time care, help getting in and out of bed, eating, using the washroom and bathing, is available. For people who can do these things themselves, they will be offered a space to do that, but that has devices built in that allow them to contact help immediately should they need it.
4. You will not be stuck inside, bored all day
Not only do retirement homes often have beautiful outdoor parks with paths to walk along and space to do outdoor activities, there are also outings organized every so often that residents can choose to join in on. These outings often include attending plays, going to fairs and events, or doing interesting and fun activities away from the retirement home.
Alternatively, if leaving is difficult or not something that interests you, there are lots of organized activities inside as well as books, games, puzzles, televisions, and much more that are available for residents to use for entertainment.
5. On-site medical assistance
One tough thing to take care of is having to go to a large number of medical appointments if your doctor is not close by. This becomes exceptionally difficult if you are no longer able to drive. Many retirement homes have on-site medical care which is convenient for regular medical appointments but is also an excellent feature as it creates peace of mind for residents who know that should they have an accident – like falling down, for instance – that help is nearby and that they will be taken care of. It is one more feature which promotes safety and independence of all retirement home residents.
