If you’re planning to retire and looking for a place to spend your golden years, you may be considering a community for seniors. While assisted living facilities provide meals, activities, housekeeping and transportation, and may have on-site medical staff available, independent senior living communities do not offer that level of service.
What are Senior Living Communities Like?
Active adult communities may consist of single- or multi-family homes, townhouses or condominiums. Typically, at least one resident must be at least 55 years old, although age requirements vary and sometimes both residents must meet the age guideline.
Residents are responsible for cleaning and maintaining the interior of their property. Homeowners association fees pay for outside maintenance, repairs and lawncare. Senior communities often have amenities, such as a pool and tennis courts, for residents to use, plus a schedule of social and recreational events to encourage members to stay active and engaged.
Is a Senior Community Right for You?
If you’re looking for peace and quiet, a senior community may be an excellent choice. Although children may come to visit, rules are in place to keep noise and disruptions to a minimum.
Moving to a community with people around your age who are also retired can make it easy to find new friends and people with similar interests. On the other hand, some people prefer to live in more heterogeneous communities.
How to Choose a Community That is Right for You
Figure out what type of home you want. A single-family house would offer more privacy than a condominium, but a house would require more maintenance. Consider how the size of a home could affect utility costs. Look for a home that is wheelchair accessible and that would be easy to get around. Even if you don’t have trouble walking and climbing stairs now, you might in the future.
Think about what types of activities you would like to participate in during your retirement and look for a community that offers them. Try to visit a community at different times of the year to see what types of activities are available and how active the residents are.
Consider the characteristics of the broader community, including nearby restaurants, stores, parks and cultural attractions; proximity to highways and public transportation; and the crime rate. Look for other things that are important to you, such as a library and house of worship, and activities you could do when family members came to visit.
Meet with the management staff and request a copy of the community’s rules. Make sure you understand what homeowners association fees would and would not cover, how much the fees would be each month and whether they could rise in the future.
Talk to current residents and ask them how they would describe the community and the management. Figure out if it sounds like a place where you would feel comfortable living or whether anything a person said raised concerns in your mind.
