Selecting the right senior housing community is no easy task. It will be the place where you live out your retirement years, so it’s important to find a community that can meet your lifestyle requirements. With so many senior housing communities available in the United States, we understand that the process of choosing the right one can be overwhelming and confusing. As such, we’re here to help you and make the process a little easier. Before providing some tips and tricks to finding a suitable senior housing community, we would like to reiterate that moving out of the house is an emotional decision involving both yourself and your family. Therefore, we recommend doing so only after consulting with your children and other family members.
Determine Your Budget
When you are retired, you no longer have a steady source of income, and you have to rely on your savings and other investments to get by. As such, it’s highly recommended to decide on a preferred price point before looking at senior housing options in order to be financially strong. Besides the cost of the community itself, take some time to calculate the estimated expenses you have to pay each month while living in a senior housing community. This is to get a good idea of how much money you have to spend as you live alone. Expenses can be transportation costs, outings to town, cell phone bills, and if applicable, pet care.
Pay A Visit
Even though many senior housing communities have put up photos of their community online, there’s no better way to get the full experience than to see it with your very own eyes. Check with the specific community to see if they offer tours on-site. Here at The Welstone At Mission Crossing, you can schedule a tour with us and we’ll guide you through our community for two days. This is when you can explore the amenities and services provided, as well as chat with the current residents and ask questions to our team members. Such visits can also allow you to see the daily routines of the residents, the relationships between the residents and team members, and the quality of service. These are all factors that cannot be seen through online.
Ask Questions
While visiting a senior housing community, you’ll want to ask a team member in order to better understand the community and its operations. Here are some questions you can raise:
- What is the ratio of team members to residents?
- How many team members are on-site during the day and at night?
- What are the qualifications and training received by the team members?
- What are the amenities and services provided in the community? Are they complimentary?
- What are the security procedures when my friends and family members visit the community?
- What do I do if I have to make a complaint?
- Are the community and its grounds well-maintained?
- How do I keep myself entertained each day? What are the activities and events offered?
