Picking the right retirement community is crucial for you and your loved ones to make the most out of senior living with a peace of mind. However, for many families, this choice is a completely new experience with a lot of new terms and considerations. If you or your family member is making the leap into senior living here in Greenville, SC, here are our top tips for making sure that you have the best option for yourself.
Understanding The Different Community Types
Just like the residents, communities come in all different sizes and types. Retirement communities differ in terms of on-site amenities, levels of assistance, and housing type. For example, active independent living is designed for individuals who are able to meet their own medical and living needs, but who want to step away from housekeeping and household maintenance. More importantly, an independent living community is perfect for anyone who is hoping to be part of a community with like-minded individuals.
Find Your Right Fit
It might seem like most senior housing options are similar once you nail down the community types, but this is simply not true. It is important that you and your loved ones communicate well with the team members on-site as well as the overall culture of the community. In our retirement community, we firmly believe in providing our community members with the best things in life and empowering residents to be as independent and carefree during their stay with us.
Budget and Financial Considerations
Once of the largest concerns in retirement is the financial cost of living in a retirement community. It is extremely important that when planning your stay, you consider any long-term developments. As we grow older, it is common to develop cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease or simply require additional help with personal care and day-to-day activities. However, it is also more likely that the cost of staying in a retirement community would increase as the standard and quantity of care required increases. It is important to factor these considerations in when you first apply, especially if you would prefer to stay in the same community as far as possible.
Drop In For A Visit
While a picture may speak a thousand words, nothing beats actually viewing the premises in person. Take some time to make visits to your top candidates for retirement communities. Many communities will offer screening visits, meetings with team members and other residents, and even a full tour or night visit. This will give you a sense of how responsive and attentive their team members are to residents, how clean the premises are, and also whether the community is well maintained. Take some time to look at the appearance of the residents, touch and check surfaces to see if they are well cleaned, and even take time to use a public bathroom! Whilst you’re there, make sure to ask any questions that you might have and to clear all your doubts before you make any final confirmations. In some cases, this might mean speaking to the residents to know more about their opinions of the quality of stay offered.
