The transition into senior living can be a daunting prospect. These senior moves can take both a physical and mental toll on both the moving senior and their support system. Often times, elderly individuals are leaving behind a home with dozens of emotional attachments associated with it. At Senior Lifestyle, we are acutely aware of what a stressful time this can be. To help you through this period, Senior Lifestyle has put together a guide to help both moving seniors and their loved ones.
The decision to undertake a senior move into a Senior Lifestyle community can mean a lot of change, and it’s normal to have some anxiety around that. For that reason, we offer the “Be Our Guest” program, which allows potential residents the chance to “test drive” the lifestyle and our facilities. While staying in a furnished guest apartment, you will be afforded a chance to meet our residents and team members as you participate in all of our programs and events.
If you decide that Senior Lifestyle is right for you, there are several steps you can take to help make the transition as smooth as possible.
Stay Open
Staying open to all of the possibilities in front of you is imperative. A sense of excitement and adventure helps mitigate the stress you will inevitably encounter in your senior move.
This is also important to keep in mind if you are in the support network of a moving senior and are helping with the transition. While the benefits of a senior’s transition may seem obvious to you, you will need to remain receptive to the emotional gravity that can come with this great change.
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Every senior has their own set of wants and needs, so retirement communities offer differing levels of care, services, and amenities. Read our eBook for a detailed look at what retirement communities provide.
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Moving with Grace
It helps to have familiarity around you when going through any kind of transition. Rather than “starting over” with all new furniture or décor, many of our residents find some comfort in bringing a piece of their old home to their new home. Once you can determine the floorplan of your new living space, you can decide which items to bring with for your senior move.
Loved ones can help greatly in this process as well. Don’t just provide your moving senior with guidelines on what to bring or leave. Actively participate in the selection process if you can; talking things through with your moving loved one can be a great help.
Engage
Senior Lifestyle communities offer a number of activities for our residents. We provide numerous ways for the moving senior to fully embrace their new home and community. Integration is key in a successful transition.
Similarly, we always encourage our residents’ loved ones to come by for visit. However, we also recommend support networks remain sensitive to seniors’ need for independence. Holding hands with a moving senior can be a great comfort, but be sure to allow them the space they need to grow and fully participate in their new community.
No matter which of our six different lifestyle options you or your loved one chooses, a senior move requires patience and adjustment. But if you keep in mind these helpful tips, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying everything Senior Lifestyle has to offer you.