You may be thinking about moving into a continuing care retirement community, an assisted living facility, independent living senior apartments, or something similar. You probably have visited a few. You might have taken a few tours, had lunch in their restaurant, and been given an enthusiastic sales pitch about the convenience and joy you'll find when you move in. However, do you know what questions you need to ask to help you make the right decision?
Before you make a final decision, there are lots of things you need to know about the different types of facilities. This is not a comprehensive list of everything you may want to know, but it is a good place to start. The right place for you will depend on your current and future needs, so feel free to ask the staff at the community as many questions as pop into your mind.
What type of Retirement Community is This?
While I was looking at various communities, I discovered there were many options. For example, some places are just independent living senior apartments, with no assisted living or other services. In some senior apartment buildings, they may provide meals and recreational events. In other cases, you are completely independent, as if you are living in an apartment or condo anywhere.
Other retirement communities may be a CCRC, or a Continuing Care Retirement Community. These should have a nurse and medical aides on staff to assist independent living residents in an emergency and to provide basic daily care to their assisted living residents. A CCRC sometimes has a memory care unit, too, and/or their own skilled nursing home. Depending on your health, you may want to ask about any health situations you expect to have in the future and ask how the community would help you handle your activities of daily living. If you are moving because you have specific health needs, be sure to ask how those would be handled in each community you visit.
On the other hand, you may be considering an RCFE, or a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly. In these facilities, a registered nurse in not required, although they may have an LVN or CNA, and they will have aides who can help the assisted living residents with their medications, help them shower, and perform similar tasks.
All these different types of facilities may look alike on the surface when you visit them, so it is important you know exactly what medical services to expect and have a full understanding of what they provide.
What Are ALL the Financial Costs You can Expect?
All the different types of facilities will have a basic monthly rental fee. However, there are other costs which you may not expect. Is there a "buy-in" (which can be hundreds of thousands of dollars), a deposit (which can range from $5000 to $60,000+) or other fees for new residents?
In addition to the basic monthly rent, are there other fees you can expect for special services, such as if you need help with medication management, transportation, showering, transferring to a wheelchair, etc.? How much are these fees?
Are there additional charges for utilities, internet and TV?
Is their an additional annual fee for things such as staff tips?
How often can the basic rent be raised, and by how much?
If you have long-term care insurance, can you use it to help cover your expenses while living in that community?
As you can see, the basic monthly fee they quote you when you sign your contract may not include all the expenses you can expect to pay. Ask a lot of questions so you do not have an unpleasant surprise.
What Amenities and Types of Recreation Are Available?
What hobbies are you hoping to pursue during retirement? Do you want access to a swimming pool, golf course, a library, art classes, pottery, shopping, fishing, playing bridge or other activities? It is important to ask these questions. If the community you want to move into does not offer the activities you desire, are they available nearby at a senior center or in the community?
For example, the RCFE where I live does not have a swimming pool or golf course available on our property. However, there are several nearby health clubs that offer swimming pools and there are public golf courses in the surrounding area.
Fortunately, I am still able to drive, and so do most of the people in the Independent Living section of our building. If I could not drive, Uber is also available in our community. It is important to consider these things before you move into a community.
What is the Food Like?
When you visit a retirement community, it is likely the sales person will have you join them for a delicious meal. However, carefully examine the menu and ask about how often it changes and how many different choices are typically available each week. Check to see if some of the older weekly or monthly menus are available. Ask yourself if you would be happy with this menu if these were all the choices you had during the course of a week or a month or even longer.
If you have dietary restrictions, the food issue could be even more important. Will the kitchen staff respect your allergies? If you need to avoid soy, lactose, peanuts, shellfish, or certain fruits, will they notify you if their recipes contain those items? What if you need to be on a low sodium diet? Will they provide desserts that diabetics can eat?
Even if you do not have medical dietary restrictions, what if you have other food issues? Are you a vegetarian or vegan? Do you have religious dietary restrictions? You need to take all these issues into consideration if you are planning to live where other people are shopping and cooking for you.
What Types of Outings Are Available?
Does this community offer the residents the opportunity to go on outings to local restaurants, museums, concerts and other places of interest?
I have found that it definitely brightens the week to be able to go on an outing to a local restaurant, especially ethnic restaurants such as Mexican, Chinese, Thai, French and similar choices. Not everyone in my community chooses to go on these outings, but I enjoy them. However, if you like to try a wider variety of foods than are available from your community's restaurant, you'll want to see if restaurant outings are available. Of course, these outings will not be part of your community food allowance. You will have to pay for these meals out of your own pocket.
Other people in my community enjoy going to concerts, museums, and local special events. If you enjoy these types of events, find out if transportation to these events is something your community will regularly offer.
You will find that you will get to know other residents better when you go as a group to a restaurant, museum, concert, casino, or similar location.
Is The Community Located Near Family, Medical Care, Transportation and Shopping?
Ask yourself if the retirement community will be a convenient place for you to live. Is it near anyone in your family? Is there a hospital and other medical care nearby? Will you be able to conveniently get necessary medical treatments? For example, do you need to see medical specialists, get dialysis, or have regular infusions for cancer or other treatments? Are these doctors and treatments available nearby, in the local community, or will you have to drive long distances to get the medical care you need? Do you have a family member living in the area who can drive you to appointments, or will you have to drive yourself or take an Uber?
Although online shopping now makes shopping much easier than it was in the past, you may still want to occasionally go shopping for clothing, gifts, snacks and other groceries to keep in your apartment. Is there shopping nearby? Does the community offer a shopping shuttle for those residents who have to stop driving?
Can you easily get to an airport or other transportation hub in order to visit friends and family members who do not live nearby?
Do You Think You Could Be Happy In Your New Community?
This is a question you will have to ask yourself. Expect to have a period of sadness, loneliness and discomfort when you first move into a retirement community. This is normal. Nearly everyone who moves into one of these communities has lost something or given up something in order to make the move. They may be moving after they lost their spouse. They might be suffering from a decline in health and they are discouraged by their slow recovery. There is a good chance that they are moving out of a home that they loved, and they had to leave behind many items they enjoyed owning over the years. Most residents will be downsizing when they move to a retirement community apartment. In many cases, new residents are moving away from a beloved neighborhood, their former place of worship, and people who formed a support system for them. Adjusting to your new retirement community will take time.
Even if you are outgoing, it may be months before your retirement community begins to feel like "home." It may take some time before you find a group you enjoy eating with, and enjoyable activities that become part of your daily routine. Once you do, you will know you are "home."
To speed up the time it will take to adjust, I highly recommend that you quickly begin to participate in as many activities as possible. Everyone in your community has gone through the same thing you are, and they understand what you are experiencing. Many of your new neighbors will be kind and will reach out to befriend and help you.
It took me a few months, but I now love the retirement community where I live. I hope you will eventually love your new home, too.
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