How to find a retirement community for your parents
Is it time for your mom or dad to move to a retirement community? Were you thinking about it over the holidays? Did you talk to them about it?Figuring out where to look and what to look for can be a bit overwhelming. And then there are all those other questions. Are mom and dad really ready to move? What do they think about it? How can we make this easier on them—and on us?
What you need is a sense of the bigger picture first; the nitty gritty details can wait.
If you've got a minute now, grab a coffee or tea and look at the options. Bookmark a few to follow up on later.
What help can mom or dad get at home?
Check out the Senior Care Advisor tool. It will show you what services your parents can get at home now, which ones will cost you money and which options may be subsidized or free.
There are several choices here but your parents's situation is probably either "Active and Independent" or "Increasing Health Challenges."
Click on the appropriate box, and work your way through to see what resources you can access to make things easier right now.
What are the real costs of mom or dad aging at home?
The four-part case study Aging at home is free, right? tracks Graham, 80, and his wife Ethel, 78 as they age and looks at the costs of aging at home with live-in care, agency care etc.
You can download the study as an e-book here.
What is life really like in a retirement community?
In this video series called, "Seniors on Screen" seniors who live in retirement communities talk about their experiences. The videos will give you and your mom or dad some great insight into retirement residence living.
Based on your mom or dad's situation, here are some retirement communities they might be interested in:
How to find a retirement community online:
Ready to find out what residences may be near you or your parents?
Go to the Comfort Life home page. On the top right hand side you'll see a blue box that says, "Find a Retirement Community." You can search there or you can use our Advanced Search tool. Click on your province on the map or choose it from the drop down list.
VIDEO: How to find a retirement community has great search tips from retirement residence industry experts.
Retirement Tour Checklist:
If you're ready to tour some retirement communities you'll want to make notes on what you find.
Print out this checklist and fill it out on each tour. That way you can compare each community and find the one best suited to their needs.
Download the checklist here.OTHER HELPFUL ARTICLES:
On the Comfort Life site you will also find lots of helpful articles about Retirement Home Basics, retirement home financing and retirement home options.
THE BLOG:
You may also want to check out the Pulse of Comfort Life blog for articles about moving, adjusting to life in a retirement community etc.
One of our recent blog posts was called, "How much will it cost me to move"
There are also articles for boomers who are caring for their parents.
Good luck with your research and if you have any questions get in touch by emailing editor@comfortlife.ca
