Throughout your life, your housing needs may have changed. When you were young and single or newly married, chances are you did not need a lot of space — a small apartment or house met your needs. But as your family grew, so did the space you needed. And before long, your children were grown, and you found yourself living in a home that was larger than you needed. Now, you are faced some key questions:
- Where do you want to live out your golden years?
- Should you downsize or modify your home?
- Should you consider moving to a life plan community?
- Could you live with your children if needed?
- Should you consider home share?
- Many factors will determine the direction you may go (your health, access to health care, mobility, local resources, cost of living, transportation, etc.).
Our Aging Well Resource Coordinator can help you through all these options. Contact us to start a conversation.
Housing Options
One place to start is by looking at online resources dedicated to help seniors explore their housing options.
A Place for Mom is an organization that has been around for 20 years. They are one of the largest referral organizations designed to help families navigate the maze of senior housing options and have a dedicated section on their website to help you get started.
Positive Aging Sourcebook was founded by Steve Gurney in 1990. It provides individuals, families and professionals a comprehensive list of every retirement community, assisted living, nursing and rehab center and home care option in the D.C., Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland area. They wrote an article on housing options that you might find helpful and their website is full of lots of other resources.
Downsizing
Many retirees choose to downsize their home. Whether it is because you simply need less space, it makes more financial sense or some other reason, downsizing may be something you need (and want) to do.
There is a lot to consider when you start the process. AARP has some tips to help make the transition a little smoother.
Do you want to preserve or restore items in your home? Timesorters is an organization that can guide you through options and services that will give you peace of mind and help ensure a legacy that will last for generations to come.
Homeshare
Many of us have lived in our homes for years. If you have a larger house than you need, but you would prefer to stay, one increasingly popular option to consider is sharing your home.
Whether that means sharing your home with another older adult, renting out some of your space or having family members move in, the choice is yours to make. By sharing your home, you may be able to split the expenses, or even build companionship. There are additional benefits if you share your home with someone who can take care of maintenance, like cleaning, yard work and other household chores.
Whatever you decide, it is important to be careful in opening your home to a stranger.
Seriously considering homeshare? AARP published a story about a group of women who made it work, like a real-life “Golden Girls” situation.
There is also a website called Senior Homeshares that is dedicated to matching older adults and helping them find homesharing companionship.
The decision to open your home is a personal one. Neither Compass Rose nor Engaged Health Group is advocating for this option. We want to be able to provide information on all of your housing options.
