Is Senior living right for you? Pros and cons

With the boom in Aging news, living and thriving in old age, taking center stage, no wonder every senior family of senior might be contemplating the dilemma of senior living. Senior living situations are varied. One can age at home with or without outside support, move to another place for the short-term, or long-term, or even if planning to spend the last days of their lives in a place away from home. No one answer or solution is right, as choices help people live to their fullest and experience life’s simple pleasures.

However, the call of urgency is scary as it can get when something were to go wrong suddenly or somehow, unplanned, unexpected…. Leading to chaos, confusion, and poor decisions. 

To make matters worse, the elderly with cognitive issues fare poorly in such and certain circumstances.   

What is left behind is a loss of income, finances, energy, motivation, and the ability to find the right solution, services, support, or resources. Over decades of my career ….this was all too common …

Some of the thoughts on senior living are discussed below (pros) 

1. More dynamic place, with lots of activity going on… making senior find friends with common interests is not so difficult 
2. Programs, and activities, geared to different levels of care and condition of a senior
3. Meals are prepared in to dine and wine style, with many offering menus to choose from on the go
4. Less clutter and material stuff to deal with and not spending time managing like one does at own home
5. Supportive services, people who work well versed in senior care
6.  Private duty caregiver to hire, share, and lighten duty at home
7. Socialization, safety, security… depending on the level of care, place, etc.

Some of the thoughts on senior living (cons)

1. Privacy issues depend on the personality of the senior
2. Lack of support, help when needed, more independence
3. Work load increased, and home management became cumbersome
4. Safety, due to clutter, too many material objects, gadgets not working
5. No activities apart from Television, or radio. Unless the senior has an active friend circle
6. Nutrition may be affected, loss of weight, malnutrition, not taking adequate meals due to the burden of preparation, shopping or cooking, and cleaning utensils
7. Comorbidities might create more harm, for example living with Chronic health conditions 

This is a gist of senior living’s pros and cons, there are many more…. Thank you