7 Benefits of 55+ Communities 7 Benefits of 55+ Communities

While a majority of seniors hope to be able to age in place, some retirees are starting to realize the many benefits of trading in their homes for 55+ communities. 55+ communities offer the benefits of having your own home combined with some perks specific to seniors that you wouldn’t get in just any community.

What is a 55+ Community?

The name communicates most of what you need to know. A 55+ community is a retirement community that’s limited to residents over the age of 55. The rules for different 55+ communities vary. In some, the 55+ rule is strictly followed, while others offer a little bit of leeway for spouses that are younger or younger family members that may want to live with you. Some bump the number up higher and only allow people who are 60, 62, or 65 or older to move in.

What they all have in common is an emphasis on seniors. The houses or apartments are built to be senior friendly. The amenities the communities include are chosen with seniors in mind. And any resident that considers a 55+ community can, of course, expect their neighbors to predominantly include other seniors.

The Benefits of a 55+ Community

If you’re one of the 87% of seniors intent on staying in your current home as you age, you may wonder what the appeal of a 55+ community is. If you think ahead to the issues you’re likely to encounter in the future, you may realize 55+ communities offer much more than what your current home can provide.

  1. Houses and apartments designed with seniors in mind

Seniors that stay in the house they bought when they were younger usually have to make a number of home modifications to make their homes safe for aging in place, some of them pretty costly. Homes in 55+ retirement communities are built with the physical needs and concerns common to seniors top of mind.

You don’t have to modify anything if the home is already built to your needs, you can expect to stay there safely and comfortably for years to come.

  1. A social community of your peers 

One of the biggest challenges that seniors who live alone face isn’t one most families know to expect: it’s loneliness. And the dangers of senior loneliness are serious. If you don’t have family nearby and many of your friends are hard to get to without a car – which might not be an issue now, but it will be at some point – then living alone puts you at real risk.

One of the biggest benefits that 55+ communities offer is the community part. You have a built-in network of peers right there in the neighborhood. You’re likely to make friends easily and keep them in all the years you live there.

  1. Safety and security

Many families worry about their loved ones living alone as they age. Sometimes the decision to move to assisted living is as much about that fear as any day-to-day needs a senior has. 55+ communities help address that fear. When you know your loved one lives around other seniors that know them and all keep an eye out for each other, a lot of the worries evaporate.

Some 55+ communities offer extra features to enhance the safety of residents. You may find one that’s a gated community or one that has security guards on staff once you start browsing your options. If security’s a top priority to you, you should be able to find communities that make it a priority as well.

  1. Great amenities

While the specific amenities offered vary for every 55+ community, you can generally expect there to be some good ones. Common amenities offered at 55+ communities include pools, fitness centers, chef-prepared meals, community gardens, or even golf courses.

55+ communities are designed to make sure that you never have to go far to keep yourself busy and entertained, and many of the amenities commonly provided also serve to bring people together and further the sense of community in the neighborhood.

  1. Community activities and events

In addition to all those amenities, many 55+ communities also organize regular activities and events for residents. That could mean fitness classes, cooking classes, crafts, trips to the local museum, or movie nights. The activities make it easy for retirees to try new things and stay active throughout their senior years.

  1. Fewer maintenance concerns

Think about all those pesky maintenance issues you have to deal with at your house. Mowing the lawn. Dealing with plumbing problems. Raking leaves. Replacing the hot water heater. If just reading those sentences caused you a little bit of stress, just think of how nice it would be to hand those responsibilities over to someone else.

At a lot of 55+ communities, you can. In many cases, the community takes charge of caring for the shared spaces and the landscaping, and they often have people on staff to handle other home maintenance issues to save you some of the trouble. Of course, how much each community will handle on their own depends on the rules of the community itself, so be sure to ask for details when you’re trying to decide on a 55+ community.

  1. Located close to hospitals

As one more feature to offer peace of mind, most 55+ communities are strategically built close to a hospital. If a resident gets hurt or suffers a heart attack or stroke, they can get help fast. For a lot of illnesses and injuries, getting to the hospital quickly can make a huge difference in how well seniors fare after the fact, so knowing there’s a hospital nearby is an important value add when considering a 55+ community.

How to Find the Right 55+ Community for You

If you’re liking the idea of all a 55+ community has to offer, then the next step is looking into the homes available in your area, or in an area you’re open to moving to. Review all the details you can find on each and make visits to those that look the most promising to see if they’re a good fit.

You can find details and reviews on some 55+ communities by searching the independent living options in the areas of your choice. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to do determine if a particular 55+ community is right for you.

 

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.

14 Comments

  1. ALTON CHILDS February 18, 2017 Reply

    DO U HAVE A LIST OF SENIOR COMMUNITYS FOR THOSE AGE 62 AND OLDER FOR SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY?

  2. ALTON CHILDS February 18, 2017 Reply

    I need a list of sr.living comms.for south new jersey.can anyone help?

  3. Amelia Willson February 20, 2017 Reply

    Hello Alton,

    If you go to this page and enter your zip code into the box under the heading “get access to pricing….” you can find the nearest senior communities: https://www.senioradvisor.com/

  4. Mary Frances Yaeger April 4, 2017 Reply

    I’m a retired Navy veteran, art teacher, and freelance artist and graphic designer. I’m sixty eight now, and I lived at the Chamberlin Seaside Apartments for three years. It became too expensive for me, so I moved into a two bedroom apartment in downtown Hampton at the end of October, 2016. It is pleasant and affordable, but I have had to adjust. I love people, of all ages and various cultures and ethnicity. Yet, I really miss my buddies from my senior community, and the amenities geared to seniors, especially the transportation assistance and healthy meals that were prepared daily! I was a spoiled, happy camper, you might say! I have benefitted from independent living, and it can be lonely as a senior without the ability to drive and so on! Aging isn’t so bad, really! I love my church, Victory Life Church in Hampton Virginia. I volunteer there and I go out to sing a little Gospel and to pray with people who reside in local nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. I hope to volunteer at the VA hospital soon. My health is good, but I had a couple if traumatic brain injuries in the military, two falls that resulted in skull fractures, fractures to my coccyx and left clavicle, etc. I have some memory and speech issues, and epilepsy. My seizures are practically non-existent now, with improved medication adjustments. However, a mirrored door recently came off of it’s rollers recently, when I was immersrd in spring cleaning, sorting out my bedroom closets. I grabbed the door, and I unfortunately had a little fall. My back was jarred, and I had severe muscle spasms. It caused me to reevaluate my lifestyle. I am interested in moving back into another senior community nearby. I’m just concerned about financial restraints. My monthly gross income is approximately $3,700, which includes my VA retirement and Social Security allotment. Thank you for your time and assistance! I appreciate your advice!

  5. Amelia Willson April 6, 2017 Reply

    Hi Mary! Have you heard of the Aid and Attendance pension benefit which helps veterans and spouses of veterans pay for costs of senior care? You should definitely look into it. Please go to http://www.VeteranAid.org and read through the site to learn more.

  6. Kylie Dotts December 8, 2017 Reply

    I love how you said that living in a senior home community will mean that you won’t have to worry about many of the small repairs because people are paid to do it for you. My husband’s parents are getting older and have a hard time doing those things around the house that they need to in order to keep it looking nice. We might have to look at getting them moved into a senior community to make it a bit easier for them.

  7. Deb Pearl December 18, 2017 Reply

    That is great that there are 55+ communities that you can live in. My parents have been thinking about moving, and I think that would be really fun for them. It would be nice for them to have a community that has amenities that are chosen with seniors in mind.

  8. Ashley Turns December 27, 2017 Reply

    My mother is planning on retiring soon and she is wondering what kind of living she should enter into once it happens. So thanks for pointing out that 55+ communities are close to hospitals so that if anything happens to its residents, they can be helped quickly. Since my mom has a heart condition, I will be sure to tell my mom that she should enter into a 55+ community.

  9. Ashley Maxwell May 7, 2018 Reply

    My grandpa is looking into 50 and up communities, so he can be with people around his age. Thanks for mentioning how a community like this should have activities such as cooking and fitness class that they could participate in. I also like how you said that they should be safe and protected.

  10. Sherry Gajos October 1, 2018 Reply

    I really liked what you said about how a lot of senior communities have assisted living services. With my grandma’s passing, we’re hoping that moving my grandpa to a center with more people his age and more amenities to help him out will keep him from being lonely and keep him safe. Thank you for the information about there are gated communities with security as well as those in the same circumstances looking out for each other.

  11. Kit Chirila February 26, 2019 Reply

    As a Manager of senior housing I can tell you there is another side to the story.
    Properties are left in the hands of young managers that cannot be empathetic to seniors, rents go up every year, residents pay for activities, and when office is closed seniors left to shovel snow, and handle issues.
    Senior housing sounds good but without a committed, experienced live in Manager, it is just another apartment complex.

  12. Eli Richardson July 25, 2019 Reply

    I liked what you said that retirement communities have the physical and concerns that a senior needs to live safely in his home. After my father passed away, my sister and I have been helping our mom with her needs. I will speak to my sister about renting mom a place in a retirement community that fits what she needs.

  13. Ellie Davis August 26, 2019 Reply

    I liked that you mentioned homes in an adult community are built with physical needs and concerns of seniors in mind. My husband and his brother are thinking about a senior community for his mother, and we are looking for advice. I will make sure to let them know about how senior homes are built to see if it helps their decision.

  14. Tammie Houston August 17, 2021 Reply

    Senior loneliness is a really hard issue to solve and unfortunately my siblings and I have to work far away from our parents due to our jobs. It’s good to hear that in a senior community we won’t have to worry about that as much. It would do them good to be surrounded by people their age and have care readily available. I hope my parents will be open to the idea of entering a retirement community, I’ll reiterate the points you wrote here in your article to them and try to convince them to at least try it.

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