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Where we live effects how we live with respect to quality of life and longevity. Evaluating these choices for you and your loved ones is one of the most important decisions you can make.
This section provides information on retirement communities, hospice, cost of living comparisons, most affordable cities, retirement homes living, outside the US, aging in place and much much more. Please read it, but to have a longer and better quality of life click here first.
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Many retirees make a big mistake and purchase a home or condo in a location they are not familiar with. Sometimes after they move they find they are not comfortable with their purchase or paid too much. If you are considering retiring to another location take a vacation there or rent a vacation home there to see if this is really the place you want to spend the rest of your life. If you like the area, consider purchasing a condo or home there and renting it out until you retire and are ready to move.
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The following list gives some generalizations about living options for seniors and retirees:
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| At home. |
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If they are healthy enough to care for themselves or if a member of the family or caregiver lives with them or can visit as often as is necessary to maintain their health and well-being. |
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| In an assisted-living or retirement community. |
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Traditionally these facilities offer additional care for seniors who can function independently. They offer assistance with both personal care and medical care. For retirement living information which includes listings for Active Adult Communities, Independent Living Communities, Continuing Care Retirement Communities, Assisted Living Communities, Nursing Care facilities and Alzheimer's Care facilities. Click here to reach a retirement living information center. |
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| In a continuing-care facility. |
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These facilities are actually retirement homes that allow seniors to move into a nursing home on site when/if necessary. |
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| In a nursing home. |
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These facilities provide skilled medical care for seniors who are dependent on others for daily functions. They have medical staff available 24/7. |
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| At home with home health-care services. |
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Seniors who generally need constant assistance due to their age or because of some disability live in this type of arrangement. |
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| Hospice |
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Hospice services are appropriate for the terminally ill and are available from weekly visits to around-the-clock attendance or in a hospice facility. Hospice services are connected to and work with physicians and hospitals to provide a maximum amount of emotional support to both patient and family. Hospice care typically refrains from using extraordinary measures to prolong life, but focuses instead on alleviating pain.
1-800-HOSPICE.com has become one of the most respected on-line resources for locating a professional hospice care provider and is the referral source to use for all of your hospice care needs. Their network members offer comprehensive home health care services that enable patients to stay in the comfort and security of their homes during times of chronic or terminal illness.
Palliative care is not limited to hospice care. Hospice care is meant specifically for those approaching the last stages of life, while palliative care is appropriate for any stage of a serious illness. Palliative care seeks to relieve the pain, symptoms and stress of serious illness – whatever the prognosis. It is appropriate at any age and at any point in your illness. You can also have it along with treatments that are meant to cure you.
In order to get palliative care you must ask for it.
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More retirees are “living nowhere” as they are RV enthusiasts; many have seasonal residences, living south in the winter and north in the summer. Others just use their RVs to travel to various destinations around the United States. Often retired seniors say, "It's not where you live, but how you live". However sometimes where you live has a lot to do with how you can live.
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