Not everyone looks forward to retirement but it is something most working people do eventually. Currently, people tend to retire when they reach 63 years old. Nearly half of all people find that they are happier after they retire than they expect to be. After retirement, many people do move into some sort of elder housing and while they may resist that as well, nearly 85% of people who live in retirement facilities say that would recommend their communities to a friend or relative. If you are in the position to look at senior living communities you may not know where to start. Here are some tips to what to look for when you tour different facilities.

How clean is the facility? Every community has some accidental odors every now and again but you can tell if something has just happened or if it is from a problem that has not been taken care of. Do not just look at the surface of things. Check behind the curtains and in corners. Check out the windows and baseboards. Are there upsetting odors or is the place clean and fresh smelling and feeling? Ask about how often maintenance on the entire place is done and how often they have housekeeping clean. Make sure you check on the laundry options and policy. You should make sure you get the costs and a list of what services are available at the elder housing facility. If you find something that troubles you, ask the staff about it. There may be a reasonable explanation.

How friendly and outgoing are the staff? You can tell a lot about a place by the way the staff behaves. A good reputable elder housing facility will have staff that are friendly and helpful. They like working there and they want to interact with both you and the residents. Look at their body language and watch how well they interact with the residents who already live there. Ask the management about how they handle staff schedules. How long do people work on a shift and how many days do they work in a row? It is hard for people who are super tired to be friendly and outgoing but that is also an indication of poor management. The way an elder housing center treats its staff can be an indication of how they treat their residents.

Try to visit while they have something going on. Studies show that people who are engaged in more than two activities that they enjoy are much happier than those who are not. Go to the center and see how they handle their activities. If it is possible to participate in something they do at the senior care center. Take note of how the staff deal with the activity. Do they look like they are enjoying it? What kinds of events does the elder housing center provide? If you or your loved one loves to play Bridge, for instance, make sure that is on their calendar at some point.

Go during a meal time. One thing that makes a big difference in most of our lives is the quality of the food we eat. Also, dining can provide seniors with a great chance to interact with other people that can be very enjoyable and important to their quality of life. Take this time to check out the food and talk to the other residents about what they think of the place. This is a great time to spend time with the people who live there and get a sense for how they feel about the elder housing center.

Trust your instincts when looking at retirement homes. If your gut tells you that something is wrong with a place, there is probably a good reason for that. You know what kind of place you would like and what your loved one would like and if you do not think you have found the right place, keep looking. There are a lot of options out there and there is no reason to settle. This is too important a decision to just go with a place when you are not comfortable with.

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