Mom has been looking to downsize her living arrangements for quite some time.  She’d love to live closer to her grandchildren, but isn’t quite ready for the nursing home, so what are her options?  Looking into an independent living community is a great start.

There are quite a few differences between an assisted living facility and a retirement community.  Though both offer community services, such as laundry, cleaning and planned activities and events, a retirement community allows Mom the freedom of living on her own without the hassle of caring for the large house and yard she had while you were growing up.  She also gains a group peers with whom she can enjoy her golden years.

There are many different options when choosing an independent living facility.  Some are apartment buildings with recreation centers, a communal dining room and other amenities found within the building.  Others are communities of single-family homes or cluster housing that look like your every day suburb.  Usually these places have a separate recreational building on the campus for meeting and socializing.

Whichever type of community Mom chooses, she can be assured that it will be an active and fun environment and a great place for her to show off her beautiful grandchildren to her new-found friends.