After a recent talk I gave at a retirement community, a guest came up to me and said he knows he wants to move to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC), but the prospect of downsizing just feels so daunting to him. He explained that he has over 10 acres of land, a few animals, [...]
In last week’s blog post, I discussed my belief that all retirees should at least consider the possibility of moving to a retirement community. No, it won’t be the right senior living choice for everyone, but I would encourage everyone to at least look at this option with an open mind; while weighing out the [...]
There are certain adages I distinctly recall my mother saying when I was a child. Among her repertoire of time-tested axioms: “Don't judge a book by its cover,” “Things are not always what they seem,” plus, of course, “You won't know until you try.” (And yes, in a karmic twist, I now say these exact [...]
As you may know, I travel across the country frequently, speaking at continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs, or life plan communities) about a variety of senior living-related topics. In the course of my travels, I am fortunate to be able to meet a fascinating array of people, many of whom have insightful stories that they [...]
As I often discuss in my blog posts, among the advantages of picking a continuing care retirement community (CCRC, also known as a life plan community) over other types of senior living communities is the contractually guaranteed provision of housing and services along the continuum of care, typically ranging from independent living to assisted living [...]
If you’ve begun researching senior living communities—such as a continuing care retirement community (CCRC, also called a life plan community) or another type of retirement community—you’ve likely read about these communities’ minimum age requirements. In my conversations with people, I find that there is sometimes confusion on this topic, particularly for people who have a [...]
What age group of adults would you think is the happiest? If most people were to guess, I’d venture to say that they’d assume people in their 20s and 30s are the most content. Why wouldn’t they be, right? They are young and likely healthy; they have their whole life ahead of them, full of [...]
“Planning for a crisis”: It almost sounds like an oxymoron. But as we grow older, it becomes a matter of practicality. Yes, we’d all like to think that we will be healthy and able-bodied for the rest of our lives, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. And that’s where planning for a crisis comes [...]
Imagine for a moment a place where people live during retirement that provides maintenance-free living and a comprehensive wellness program—complete with a personal trainer, fitness center, yoga and meditation classes, saltwater lap pools, and more. Imagine that it also offers a bistro and coffee shop, a gourmet chef who uses locally sourced foods, nature trails, [...]
In a Forbes article from a few years back entitled “The Five Phases of Retirement Planning,” author Bernard Krooks discusses the various stages of retirement and steps that seniors should take to prepare for each. Krooks, an elder law attorney, defines “mid-retirement” as beginning at age 70, lasting as long as a person is still [...]
