Moving yourself or a loved one to a senior living facility can be challenging, but the positive results might surprise you.
Jorge Argota, a 34-year-old owner of a boutique marketing company in Miami, says he felt relieved after helping his elderly loved one transition to senior living.
At the time, his 92-year-old grandmother, who raised him from childhood, was in good health, “just old and grumpy,” Argota recalls. He intended to care for her but didn’t fully grasp what was ahead.
“Taking care of someone who is older is more difficult than raising kids,” he says.
One night, Argota found his grandmother had fallen out of bed. They both knew then that it was time for professional help in a senior living facility.
[READ: Common Caregiving Tasks to Do for Your Older Loved One]
Why Should You Consider Moving to Senior Living?
There are many reasons you might consider moving to senior living:
— Choice
— Socialization
— Complex senior health conditions and physical decline
— Mental health struggles
— Downsizing
— Help with instrumental activities of daily living
— Safety
1. Choice
Many view senior living as something they have to do. But Carrie Ditzel, director of geropsychology and neuropsychology at Baker Street Behavioral Health in Paramus, New Jersey, recommends focusing on why it’s something you want to do.
Moving to senior living, she explains, can be a more welcome transition when you choose it earlier in life, rather than waiting for your health to decline and your circumstances to dictate that decision for you.
“There is an advantage to our sense of self and well-being by choosing to explore senior living as an act of control and autonomy in your life,” she adds.
Some senior living facilities also have years-long waitlists, so getting a jumpstart on it now, when it’s not a necessity, can make a move less overwhelming.
[READ: Identifying the Right Time for Senior Care.]
2. Socialization
Have you recently gone days or more without interacting with anyone? If so, it might be the right time to move to senior living.
A senior living facility will package social activities as a regular part of your daily life, Ditzel says, and regular socializing, physical activity and mental activity all contribute to healthy aging. The opportunity you’ll have to foster new friendships and relationships in a senior living facility can be very enriching at a time when you may otherwise experience loneliness or significant losses with friends, spouses or family members passing away.
Senior living also offers activities and excursions that you might have missed out on while working, raising children and maintaining upkeep of a home.
“I encourage individuals to take advantage of that and embrace that as a positive, an advantage of aging and being able to leave many of life’s responsibilities in the past,” Ditzel adds.
3. Complex senior health conditions and physical decline
The ability to perform activities of daily living becomes a challenge during the aging process. Tasks that usually take a few minutes — getting dressed, grooming, eating and using the bathroom, for instance — may start to take longer. This can be a cause of stress and also a concern for injury.
Additionally, if you have a diagnosis that involves a specific diet, therapy or daily maintenance, you may have difficulty managing that care independently as you age. Moving to a senior living facility is often the best option when this care becomes overwhelming.
4. Mental health struggles
With age, you may be more susceptible to mental health difficulties. This can be due to a health condition, such as Alzheimer’s disease, or personal circumstances, such as grief after the death of a peer or social isolation.
Michelle Feng, a licensed psychologist and chief clinical officer of Executive Mental Health in Los Angeles, points out that mental health is often tied to independence. She notes that a 2020 study with more than 2,000 Americans over 65 years of age concluded that a loss of independence with eating and bathing was associated with the most decline in mental health status.
Having mental health struggles due to ailing physical health — or any other reason — is valid grounds to move to a senior living facility. Along with receiving mental health care and treatment, your mental health may improve with increased socialization and physical activity.
[The Truth About Depression in Older Adults]
5. Downsizing
Like many seniors, you might be living in a sizable residence meant for family get-togethers and visiting grandchildren. However, this square footage can become difficult to navigate and maintain with age. Once-simple tasks, such as traversing from the bedroom to the kitchen, keeping surfaces disinfected, maintaining pet waste or landscaping, can become taxing.
In addition, some seniors struggle with throwing items away. The practice of hoarding is also not uncommon among seniors. A 2014 study in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry estimates that between 15% and 25% of seniors exhibit some of the characteristics of hoarding disorder, which can be exacerbated by old age and dementia.
Transitioning to a senior living facility can pose the perfect opportunity for you to downsize and choose which household items are worth cherishing and passing down to future generations.
6. Needing help with instrumental activities of daily living
Aside from basic care like grooming or using the restroom, you may also need to perform more advanced self-care tasks, called instrumental activities of daily living.
These include:
— Grocery shopping
— Transportation to and from activities
— Preparing meals and cleaning up after meals
— Financial management of bills and assets
— Housekeeping
— Communication, such as using a phone and email as needed
With age, some seniors benefit from having these tasks taken off their plate by moving to a senior living facility.
7. Safety
When the risk is greater than the reward of independent living, it’s time to search for an alternative. Day-to-day living should not be unsafe. If it is, it’s the right time to move into a care home.
Some risks of independent living can include:
— Increased prevalence of falls
— Wandering in or outside the home and getting lost
— Caregiver stress and burnout
— Burdensome cost and effort of in-home care
— Sundowning, or confusion or agitation that occurs in the evening hours
These risk factors can cause worsening physical and mental decline. In a senior living facility, staff are available to mitigate physical safety risks.
Senior Living Options
Often, a senior care journey begins with more independent levels of care. When it’s time to move to a higher level of care, like a nursing home or memory care, it’s usually because you need medical assistance, care for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia or extra help with your daily activities.
The following chart shows some options for senior living, from low acuity, meaning the needs of the senior are minimal, to high acuity, meaning they need assistance with most or all of their daily tasks.
| Care option | Description | Acuity | Average cost |
| Assisted living | Assisted living facilities are primarily for older adults who need minor help with activities of daily living, such as bathing or toileting. They differ from nursing homes, which offer more intense assistance with these tasks. | Low to moderate | The median monthly cost of an assisted living community is $5,900 per month, according to Genworth and CareScout’s Cost of Care survey. |
| Board and care homes | Board and care homes, or group homes, are smaller abodes that care for 20 or fewer seniors. They are an option for seniors who need some assistance with daily activities but who don’t need 24/7 medical care or supervision. Board and care homes are usually a more affordable senior care option. | Low to medium | Varies depending on location and the level of care needed, among other factors |
| Continuing care retirement communities, or CCRCs | Sometimes known as life plan communities, CCRCs are like a campus for senior care. Depending on the community, they may offer a range of services, from independent living quarters to skilled nursing care, so you can age in place. | Low to high | Depends on the fee model. An entrance-fee model can have a steep upfront fee ($100,000 to more than $1 million, based on some estimates) and a monthly service fee. A rental model allows you to pay a much smaller initial fee but has higher monthly costs. |
| Nursing home or skilled nursing facility | Nursing homes provide custodial care, or help with nonmedical needs, such as dressing or grooming. They may also provide help with medical or skilled nursing, such as therapy, medication management or wound care. | Moderate to high | The median monthly cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home is $9,277, according to Genworth and CareScout. A private nursing home room is $10,646 per month. |
| Memory care | Memory care is a specialized type of long-term care for those with memory loss, common in conditions such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. | Moderate to high | Memory care costs an average of about $7,505 per month. |
How Can You Prepare for a Move to Senior Living?
There are multiple strategies to ease the transition to a senior living community:
— Research your senior care options
— Tour multiple communities
— Involve your support system. Your medical providers and loved ones can serve as advocates to ensure you have a safe and comfortable living arrangement.
— Plan for costs. Choose the lowest necessary level of care and meet with an eldercare financial planner to discuss options for payment and what benefits may be available to you.
More from U.S. News
What Is a Skilled Nursing Facility vs. a Nursing Home?
Moving Your Senior Parents Into Your Home: What to Consider
Does Medicare Pay for Nursing Homes?
7 Reasons to Move to a Senior Living Facility originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 01/07/26: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
