While the issue of aging-in-place might seem a long way off to you today, the earlier you start a plan for aging at home, the more likely you are to enjoy many years of independent living. Aging-in-place is the ability to stay in your home for as long as possible while you age. It is also one of the central concerns for seniors when deciding where to live or making renovations during retirement.
Aging-in-Place and Retirement Planning
Luckily, planning for aging-in-place goes hand-in-hand with planning for a fulfilling and healthy retirement regardless of age. That’s because well-being is essential to your ability to live a long life and remain independent.
Since this includes your physical and social well-being, you need to take a holistic approach to retirement planning. In this light, you’ll want to consider active lifestyle communities for seniors, which are known for supporting both an active lifestyle and providing more opportunities for socialization than regular communities where you are less likely to meet your neighbours.
How Your Social Health Impacts Your Physical Health
Studies show that your social well-being is equally important to your health as your physical well-being. In fact, recent evidence inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic suggests that there’s no substitute for in-person interactions. So even telephone calls and video chat interactions do not supply the kind of social interaction we all require for good health.
When most people plan for retirement, their first concern is meeting their financial goals. But it’s also critical to remember that all the wealth in the world isn’t going to amount to a fulfilling retirement if you can’t maintain a healthy lifestyle.
We all know that planning healthy choices is easier said than done. That’s why the best way to ensure you cover all of your bases is to give yourself every opportunity to expose yourself to healthy choices daily. The best way to accomplish this will require focusing on where you live.
How Blythwood Homes Can Help
If you’re looking for a better option in a living arrangement to help you reach your retirement goals, you need to work with a home builder who knows how to make your retirement dreams come true. Our team builds new homes and communities in the Niagara Region designed with retirees in mind. You can downsize from a large family home and move into a more manageable luxury townhome containing everything you need to enjoy life now and continue to do so as you get older.
Choosing Where You Live
When you gain more control over where you live and how your home is designed, you gain more control over your ability to age in place as long as possible. Whether you opt to buy one of our move-in ready homes or prefer to move into a custom design where you get to provide your input during construction, you can be sure that any home you buy from our team will be designed with features that will help you stay at home longer.
Why You Should Consider a Custom Home
While you might take possession of a move-in-ready home sooner than a custom design, the latter option will allow you more control over the finished product. Whether you’re concerned about features that allow you to age in place or want to personalize your home with layout plans or design choices to ensure you feel at home in your new property, a custom home is the way to go.
If you’re interested in working with our team but aren’t sure what custom home builders can offer to seniors regarding home safety and aging-in-place, here are a few ideas you may be interested in considering.
Concerns for Seniors Looking to Age in Place
When it comes to custom home features that promote your ability to age in place longer, there are a few design features that tend to stand out among our buyers, including the following:
Open-Concept Layouts with Lots of Room
Open-concept layouts are immensely popular because they allow families and friends to spend more time together without the limitations imposed by the separation of rooms. While the popularity of this design helps to ensure your home will retain its value and will appreciate over time, it also offers benefits to seniors eager for a home that is built for aging in place.
For example, wide open spaces allow for increased mobility, especially in the case of those who use assistance devices like wheelchairs. While this may not seem like a vital issue to you today, the idea of aging-in-place necessitates thinking ahead and remaining open to a range of possibilities.
Nonslip Flooring and Assistance Grab Bars
Nonslip flooring and other assistance devices are essential for home safety for seniors who experience mobility issues, as well as those who do not. Installing such safety features today will ensure you and your loved ones are prepared for the future and can help to prevent severe accidents at all times.
Easy-to-Reach Kitchen Cabinets
If you decide to buy an older home that requires renovations, you’ll often run into problems regarding old-fashioned nooks and crannies in poorly designed locations. If you’re a retiree buying a home after retirement to ensure you’ll be able to bring your goals to life, you shouldn’t have to worry about kitchen cupboards that require a dangerous step ladder just to reach them.
Appropriate Lighting
Given that a home’s lighting isn’t an issue that people often associate with aging-in-place, inadequate lighting is an issue that often goes overlooked. If you move into a new custom home, you won’t need to worry about poorly lit areas or missing out on any features that can help you to improve your day-to-day life. That’s because you’ll be able to take an active part in ensuring you have everything you need. You can even pick out the type of light fixtures you desire.
Your retirement should be full of the fun things that you love to do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan further ahead in the future. If you want to achieve the best balance of a fulfilling retirement home and one that will allow you to remain in your home the longest as you age, you need to consider adding features designed for aging-in-place.
If you’re interested in learning more about how our team at Blythwood Homes can help you find the perfect custom home for your retirement years, please contact us right away.