Senior Housing Options and Considerations

What are the options?

These days, a person looking for senior housing – whether for independent, assisted living, adult care home, or a long term nursing facility – has more options than ever before, and there’s no reason to think that the growth will stop any time soon. Among the reasons for this growth are the following:

• Simply put, the senior population is exploding. After all, the Baby Boomer generation got its name for a reason. It’s also true that improved healthcare and a better understanding of diet and exercise contribute to the nation’s longevity.
• It is already proving challenging for the eldercare housing industry to construct (or convert) enough brick and mortar structures into senior housing. That’s not to mention the practical problems in finding and training sufficient staff.
• Today’s seniors are also becoming more of an economic force than ever before. This makes them of special interest to anyone involved in any branch of the eldercare industry, especially housing.
• As numerous studies have shown, retirees contribute significantly more to a given community than they take away. Not only do they spend money, but they may also do volunteer work, making them attractive tenants.

Growing demand for alternative senior housing

Few seniors have ever been thrilled at the idea of moving into anything that could be described as a “facility,” it sounds so institutional and because it is a symbolic milestone in our life journey. “Ageing in which entails continuing to live in the home of one’s own choosing has generally been thought of as the ideal, but perhaps more out of comfort than any rational or pragmatic thinking. Whether in our own home, the home of our adult children, or some sort of “facility”, we would much, much prefer it to be warm, comfortable and aesthetically appealling as opposed to austere and sterile.

Innovative Alternative Housing for Retirees

The following list of housing options are illustrative, as there most likely more, and many that are further hybrids of others.  But this list give you a good idea just how broad the spectrum of options are.

Cohousing

According to Cohousing.org, this approach to independent living is “an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space.” Each of the community members is financially independent, but they share responsibility for running the neighborhood and are all engaged in decision-making.

There is often a common space – a separate house or apartment that includes a kitchen, laundry facilities, dining room, and more – where the residents could meet to share meals or discuss community issues. Sociability and shared community responsibilities characterize this arrangement, and it frequently has a strong ecological (eco-housing) ethos.

Green Housing

The term, coined by age care specialist Bill Thomas some 16 years ago, refers to a new model of nursing home or memory care unit that is anything but a warehouse. Instead, each Green House allows only a few residents, who share a home-like atmosphere, hindered by as few restrictions as practicable.

As a result, the residents get the personal attention they each need while reducing the stress for their healthcare providers. Ultimately, a happier and healthier atmosphere is generated, and all feel respected.

Leisure (or Lifestyle) Oriented Retirement Communities (LORC)

This type of senior housing has existed for several decades and may overlap with the category of Niche Senior Retirement Communities listed below.

Micro-communities

These communities are a form of home-like residential/assisted living care. As the name suggests, these are small communities that are suitable for those who wish to avoid a larger, more crowded assisted living facility. This would also be an appropriate choice for a resident whose personality or medical condition requires special attention.

Multi-gen Housing

This type of living situation involves a minimum of three generations of family members all living under the same roof or on the same property. As of 2012, 18.1% of Americans, approximately 57 million people, were sharing a home with family, and those numbers seem to be on the rise. Historically, this style of housing is achieved when

(a) the living space in the main house that is augmented by adding on or converting existing space,

(b) an “in-law” apartment added over the garage, or

(c) a separate tiny home has been built on the property.

The current demand for more multi-gen housing, though, has inspired innovations by businesses like NextGen by Lennar and the Toll Brothers. Other related terms to search for in your community are Adult Accessory Units, Accessory Dwelling Units, Accessory Units, In-law Units, Multi-gen Dwelling, Rolled-out Casitas, and Tiny Houses.

Niche Senior Retirement Communities

This type of senior housing consists of a niche community composed of seniors, or sometimes a broader age range. The members occupy separate or attached homes or even an apartment building. The binding factor is a shared interest or trait. It could be birdwatching or carpentry, music or cooking, sexual orientation or shared religion, golfing, or bridge – you name it, and it may already exist or is simply waiting for someone to initiate it.

The amount of assistance available for seniors will vary from one community to another, though generally, once one loses one’s mobility or develops a serious condition, that person will need to move to a place that offers the appropriate medical care.

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORC)

Dr. Michael Hunt of the University of Wisconsin-Madison coined the term NORC in 1984. To qualify, a community must contain at least 40% of residents who are 60+ years of age. All of them must still live in their own homes and not require home nursing treatment. At the very best, this type of senior housing breeds camaraderie, activity, and positive social interaction that benefits all.

Tiny Houses

See Multi-gen Housing.

University-Based Retirement Communities (UBRC)

More college and university campuses are creating and offering housing for seniors, ranging from independent to assisted living. This is often an attempt to shore up income due to inconsistent enrollment and budgeting cuts.

Depending on the campus, seniors might have separate housing or share an apartment building with college students. Enticements include free or discounted classes, access to first-rate medical care, and a vibrant, stimulating atmosphere.

Village Movement

This type of senior housing is another means of achieving aging in place for retirees, while also positively impacting their neighbors. Neighbors form a village when they agree to take on the responsibility of assessing, coordinating, and ultimately delivering the necessary services to each member of the village.

These include medical, home repair, grocery shopping, pet walking, and so on. A board of directors, chosen from the village, manages the non-profit organization. Each member pays membership fees. These are based on how many services that person is using and go back into running the village.

Villages make it possible for a senior to remain in their own home. Furthermore, this approach relies heavily on volunteerism and seems to engender a sense of community, drawing all involved closer. There are reportedly more than 200 villages in the United States today. However, it is still too new a model to pronounce a success.

Despite having the support of one’s community, older adults may eventually have no choice but to leave their homes. However, the inclusions of Green Housing and Micro-communities above proves that it’s not only Independent Living and Assisted Living that continues to evolve in the senior housing sector. And, if a kinder and deeper understanding between the generations should emerge along with these new communities, then so much the better.

Conclusion

Rancho Los Labradores is an interesting opportunity that fits into this discussion. It easily fits into the concepts of micro-community and village movement, but in a way, it also could be considered a niche retirement community because people that come to Rancho Los Labradores come not only for the economics but the Mexican culture, lifestyle, architecture, and food

But what is not sufficiently addressed by the options presented above is the various levels of care that we will all eventually need at some point. You can begin your senior living in Rancho Los Labradores owning or renting a villa, or even taking one of the long term options at the Labradores Suites.  

When some sort of assistance is needed, you can take whatever services you need a la carte. If at some point, it becomes a need, you can transition into more and more assisted living, in your villa or suite until the time comes that you need lots of care and monitoring, at which point you can transition into Cielito Lindo where services and care support light assisted living, full assisted living, memory care, and all the way through hospice. This is more important than what it might seem at first, but the last thing anyone wants or needs much later in life is to have to find a new place to live because your needs are beyond and what your current facility can support.