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Let’s celebrate Valentine’s Day with a little conversation about senior living. We know what you’re thinking, senior living and romance- a match made in heaven. For some couples, this is very true!

Truth is, there are plenty of couples who move into our communities and realize the many benefits that moving in together can bring.

Plus, we provide three homemade and healthy meals each day – imagine cutting out the ‘what are we having for dinner’ argument between you and your spouse.

From care to friendships and the importance of socializing with more than your spouse (and you should socialize with more than your spouse), there are many benefits of moving into senior living as a couple. We are going to highlight just a few benefits but if you want to learn more, read our blog, The Benefits of Senior Living for Couples.

3 Benefits of Moving in as a couple:

1. Socialization

We mentioned socializing with more than your spouse above as kind of a joke, but in all seriousness, you should be socializing with more than just your spouse! Moving in together is a great chance to meet other couples and explore individual friendships with other residents. There may come a time during the care journey where one spouse needs to move to memory care or passes away and having existing friendships within the community can go a long way in making the transition a little easier.

2. Care

A lot of the time when couples come to our community they’ve spent the last few years with one taking care of the other. Overtime being in that caregiver role can take away the romance in any relationship. Moving into a community allows for couples to become husband and wife again and enjoy quality time together. This is especially important if one partner starts needing more care than the spouse can provide.

What if my partner needs memory care, can we move in together? The short answer is YES.

This may look different depending on the couple and the needs of the residents, but you can move in together if one spouse needs memory care. For a more detailed explanation we suggest you read our blog, When One Partner Has Dementia and the Other Doesn’t: Senior Living Options.

Here are the different paths you can take when moving in to the community with different care needs:

• Care plans– every resident who moves in receives an assessment, which is when the care plan process begins. If you are moving in with a spouse, you have 2 different care plans and it is possible that one of you might need assistance while the other doesn’t.
• Same community, separate neighborhoods– many of our communities offer a memory care neighborhood, we call these our Avita neighborhoods. If you are moving in with a spouse who needs memory care, you might consider having your spouse live in an apartment in one of our Avita neighborhoods while the other spouse lives in a separate apartment on the traditional side of our building (Independent and Assisted Living)
• Same neighborhood, different care needs- if the spouses wish to live in the same apartment you might consider both living in an apartment in our Avita memory care neighborhood. These situations can be complex so we suggest working with the community to find the best solution for your family.

Don’t think we forgot to talk about the third reason.

3. Improved Quality of Life

This can be anything from dining to not having to shovel the driveway to finding a new hobby to learn about with your significant other. Moving into a senior living community allows couples to recapture the quality of life that living at home they might miss.

• Maybe one spouse hasn’t driven in years because they can’t see well and the other has had to do all the driving. Our engagement teams provide a robust calendar of fun trips to shops, restaurants, museums and more that both spouses can enjoy with or without each other!
• Maybe you and your spouse have different needs when it comes to exercise class- our programming allows residents to participate in a variety of exercises like Barre Balance, yoga, strength training and more.

It wouldn’t be a blog about Valentine’s Day if we didn’t mention a dinner date! Couples are able to dine together for as many (or as little) meals as possible and they can be enjoyed together at a cozy two top table or with friends.

Are you part of a couple, considering senior living, and looking to add a little more romance to your life? We encourage you to think about the benefits of life at a Northbridge community for you and your significant other- be sure to ask about joining us for a meal in our dining room!

We’re here to answer any of your questions. Please contact us if we can provide further information or if you would like to schedule a personalized tour. Download our complimentary Family Decision Toolkit.