Building a life in a senior living community comes with many rewards. Freedom from household chores. Hot meals you don’t have to prepare yourself. Amenities that nurture your mental and physical health. What rises to the top varies from one resident to the next, but you might be surprised how often one, in particular, stands out.
It's the people.
Senior living communities bring together a group of individuals at a similar stage of life, with similar values and aspirations — and the result is truly remarkable. Those commonalities make it possible, even easy, to prioritize staying connected in retirement.
Maintaining social ties is important for seniors. In fact, socialization plays a major role in older adults’ overall emotional, cognitive and physical health. Some research even suggests that strong social connections can help delay the onset of dementia and increase your lifespan.
Building Connections Starts with You
It may seem like a contradiction, but one of the most effective strategies for staying connected in retirement is focusing on yourself first. Being intentional about honoring your hobbies and interests underscores the value of feeling connected within yourself — to your beliefs, values and the world around you.
A strong sense of self helps ground you during a stage of life when you may be navigating several unfamiliar paths at once, such as retirement, a recent move and getting acquainted with a new community. Maintaining a firm hold on familiar attitudes, ideals and interests can keep you feeling anchored in a world filled with new beginnings.
As you contemplate what community means to you in this new stage of life, consider what activities bring you joy and fill you with a sense of purpose. Explore how you can dedicate more time to those activities, whether on your own or with others.
How Solo Activities Create Connections
While introspection is beneficial for your mental and emotional health, the themes that emerge from that self-reflection can provide a natural springboard for establishing connections with those who share your interests. You might think of it as a low-pressure approach to building friendships after 60.
Even activities that you traditionally think of as solo hobbies, like reading or sewing, can become group activities that you share with neighbors. A book club might rotate among residents’ private homes or apartments — or convene in a common area if the group grows large enough that you need the space. Similarly, a sewing circle is a great place to enjoy friendly banter while you learn new skills from fellow seamstresses, trade patterns and join forces for philanthropic crafting.
While you can find similar clubs and events for seniors in the larger local community, taking part in special interest groups within your senior living community promotes a special kind of camaraderie (and it makes for easy coordination, since you all live nearby).
What’s more, many senior living communities, including Riverside Senior Life’s Westwood community, encourage residents to speak up if they’re interested in forming a new group that reflects an untapped area of interest and brings fellow residents together.
Community Programming Reinforces Socialization
Indeed, Westwood’s community calendar is full of events and activities that allow subsets of residents to explore niche hobbies and passions, but it also offers a wealth of programming designed to appeal to broader segments of seniors. That means you can expand your social circle even further.
One example is the group class schedule at the wellness center. You can also find regular recreational activities that a variety of residents attend, and planned outings like shopping trips or local tourism excursions give you other opportunities to mix and mingle with your neighbors.
Programming aside, a community’s amenities can also help foster a stronger sense of social wellness for seniors. You’ll find several popular features at the Westwood campus where seniors can engage with neighbors. Residents tend to congregate in areas such as the billiard room and lounge, creative arts studio, theater and gardening beds, just to name a few.
Put Your Best Social Foot Forward
Now that you know how many opportunities you can uncover to build friendships and make meaningful connections in a senior living community, it’s time to take action.
Here’s your checklist to put these ideas into practice and take proactive steps to be more social, build community and make the most of opportunities that are available at a community such as Riverside Senior Life’s Westwood campus.
- Think about what interests you personally. You might even find it helpful to make a list.
- Consider what themes or activities you might enjoy sharing with peers.
- Explore existing clubs, groups and programming that match your interests and make plans to attend the next scheduled event.
- Take the time to get to know other participants and learn what common interests you share.
- If you don’t find what you’re looking for, talk with the community’s activity director about your ideas and how you can lead a club or activity that others can join.
- Challenge yourself to explore the community and get familiar with all of the amenities that you’d like to use, whether immediately or in the future.
- Avoid becoming a creature of habit; make it a point to follow a different route on the walking trail or visit the library at a different time of day, when you might encounter a different group of neighbors.
- Offer a friendly “hello.” Often that’s all it takes to get a conversation started, and a new friendship blossoms from there.
Interested in making a move to a community that prioritizes supporting residents who want to stay connected in retirement? Contact us to make plans to visit and learn more about becoming a resident at Westwood.