When you hit retirement age, one of the first things that come to mind is what to do with yourself. You have a lot of free time on your hands, and it’s recommended that you take advantage of it by staying busy and active. If you’re considering senior independent living in Houston, TX, here are some warning signs that indicate it’s time for this change:
Stopping Driving
The decision to stop driving is not one to take lightly. It’s a privilege, not a right. If you are no longer safe or even able to drive safely, then it’s time to decide for yourself and your family. Your loved ones will be relieved that they don’t have to worry about you on the road anymore, and they can rest easier knowing that you’re in good hands at home.
Managing Medications
Managing medications can be a big challenge for older adults. It’s not uncommon for aging family members to forget to take their medications or have trouble remembering the correct dosage. When you’re living on your own, it becomes easy to put off tasks like this until later in the day, when many people take their pills. This can lead to missed doses and potentially dangerous side effects from taking too much medication at once.
Being Alone Most Of The Time
It’s a common misconception that golden-age adults spend all their time talking about their grandchildren, but this isn’t necessarily true. For some aging family members, they only talk to their family members—and even then, it may not be for long periods. If you find yourself alone most of the day with nothing to do and no one to talk to or share your life with (even if it’s just over the phone), then this could indicate that it’s time for you to move into senior independent living.
Food Preparation
As you age, food preparation can become more difficult. With poor dexterity, strength, and mobility problems, some aging family members find themselves unable to handle tasks like chopping vegetables or safely using a stovetop. Others may have trouble seeing or hearing the timer on their oven.
Some family members can live independently—and feed themselves—with help from friends and family members who prepare meals for them in their own homes. However, if this arrangement isn’t working out for you and your loved ones aren’t able to visit often enough to cook and deliver meals regularly, it might be time for you to move into an assisted living community with meal service options available so that someone else can take over the cooking duties once per day (or even multiple times per week).
Increased Doctor’s Appointments
Having a checkup every six months or so is a good idea. This will help you and your doctor keeps track of any changes in your health and identifies areas that could use more frequent attention. If that sounds like it’s starting to become a problem, it’s time to start looking into senior independent living communities.
If you’re suddenly having more frequent doctor’s appointments than usual, chances are that there are some issues in the works with your health. If this happens consistently and seems like more than an isolated incident, it may be time for senior-friendly independent living communities, too (or maybe even assisted living apartments).
If you’re having more frequent specialist appointments than usual—especially if those specialists are new ones—then these changes could mean that moving into an independent living community would be beneficial for everyone involved!
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many reasons to move into senior independent living. The best part is that you can often stay in your current home, so there’s no need to relocate or sell your property. If you’re thinking about making the move, we recommend visiting our senior-friendly independent living community soon so that they can answer all of your questions and help ease any concerns.
Take care!
