How To Reduce the Stress of Moving to a Senior Living Community

Moving to a senior living community is an exciting adventure. While you may be ready for your move, it’s normal to feel stressed—moving is a big life change with many moving parts. Learn how to reduce the stress of moving so that you can truly enjoy this new chapter of your life.

Prioritize Your Ideal Lifestyle

Finding the right senior living community is the most important step in the moving process. As you explore your options, consider your current lifestyle and what you want to maintain or improve. The community you choose should enhance your life in many different ways. During your tour, ask these key questions:

What opportunities does the community offer for you to hone your hobbies and explore your interests? Look at their community amenities to see if something piques your interest.
How does the community support a luxurious lifestyle? The community’s services will paint this picture. Choose a community with supportive services like housekeeping, landscaping, and on-site dining venues. These services give you more time to spend on what matters most.
Is the community culture one you want to be part of? Look at the community’s event calendar to see what activities are available to residents and how these support connected, engaged lifestyles. Ask team members and current residents about their favorite part of the community.

Have a Transparent Conversation With Your Adult Children

While you may be excited about moving to your new community, the decision may surprise your adult children. It’s normal for them to have questions and concerns. Your loved ones want to ensure you’re safe, happy, and able to stay in touch with family and friends.

Reassure your children of your decision by having a candid conversation with them about your decision. Openly share your needs, wants, and expectations with this move—and make sure they share theirs, too. Work together to strategize around how often you’ll see each other and how you’ll stay in touch between visits. Invite them to tour your community or attend an event with you so that they can experience it firsthand. Ask them for help with the logistics of your move. The more included they are in the process, the more confident they will feel about the move.

Embrace New Friendships

Moving to a new community opens the door to new friendships. Embrace every opportunity to build connections through community events and activities. Join a book club, sign up for art classes, or take an exercise class; there should be plenty of group activities to meet people with similar interests.

Making friends will go a long way in helping you acclimate to your new home. Friends provide social and emotional support that enhances your overall well-being. Since everyone in a senior living community has been through this transition, they have a level of empathy and understanding that can support you as you transition.

Downsize Strategically

Downsizing and moving doesn’t mean you have to get rid of your prized possessions—instead, think of it as curating a collection of your favorite things to personalize your new space. In addition to decluttering, downsizing makes it easy to keep your home organized, clean, and easy to navigate. Use these tips to simplify the downsizing process:

Visit your apartment before the move to get an idea of its size and layout. This will help you strategize around what items you want to keep.
Create a realistic timeline and give yourself some flexibility with deadlines, since some tasks will take longer than anticipated. Start the downsizing process well ahead of time to prevent feelings of stress and getting overwhelmed.
Go room by room and label everything by what you want to keep, sell, donate, and throw away. Set aside your important documents and paperwork in a folder to ensure they aren’t lost.
Many hands make light work. Get help from loved ones to pack, sell, donate, and throw away your things.

Live Stress-Free at Village on the Green

If you’re looking for a vibrant community that will empower you to live life to the fullest, you can find that and more at Village on the Green. Our picturesque community located in Longwood, Florida, offers endless opportunities to thrive, live well, and find your people.

Plus, we take measures to ensure a smooth, stress-free move. For instance, our community partners with a third-party team of movers who specialize in helping seniors move into their new homes. In addition, you will have a dedicated move-in coordinator to support you before, during, and after your move.