The Benefits of Retirement Communities for Couples
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
The Benefits of Retirement Communities for Couples
Maybe you have fond memories of drive-in movie dates and pretty corsages for senior prom. Perhaps it seems like just yesterday you were being showered with rice and cans were clanking behind the car when you drove off as newlyweds. You might have fixed up a first house, raised children together, and led the family on countless vacations across the country.
Now, as a retired couple, you may be wondering what your next adventure will be together. If any of this sounds familiar, you will be interested to learn about the unique benefits that retirement community living can hold for couples looking to start a new chapter in their sweet story.
Spending More Time Together in Retirement
If work kept you or your spouse at the office for long hours or traveling frequently, you might see retirement as a chance to spend more time together. In a retirement community with all of the necessary amenities just around the corner from your home, you can enjoy a casual movie date or a delicious dinner together and a quiet moonlight walk home anytime you want. What’s more, in a relaxed atmosphere like ours, you won’t have to wait for a table, find a place to park or struggle to talk over a crowd.
In-unit kitchens, laundry and living spaces mean you can also enjoy alone time as often as you would like. When you do feel like going out, a social retirement community like ours offers frequent musical performances and holiday-themed parties, so you and your sweetheart can get dressed up and dance the night away.
Trying New Things as a Retired Couple
As a retired couple, you will have plenty of spare time to do whatever you like, so you and your spouse might be looking forward to trying new activities and making new friends. In a retirement community, chances are many others around you are doing the same. When everyone in a community is living a new chapter in their lives, the pressure is off and you can have the confidence to try classes and activities you never dreamed you would. You can also feel at ease among new faces because everyone was new to the community at one point.
In fact, it will likely be easier than you think to find friendship in a retirement community, because faces become familiar very quickly when you’re using common spaces, attending group activities, and working on community projects. Also, because the friends you make in a retirement community happen to be your neighbors, it’s especially easy for you and your spouse to organize and enjoy dinner parties, card games, group outings and double dates on a regular basis.
You and your spouse may also want to pursue passions separately as well, which can be healthy for any relationship. Maybe your husband enjoys spending time outdoors and gardening, while you like to spend time at the library and participate in book clubs. Living in a retirement community with a variety of classes and amenities will allow you to each get involved in whatever peaks your interest. This not only gives you some rich conversation topics for the dinner table, but also keeps you both energized and happy, individually and together.
Taking Care of Each Other During Retirement
Although your spouse may not mind continuing to mow the lawn and clean the gutters, you might realize that it’s in his or her best interest to relinquish some of the more grueling household tasks. A retirement community offering low-maintenance living spaces and a staff that can assist you in maintaining your property will help you keep yourself and your loved one safer and healthier in the long run.
It’s also wise to be prepared for unexpected illnesses and injuries because we never know what life will bring us next. You want what is best for your “other half,” and you might spend a significant amount of time and energy worrying about his or her well being if something unexpected were to happen health wise. Living in a retirement community can give you and your spouse peace of mind, knowing the convenient proximity of healthcare professionals if one or both of you should need them. A community like ours also offers various levels of assisted living to help you care for your spouse if he or she is already struggling with a medical condition.
Retirement Community Living for Couples
What are you and your spouse looking for in a retirement lifestyle? If your answer is the perfect balance of independent living and available assistance to to suit you individually and as a couple, a retirement community might be the best place to enjoy and enrich your relationship in this new chapter of your life. We love seeing retired couples thrive in our community, and we would be delighted to give you a tour of the Village at Germantown. To learn more about how retirement communities can suit both couples and singles looking for an active lifestyle, take a look at one of our past blogs for a peek inside Germantown retirement living.