Senior Living Retirement Community Types and Choices

Senior Living Communities can help seniors live a longer healthier life; here we have explained the many types of senior community housing.

Independent Senior Living Centers

Independent living communities are for seniors who can for the most part, take care of themselves. An independent living community provides senior friendly housing and services.

Independent living community is limited to and designed for seniors with some common areas may included TV or family rooms, large meeting room and livable desgin features live elevators, ramps, at entrance pickup area and wider halls. Sometimes there is an outside garden with seating areas.

Other features vary but could include on site dining, shuttles, commercial services on site, nurse or on call medical services.

Independent living properties vary greatly from urban highrise apartments or condos, to rural personal care homes with individual smaller buildings.

Senior Assisted Living Centers

Assisted Living for Seniors only residential facility that offfers meals, assistance with personal care, housekeeping, and monitoring of resident's health and safety. Nursing and medical care not included.
Assisted Living Guide

Senior Apartments

Senior apartments communities sometimes are under federal housing guidelines (HUD) and will only accept low income seniors, but some are privately owned. Senior apartments are age qualified for independent active seniors 55 and older or sometimes 62 and over. Senior apts are designed for active seniors and do not offer meal service, housekeeping or medical assistance. There is a limted number of senior apartments and may be a waiting lists several months long.

Senior apartment complexes are many times located in urban city centers in high rise aptment building. Lately, many senior apartments are in low rise apartment complexes in the suburbs, near shopping centers and malls, pubic or mass transit. Some senior communities are now offering home care.

Continuing Care Retirement Community

- CCRCs are so named because they address the entire continuum of care with healthy seniors moving into independent living apartments, but having the security of knowing they can "age in place" thanks to assisted living and skilled nursing services on site. The number of Continuing Care Retirement Communities nationally has risen sharply over the past 25 years from 274 in the early 1980s to 2,240 in 2005, according to the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

Usually are very expensive however many guarantee lifetime shelter and care with long term contracts that detail the housing and care obligations of the CCRC as well as its costs. This is becoming more popular.

(retirement homes, retirement communities, senior housing, long term care and elder care facilities)

Senior Homes and Senior Age Targeted But Not Restricted

More builders are building Livable Homes that makes your home more livable, comfortable and safer. These do not have to be in an age restricted community.

Some Senior communities are like Age-Restricted Communities in that they cater to the same age related interest with one level ranches of master on main, livable homes designs, community center, recreation and activities, etc, but they are not explicitly age-restricted. So you get seniors and sometimes young couples getting their starter home. But the subdivision community offers some of the same features sought by senior citizens. Variety of properties fall in the category including single family homes, condos, duplexes, townhomes, manufactoried homes, houses in subdivions, villages, parks and other communities.

Senior Congregate Housing

Congregate Housing is similar to independent living except that it usually provides convenience or supportive services like meals, housekeeping, and transportation in addition to rental housing.

These are multiunit housing buildings (private rooms or full apartments) that are restricted to persons over a specified age and that include supportive assistance. Typically, monthly charges include rent and supportive services. Congregate housing does not require licensure or certification by a public agency as personal care services (help with eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, transferring) are not provided or included in the monthly charge.

Active Adult Communities for Active Seniors

One occupant needs to be at least 55 year of age to live in an Active Adult Community, but many seniors in their 60's, 70's and 80's live in an active adult community. In a new active adult community the average age may be in the 60's, but as the community ages so do the average age of the residents. As to the active part, you do not have to do all he activities or any of them if you wish, but the community and the clubhouse are normally a georgeous place to live.