New Trends in Senior Living
As baby boomers begin to consider moving to a retirement community in the next 10 years, the trends in senior living will evolve to accommodate them. The future of senior living for baby boomers will focus on autonomy and choices because that’s what this new generation of retirees expects.
4 Upcoming Trends in Retirement Living
1. High-Quality Retirement Lifestyles
Seniors in the next 10 years will be looking for an exceptional retirement experience. They want to know that expert care is available, but as they move from their houses, they want to find an exceptional lifestyle — one worth moving for.
Seniors will seek out luxury senior living that allows them to be around friends and neighbors and share cultural experiences, take specially designed group exercise classes, grow their creative skills, continue learning and enjoying life.
An important focus when evaluating the lifestyle will be dining. Tomorrow’s seniors will want not only delicious and inventive food on the menu in the main senior dining room, but they’ll want a variety of venue options within the community. They expect to grab cocktails with friends in a comfortable space and have choices between casual and formal dining — without sacrificing quality.
2. One-Move Retirement Solutions
Seniors are savvy. While older senior living options sometimes required multiple moves as health needs progressed, modern seniors want to move once, and know they’re prepared for the future. Life Care communities, offering a continuum of health services and smart financial benefits, will become an even more popular option.
3. Technology
Tomorrow’s seniors will be more familiar and comfortable with technology than their predecessors, which will open up some exciting lifestyle and health-related advances. Smart technology can offer a lot of peace of mind. Smart lights can help prevent nighttime falls. Telehealth connectivity will enable easier doctor consultations from the comfort of the community.
Smartwatches and other wearable technology solutions will become more accurate and pervasive. Various smartwatches are already tracking heart rates, oxygen levels, glucose levels and activity levels. Some doctors’ offices are beginning to invest in technology that can connect and track data directly from smart technology to receive up-to-the-minute health information about their patients.
This practice will likely become more common, especially for people with chronic illnesses. Senior living communities will be able to help seniors adjust activity choices, food selection, or environmental options based on the most current data.
The voice-activated technology, automated reminders and connectivity features will make smart home devices more popular for seniors as well. Security systems, entertainment devices and climate control can all be operated with voice commands, so seniors don’t necessarily have to learn new processes for each new device.
Expect to see more senior living communities outfitted with smart home technology in the future. Seniors will expect it.
4. A Focus on Wellness
While past seniors have put off moving to a community until they had a health-related reason, modern seniors are likely to move earlier to reap the physical, social and emotional wellness benefits offered. Expert resources, senior-specific workouts, senior living activities, dining options influenced by nutritionists, lifelong learning opportunities, and social connection are designed to keep seniors independent and healthy longer. Seniors who want to put a smart plan in place for their present as well as their future will opt for senior living to prioritize well-being, and forward-thinking communities will emphasize preventive health solutions.
At Sagewood, we’re constantly monitoring trends in senior living to anticipate the kind of services and amenities they will want. As the industry considers what adjustments to make within senior living for baby boomers, we feel uniquely suited to meet their needs in both our independent living and assisted living neighborhoods. In fact, we’re currently building a $100 million expansion to provide a greater selection of apartments, more dining options — even an 18-hole golf course right on campus.
If you’d like to find out more about the lifestyle at Sagewood, please reach out to us. One of the friendly team members would be pleased to provide more details.
