Finding an Assisted Living Community That’s Right for You

If you’ve found that, as you’ve aged, you now need assistance with your daily tasks, then an assisted living facility can be a great option for you. It will provide you with the care you need to live a fulfilling life. However, it can also be a serious financial decision. Here are some helpful tips to ensure that you find a community that’s right for you.

Make a List of Needs

Many seniors start out by looking at the various assisted living communities and end up getting overwhelmed. Instead, start by making a list of needs. Include everything from the type of medical care that you need to the recreational activities you need in your life. 

When you have a list of what you’re looking for in an assisted living facility, you can better determine what facility is going to fit your needs quickly. This helps you stay on budget and ensure that you don’t spring for something that’s fancy but overly expensive.

Set a Budget

Your assisted living care should be easily affordable for you. You should take a look at what your budget is and will be in the future. Set yourself a budget for what you can comfortably afford to pay for your cost of living, keeping in mind your retirement fund and savings. 




By setting your budget ahead of time, you can limit yourself to looking at facilities in your price range. If you look at facilities first, you may find yourself signing a lease for a place that you end up having trouble affording.

Take a Tour

Now, you should have a very good idea of the qualities you’re looking for in a property and what price range you can afford. Next, it’s time to get your list together of potential properties to visit. You want to take the time to tour each facility to get a feel for how it will work for you. 

Don’t be shy about visiting a place multiple times before you decide whether or not you want to live there. This will help you maintain your budget and help you feel secure about this financial decision.

Speak with the Current Residents

One of the best ways to get a feel for how a community will work out for you is to talk with the existing residents. See how happy they are with the assisted living facility and get some information about the daily activities that are offered for residents. 

You may be surprised that you can learn more from a 10-minute conversation with a resident than you’ll get from reading all the fliers about the community.

When it becomes time to move into an assisted living facility it’s likely that you’ll have a lot of questions running through your mind. Understand how to slow down and take it to step by step; this can drastically help with your overall financial decision on where to stay. 

Be sure to start by utilizing the four tips above to find an assisted living community that’s right for you.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan