The journey to senior living is often full of contemplation, conversations, and choices to be made. To help prospective residents learn more about the realities of senior living, we hosted a resident panel where they could hear about others’ journeys to Holland Home. Below, we highlight some key takeaways from the event, touching on the process, challenges, and surprises that senior living has brought.
1. The sooner, the better.
Our panel of residents all moved to Holland Home for different reasons, but the common advice among them is to make the move to senior living sooner rather than later. Not only does it make the move easier physically, but it also gives you more time to enjoy the amenities, activities, and maintenance-free living that Holland Home offers. Ideally, moving to a senior living community is a choice you don’t have to make but get to make for yourself.2. The community here is for everyone.
Our community is made up of people from all different backgrounds—couples, singles, lifelong West Michigan residents, and people from out of state—who come together to enjoy their aging journey here at Holland Home. While there are different opinions and perspectives throughout our community, people here are respectful and welcoming. At the end of the day, everyone here is in a similar phase of life and is experiencing their aging journey together, which leads to many long-lasting and deep friendships.3. Downsizing is the biggest challenge.
We weren’t surprised to learn that downsizing and leaving a home filled with memories were among the more difficult parts of the move for many of our residents. However, many of them were able to find joy in the process—passing down treasured items to family members or donating items to people in need, for example. Residents were sure to note that Holland Home doesn’t leave you to do it all on your own either—we partner with organizations like Pathway Movers to help with the downsizing and moving process.4. Participation is on your terms.
While our award-winning Vibrant Living model offers a variety of programming for residents to stay active, social, and engaged, there is no mandatory participation. Residents can pick and choose what they would like to do based on their own interests and schedule.“You could be busy all day. In fact, we have some people in our building who are hardly in their apartments. They go from exercise class to coffee, to a lecture, to a concert, to a movie, and then get on the bus to go for pizza. It's just that kind of a day for some of them.” - Carol, Current Holland Home Resident
“Everybody was so welcoming and friendly, but I was a little overwhelmed. I wanted a little more privacy. And somebody down the hall who I knew said to me, ‘Judy, you can be as private and as solitary as you want or as social as you want.’ ” -Judy, Current Holland Home Resident.
5. It's not as big of a change as expected.
When the move is over, and you are settled in your new home, residents have found that it’s not as big of a change as expected. Soon, the things they thought they were losing become outweighed by what is gained—a community that looks out for one another, the peace of mind that comes with our promise of care, and the extra time that maintenance-free living provides.
Interested in learning more about Holland Home? Email info@hollandhome.org or call (616) 643-2730 to schedule a tour.