Resources to Help You Ease into (or More Fully Embrace) Senior Living
May 6, 2022Whether you’re looking ahead to the lifestyle you’ll enjoy when you retire or you’ve been retired for years, there’s always more to learn that can help you feel your best and get the most out of every day.
Our goal in writing these blog posts is to provide useful information for older adults — and not just those who are considering moving to a retirement community.
For this post, we’ve compiled a variety of links to resources on our website, as well as other blog posts on several topics of interest. Our hope is that you can use this information to enhance your health, map out your financial future and maybe even have some fun!
Feeling Your Best, in All Ways
We believe that good health encompasses more than having a strong, capable body, though that certainly can provide the foundation for your general well-being. Your mental and emotional health also factor into the equation. For some people, spiritual health is important, too. That’s why we take a holistic approach to wellness.
You’ll find quite a few blog posts in our archives on the subjects of fitness and how staying active can offer a multitude of benefits as you get older. Here’s a sampling of the topics:
• Exercises for seniors that are good for both body and brain
• Finding renewed vitality through the senior living lifestyle
• The differences between “positive aging” and “healthy aging” (both are important!)
• Healthy habits you can develop, and more reasons to be active
• Tips, trends and thoughts for whole-body wellness
• Finding peace and calm with Marla Williams and The BEING Zone™
You can also read about how two of our residents, the Clarks, who are in their 80s, take advantage of the beautiful nature trails in and around our community to get at least a five-mile walk in, every day.
If you’re curious about some of the other ways residents at Emerald Heights stay active, this blog post about our summer Fun & Fitness Games is a great place to start. Then, you can round it out with this short post about our group fitness classes and one-on-one personal training.
If you’re interested in discovering how volunteering can add to your sense of purpose and help you connect with others, we’ve covered that, too. We’ve even offered some pointers on how to brush up on your technology skills.
Fresh Air and a Feast for the Eyes
Part of the attraction of living in our community is the gorgeous Pacific Northwest landscape that surrounds it. We made a point of writing about that in a couple of posts:
• Day trips and other adventures
• Your hub for outdoor recreation in Redmond, WA
Thinking About Moving to a Retirement Community?
If the idea of devoting more of your time and energy to the things you want to do (instead of using it up on taking care of your house), then the maintenance-free lifestyle of a retirement community is probably enticing.
These blog posts can give you some insight into the decision-making process and what to expect before, during and after the move:
• Forming a retirement plan and understanding your retirement living options
(scroll down to the later sections in the post)
• 5 reasons to make your move sooner than later
• Ease the stress of moving by having a game plan
• Senior living can open up a whole new world
Attractive, Yes, But Can You Afford It?
Peering into the future typically brings two major areas of concern into focus for most older adults: their health and whether they will have enough money to last throughout retirement.
We have financial tools on our website you can use to determine which residential option(s) might be the best fit for you and whether you can afford to live at Emerald Heights.
In addition, we’ve compiled some information about potential tax benefits that you and your tax advisor may find useful.
For instance, did you know that a portion of the payments you would make to a Life Care community such as ours can be deducted as a medical expense if you meet the eligibility requirements?
Speaking of Life Care …
If you’ve just begun looking into retirement communities, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the different types there are. Rather than launching into a very lengthy discussion on the many differences, we’ll note that Emerald Heights is the only not-for-profit Life Care community in Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland, WA.
You’ll find a basic description of what Life Care is on our wellness page and more in-depth information about it in these blog posts:
• What Life Care could mean to you
• 4 top benefits of Life Care — financial stability, refundability options, priority access to care and multiple levels of care available where you live
• Specific financial benefits of Life Care
Exploring Emerald Heights
If you decide that you’re interested in looking further into the possibility of making our community your new home, we’d love to talk with you and give you a tour. You can contact us to set up a time that’s convenient for you.
In the meantime, you can take a virtual tour with our interactive campus map — where you can view floor plans, photos and videos by clicking on the labels when they pop up.
You can also visit our photo gallery and our video gallery to see more about what it’s like to live here. We’ve also written some resident “profiles” that can give you a glimpse of the fascinating people who would be your neighbors if you lived here. We invite you to read their stories.
Lastly, we’d be remiss if we didn’t encourage you to check out the events we have coming up. Some are virtual events, which you can attend while kicking back in your favorite chair at home.
We’re also hosting a series of Open House events over the summer. These are great opportunities to come by and take a look at our community and some of the residential options we offer.
You can reserve a slot for any of our events by registering online. If you would like more information about them — or about anything here at Emerald Heights — give us a call at 866-338-9037.
