How do I figure out what the social atmosphere and culture is like in a senior living community?
To get to know a community, you’ll need to sort through the tangibles — the costs, floor plans, care levels, services, amenities, dining, fitness offerings — while you also try to figure out the one big intangible: What’s it feel like to live there? Even with all the other pieces lined up favorably, you still want to be sure that the social atmosphere and culture are a good fit.
Is it you?
To find out, try this: Think about those halcyon days of courtship. Remember how someone caught your eye? And then you wanted to find out more about them without embarrassing yourself? So, what did you do?
- You asked friends about them.
- You poked around until you discovered their hobbies and interests.
- And then you made a connection where you could sidle up and see how it felt to be there.
Courting a senior living community.
You can apply a similar courtship methodology — less the teenage angst — to your exploration of a senior living community.
Ask friends.
Perhaps you know a resident, or you know someone who knows a resident. Ask them what they think about the community. Listen for stories that reveal the presence or lack of kindness, support and friendliness. Does it sound open or do people divide up into tribes or cliques? And when you’re on campus, you can look for opportunities to engage with residents directly and get their opinions about community life.
Identify the pertinent action.
What’s the most popular activity in the community? Opinions will vary, so ask various people — residents you know, residents you talk to on campus, friends who know residents. Note: It’s not unusual to hear that happy hour is everybody’s favorite activity — at first. On reflection, many then augment that point of view, pointing out how the community and its residents are richly complex and more than merriment, munchies and mocktails. That’s when you’ll begin to collect insights into the kind of people they are and which activities they choose — beyond the always-fun happy hours.
Get invited.
A sales counselor may be able to help you gain access to a popular activity where you can sit in as an observer. You might make a new friend. You might get invited back again. And then you can reflect on whether it feels like you and the community’s culture happily align.
Jumpstart.
Finally, when you’ve cornered someone who knows the community intimately, you might simply ask: If this community were a character in a movie, who would it be?