5 Tips for New Residents Transitioning into Assisted Living 

Making the transition to an assisted living community can be exciting and scary all at once. You most likely have lived with family or your partner for many years; and now, you are ready to embark on a complete new living arrangement. Again, this new environment can be enticing or frightening. How do you settle in this new space? How do you meet new people? Check out the following tips to get your loved one comfortable in a new living community.

5 Tips to Transition into an Assisted Living Community

• Share your family. Invite your family to meet your new friends and get to know what your days are like in your new living space. Allow your family and grandchildren to meet and interact with you and your friends, so it feels like home. This will allow you to share your family and let others get to know you better. Also, it gives your family a sense of peace when they can meet your new friends and see that you are settled and happy. 
• Get Involved. To thrive in your new community, you need to get involved and meet others. You can partake in activities and meet people and have a great time with your activities too! Jump in feet first and get involved and make sure to talk with others to avoid social isolation. You want to stay happy and enjoy this new phase of living and not get down and depressed. Therefore, get out of your room or apartment and meet others and enjoy new activities with them.
• Get to Know your Staff and Welcome Others. Getting to know that staff is fun and very helpful to ease the transition. They can become your friend and also an extra helper, when you need a hand with something. Staff can help you meet new people or try new adventures to enjoy the community. At the same time, you can also welcome new community residents to the facility. You were new once too, and you can let the newbies feel at home and you might just make a new friend or a partner to swim with. It is amazing what can happen when you open yourself up to greet and make others feel welcome.
• Be a Good Neighbor. Being kind may sound like common sense. The Golden Rule is to treat others like you want them to treat you, and it applies here. Kindness always goes a long way. Be courteous and thoughtful of others. Do not have your TV blaring or your dog barking, if you have one. Knock before you drop-in on your neighbor. Finally, just be a good person, and you will thrive with others and enjoy your new living space. 
• Relax. At the end of the day everything will not be perfect, and everything will not go your way all the time. Take a deep breath and relax. Settle in to your new living arrangements and listen. Take a few minutes to listen to others and enjoy the fun of meeting new people and trying new things. This new phase in living can be fun. It will be what you make it, so relax and enjoy the new changes. 

Moving into a new senior care facility can be exciting and fun. You have to be willing to take risks and meet new people and try new things. It will be as fun as you make it. Therefore, go have a ball and enjoy the new living situation. If you need help selecting the right assisted living facility for your loved one, contact Ann Jamison at Senior Living Options. Ann is experienced and willing to help you every step of the way in finding the right place for your aging parents.

Author: Ann Jamison

Ann Jamison is an experienced senior advisor who has successfully worked with hundreds of families to help them find the best care and home-like environment for themselves or their loved ones. Prior to launching Senior Living Options, Ann was an eldercare advisor for a national placement agency and served as sales director at a senior living community. Thanks to her 25-year career in advertising sales and marketing, Ann is able to discern between hype and reality for her clients. Ann recognizes that there are objective factors that need to be weighed when making a life-changing decision, but she can also assess the important softer attributes by getting to know her clients and by using the gut instincts that can only come through extended experience.