One of the best pieces of wisdom that I picked up from a college professor is that “moving into senior living should feel like going away to college.” He elaborated that in college, there are several things that we look forward to and can reasonably assume will happen: we will move into a new place (sometimes with a roommate), we will have an abundance of activities to choose from, we will make new friends, and we will try out the dining halls. Transferring these same ideas to senior living and cultivating built up excitement surrounding them will lead to the gold standard: moving into a nice apartment, having a calendar with many stimulating activities to choose from, making friends in the same age group based on common interests, and eating delicious varieties of food prepared by a chef. And it’s not far-fetched to believe that senior living could become this, that it could ultimately be a phase of life that you look forward to the same way you did college- especially given the advancements and creativity occurring in the industry.

You see, senior living is changing. Leaders in the industry are beginning to understand that adjustments need to be made in order to curb the current sentiments surrounding senior living, and foster an eagerness to choose this way of life. Without further ado, I’d like to share three innovations in the models of senior living that I believe will heighten the perception surrounding it, and turn the internalized “I would hate that” to an enthusiastic “I would love that.” 

These three models are just a few of the ideas circulating the senior living industry. My guess is that more options will come about as the demand increases and the target market becomes increasingly persistent in asking for what they want. The successful senior living communities of the future will be the ones that make changes based on the market’s evolving preferences, not based on what they think is best for older adults. I look forward to seeing what the industry has to offer, and I have high hopes that soon enough, the option of senior living will feel like “going away to college.”