Senior Apartments

Senior Apartments are simple ways to downsize from a home to a smaller living area -- to be independent and yet to have folks living life all about you.

This is even truer when you live in a Senior Apartment with seniors all about you, you help each other.. this can be a huge Senior Family.

My father, who had never lived in an apartment in his life, moved into an apartment in his late 70's.

He moved for financial reasons, and he lived in an low income senior apartment for a few years... and did quite well there.

We didn't think of his move as a loss
of his independent life --
but rather of Gaining his Independence back!

Lower housing costs at the senior apartments gave him more freedom to do what he wanted to do!

Even if a senior moves into a normal apartment building... the advantages are many. There is no yard to take care of, no taxes to pay, security issues of living at home are gone, and much more.

Some of the important points that I'd like to share with you on my fathers senior apartment are: 

It was quiet... no children screaming (as there were in his mobile home park), only quiet seniors. He loved that!

  • Dads apartment walls were dense (concrete maybe?) so you never heard anything from other apartments. No arguments, no cooking, toilets flushing, nothing... all of which I heard when I lived briefly in a townhouse when I first married. You might want to  LOOK at the walls themselves, and listen to see what you hear when you tour the apartments.
  • The apartments were secure - you needed a swipe card or key to get into the apartment building, and another private one for your apartment door. The parking lots were well-lit and if there ever was an incident, the police would cruise through regularly to assure nothing else would happen
  • There was a bus service for those who wanted a ride to the nearby grocery stores, etc. Very convenient for those who no longer drove, or simply wanted company while they shopped.
  • There were parties - plenty of them with potluck bring-a-dish dinners. They had holiday parties, monthly birthday parties, a variety of get togethers every month where folks could get together and enjoy some company and chit chat.
  • There were activities - movie night, blood pressure screenings, craft nights, birthday parties each month, visiting nurses.. just a variety of activities, if you wished to join in, without leaving the building. They were all scheduled by the apartment office staff and if you cared to, you could keep quite busy and never leave the building itself!
  • When I went to visit, there was always lots of seniors hanging out daily.  Some in the TV room, others in the library, and others in the entry room that functioned like anyone's living room. Chairs and couches and they were filled with chatting seniors daily.... just wanting to get out of their apartment for some chit chat!
  • Now, I will admit -- my father did NONE of this.. grin!  He stayed in his apartment, went out when he wanted to, and was safe and secure in my mind. He didn't participate in anything, never went down to chit chat, and lived his solitary life much like he did before he moved to a senior apartment. He enjoyed the apartment as he had is privacy still...
  • Incidentally, finances were tight for my father, with only Social Security for income, but he lived quite well in an apartment as it was a low income senior apartment (he only paid approximately 30% of his income - around $330/mo of $900/month income). That left plenty for food, doctor appointments and medications, and even his visits to the local watering hole (his favorite pub!)
  • Every senior apartment is different, of course.... take the time to see what's happening there.  Talk to a few folks who live there to get their perspective on the apartments and the management of them.  Check it out.. its not easy to move, so make sure this is where you want to be!

How can I find these Low Income Housing places in MY community?

    You can find these low income housing units with a quick Google Search (below): I entered
    "senior hud apartments in roseville, michigan"