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Southgate at Shrewsbury

Retirement community near Shrewsbury and Worcester, MA

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1.800.492.8331

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The First Things to Consider When Moving to a Retirement Community

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Choosing the right retirement community for you shouldn’t be a tedious task. Discovering what you value in a living space and picking a community based on that is part of the process in finding your new home.

When looking at a retirement community, it’s important to consider things like location, environment, amenities, and housing options before moving in. You can use the guide below to help guide you during the vetting process.
 

Location

One of your number one priorities when looking for a retirement community should be deciding where you want to live. You should ask yourself: Do I want to be near the city or in a quieter, rural area? What do I want to have close access to?

The location of your retirement home is important for not only you, but for your visitors and family members as well. You may want to live in a space where family is close by, or somewhere with attractions to explore when they come to visit.

Southgate is located just 45 minutes outside of Boston with access to a local library, parks and festivals in Shrewsbury. There are plenty of attractions for local dining, shopping, and entertainment nearby! It also offers easy access to both Worcester and Providence!
 

Tour

Before you decide where you want to live during your retirement, you should tour your options. Touring retirement communities allows you the opportunity to see if you can picture yourself living there, and if it has everything you desire.

When touring, trust your gut and follow your heart. Make sure you’re comfortable in the space and truly want to spend your time there. Ask questions and see as much of the community in person as you can instead of relying on websites and pictures. Seeing the property in person will help you make an informed decision and feel more confident in your choices.

Visit https://southgateatshrewsbury.com/contact/request-more-information/ to schedule a tour at Southgate to see if it’s the right fit for you.
 

Amenities

A retirement home should have everything you’re looking for, including amenities. Retirement is all about relaxing and having things at your convenience, so if you’re looking for a place with in-unit laundry and a full kitchen – that’s exactly what you should have. You deserve all of life’s luxuries, and at Southgate, we have floor plans with those convenient options.

Other amenities to be on the hunt for include a swimming pool, fitness center, libraries, and a cocktail lounge. It’s up to you to decide what you value most in a retirement community, but here at Southgate we’re here to offer all of those convenient features and fun amenities to make your new home as relaxing and enjoyable as possible.
 

Housing Options

Retirement homes should never be one-size-fits-all, as every person has different wants and needs. When choosing a retirement community, it’s important to explore the different housing options they have available.

At Southgate, we offer 14 different floor plans to choose from, as well as an Independent Living and Assisted Living communities. We give you and your family the option of choosing what’s best for you. Having the choice between Independent Living and Assisted Living means that Southgate is available to anyone looking to retire, whether they need extra help or have the desire to live on their own.

Our staff is here to help and support you at all times, and we want you to feel comfortable in whatever space you choose to live in.

 
Choosing a retirement community is no easy task, and there are lots of things to consider before taking the plunge and moving in. At Southgate of Shrewsbury, we put our residents first and want to assist them in finding the right fit for their retirement lifestyle.

The Health Benefits of Low-Impact Activities

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It’s safe to say that people are more health conscious than ever before. Seemingly every day, medical research reveals additional evidence confirming the critical roles that diet, lifestyle and exercise play in maintaining our mental and physical well-being.

Significantly, health experts constantly reinforce that physical activity need not be strenuous—or inordinately lengthy in duration—to be beneficial. The key is to adopt an exercise regimen that is within your range of capability and participate in it on a consistent basis. (As always, your safety is the number one priority, so you should consult your healthcare provider before beginning any exercise regimen.)

At Southgate, we emphasize fitness in both mind and body. (Remember: Even activities that have few physical requirements can do wonders in helping enhance your concentration and cognitive abilities.) That’s why we offer a wide range of activities—from more strenuous (e.g., bowling and swimming) to less strenuous (e.g., card playing, woodworking and arts & crafts), with low-impact activities like Tai Chi, yoga and Pilates falling somewhere in the middle.

In our on-site health club and spa, we offer periodic sessions for all three of these low-impact activities. In fact, each resident can get a customized exercise plan developed specifically for them to accommodate their current fitness level and goals.

Since there is generally less familiarity with these types of activities, this blog provides a brief overview of each one.

Tai Chi –  Originating in 12th-Century China, Tai Chi is a discipline devoted to achieving unity and harmony between mind and body. Tai Chi is highly influenced by Taoist and Buddhist traditions and recognizes maintenance of one’s health as a basic tenet (further defined as comprising the three modules of health, meditation and martial arts).

Principally involving the practice of slow movements, Tai Chi helps improve a person’s ability to balance under a variety of conditions, while simultaneously helping enhance their stability.

Pilates – Named after an early 20th-Century German physical-culturist, Pilates is a combination of exercises that promote flexibility, muscle strength, fat loss and endurance. Specifically, Pilates tends to focus on spinal and pelvic alignment, development of core strength and improvement of physical coordination and balance.

Yoga – With its roots in Northern India dating back 5,000 years, yoga is a mind and body practice that combines physical postures, stretching exercises, breathing techniques and meditation. Yoga can improve flexibility, muscle strength and range of motion. Yoga styles vary from slow and gentle to athletic and vigorous.

Many people find it easy to engage in low-impact activities, since they do not put stress on the body’s joints. In general, the benefits of Tai Chi, Pilates and yoga often include:

  • Lower blood pressure
  • Improved balance and flexibility
  • Improved sleep
  • Reduced anxiety and stress levels
  • Reduced back pain

Here at Southgate, we encourage exploring, growing and learning as the means to expand your horizons—and thereby enrich your day-to-day life. So who knows? You just may discover that one (or all!) of these low-impact activities works for you like no other you’ve tried!

Meeting New People and Making New Friends Within a Retirement Community

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Building a Social Network is Important for Health and Happiness

First of all, congratulations on reaching the point of retirement! You’ve surely worked hard to get to this point and have had many visions of what your retirement may entail. Now it’s time to make those visions your new reality, and live your best life during your golden years,

Second, though, are certain hurdles that need to be cleared in order to thoroughly enjoying life in retirement. When you’re selecting a retirement community, be sure to inspect the social atmosphere to gauge whether you see yourself making new friends and forging bonds with people in the same way you have throughout the other phases of your life. Human connection is vital to happiness and health in an independent living facility, where feelings of isolation and loneliness take hold if you have difficulties fitting in.

Although it may be one of the more daunting aspects of retiring, communities like Southgate at Shrewsbury have vibrant social communities. Our campus is chock-full of friendly and unique residents, as well as staff that are supportive and engaged. There are a variety of ways to facilitate meeting people within your new community and things to make sure you look for—this blog will go over a few to help you get your social life in retirement off to a good start.

Things to Look For

When looking into independent living facilities, be sure to visit and observe the common areas across the campus. Communities like Southgate at Shrewsbury have a diverse and wide variety of facilities for resident use. Be sure to stop by the heath club and make sure the facilities will work for you, as you maintain your physical health in retirement. In addition to a traditional health club, you will find a variety of other spaces in which to meet other residents and gather.

Our facilities include an on-site four-lane bowling alley, a library with a cozy fireplace, billiard and card rooms, a nondenominational chapel and more. Be sure you take a thorough tour and assess the options against your lifestyle. Ask about the existence of groups and clubs you may be interested in, as well as opportunities to connect with the nearby community. If your independent living facility checks these boxes, you will be setting yourself up for happiness in retirement.

In addition to things you should look for, there are things you can do that will enhance your ability to make friends and build a true community within your independent living facility.

Start a Group or Club

You’ve made it to retirement, so it’s safe to assume you’ve built up a fair number of interests and hobbies over the course of your life, so far. Whether you’re an avid reader of a specific genre of literature, a film and television buff or enjoy cooking new dishes from around the world, an independent living facility provides you with a large pool of residents that might have similar interests.

Starting a group or club is great way to introduce yourself to your new neighbors and make new friends. Pick an interest or hobby and think about how you’d introduce it to others at your first meeting. After that, you can put

together announcements to print and post in common areas. Examples of great areas to post at a facility such as Southgate at Shrewsbury would be dining facilities and the cocktail lounge, the health club and spa, the on-campus park and the library.

If you’d like to start a club or group but are short of ideas, this list of 100 hobbies and activities will surely help light the spark.

Get Involved in the Greater Community

Perhaps you are passionate about helping children or the disadvantaged, or you enjoy teaching and mentoring others in the field you used to work in. Maybe you are driven by a specific cause, or you love spending time with animals. If any of those describe you, be sure to find a place for your some of your time within the greater community and spread the word so others can join you on a journey beyond the walls of your independent living facility.

We’ve discussed ways to find mentorship opportunities, in a previous blog post. If you are looking for volunteer opportunities and do not have an organization or cause in mind, try visiting volunteermatch.org and searching in your area. You’ll be surprised at the amount of interesting opportunities exist! Getting together with some of your new neighbors to venture forth and do good things in the world will surely bring good feelings and lead to forging friendships that will be such an integral part of your life in retirement.

It is impossible to understate the importance of developing a healthy social life in retirement, just as it has been in every other phase of your life. Without a career taking up at least eight hours every day, there is more time to fill with whatever you’d like to fill it with. Be sure you fill that time with engaging and stimulating activities that will keep you from feeling left out and feeling lonely. When you enter a retirement community, the possibilities for friendship are numerous and will only enhance this exciting and final phase of your life you’ve worked so hard to get to.

Choosing the Right Retirement Community For You

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What Does Retirement Look Like To You?

As you exit the career phase of life and enter the vast, uncertain world of retirement, the transition can seem intimidating. We all envision retirement differently, so there is no universal approach. If you are evaluating a retirement community as an option, how do you know which one is right for you? What should you look for?

Retirement communities like Southgate At Shrewsbury are as diverse and unique as the individuals that reside with us. We greet new residents in various stages of retirement with different care needs, and our staff is well-versed in assisting our community members adapt to their new lifestyle. Furthermore, each retirement community also offers a different campus aesthetic and a plethora of on- and off-campus activities for residents to take advantage of.

Because you are unique, creating a list of what you value at this stage in your life will help you select what will ultimately be your home during this new and exciting phase of your life. We will go over some important factors to consider in helping you narrow your search.

Location

The first thing you should do is make a list of what is important to you in retirement. If you have a close-knit family and being close to them is important, check into regionally convenient locations. Southgate At Shrewsbury is a good example of regional convenience—our location is centralized for Massachusetts, all New England and the entire North Atlantic region.

If you are active and enjoy outdoor activities, this will also help you narrow your location based on access. Do you desire the hustle and bustle of a big city, or quiet suburban or rural surroundings? If you require specific medical care, is there easy access to the appropriate medical facilities and personnel?

All these factors can help you narrow the possible locations for your retirement community of choice. SeniorLiving.org contains a large database of retirement communities searchable by city or zip code so you can compare your options in target areas.

Facilities

After you have successfully narrowed your possible locations, it’s time to delve deeper into what each retirement community offers. Like each individual retiree, communities come in all shapes and sizes. It’s time to make another list—think about what you have at home that you use or what you would like to have at home that you would use.

If cooking is a big part of your life, make sure living units are equipped with a kitchen you deem adequate (on the other hand, if you burn toast, make sure you find a community with quality on-site dining facilities and services). If you like your home equipped with the latest technology, you’ll want to ensure your new living space has the same capabilities.

Additionally, you’ll want to consider your hobbies and interests. If you’re handy or crafty, you will find retirement

communities like Southgate At Shrewsbury often offer dedicated facilities for various crafters.

Perhaps you like to garden, play card games or bowl. Maybe you like to swim, do yoga or lift weights. Ultimately, you want to make sure your retirement community contains the proper facilities to allow you the ability to maximize the enjoyment of both your life at home and your recreation. You can now narrow your location-based list of retirement communities, even further.

Services & Amenities

At this point, your list of possible retirement communities has been trimmed down, significantly. To cut out the final chunk and find the place that’s right for you, it’s time to open the blinds and see what lies beyond the windows in each potential community. Each retirement community has a unique list of services and amenities that will play a role in your experience as a resident. Identifying the services and amenities you are most likely to use and enjoy is key.

Your health and the outlook of your future health should play a critical role when considering services offered. You may in perfect health now and capable of living at home independently, but if something were to come up, you want to make sure your retirement community provides the assistance you would need. The transition from independent to assisted living within your community is very important, as are the health-related services available to residents.

Other lifestyle changes should also be considered when evaluating the services offered at retirement communities. If you become unable to drive, does the community provide access to chauffeur services? Is there an efficient, built-in alert system in case of emergencies? Particularly important if you desire a community in a densely populated city, what is the on-site security like?

At this point in your search, schedule tours at your already-narrowed list of facilities. Pay special attention to the upkeep, and ask about maintenance services, requests and response time. Particularly in areas where harsh weather is more frequent, 24-hour emergency maintenance services are vital.

Many amenities may sound great on paper, but which ones would you really use? It’s time to make another list—compile your hobbies and interests and compare them against the amenities advertised. As you tour retirement communities, take notes about the facilities and amenities offered that you’re interested in to compare against other communities with similarly advertised amenities. Developing a simple numeric rating scale is an effective tool that will aid you when comparing different communities that offer similar amenities.

Other amenities to consider are those that could benefit your overall quality of life. Retirement communities like Southgate At Shrewsbury offers a variety of such amenities such as health spas, salons, libraries and even on-site convenience stores to make your daily life more efficient and enjoyable. Take note of these conveniences, as well, and determine which are more important to you.

There are several factors to consider when choosing a retirement community; it is a decision that will play a large part in shaping your retirement lifestyle. By narrowing your search by desired location and required facilities, and by asking lots of questions during your tour, you will arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make the most informed decision for the well-being of your post-career life. You’ve worked hard to get to retirement—make the best of it by selecting the retirement community that will be the best fit for you.