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Southgate at Shrewsbury

Retirement community near Shrewsbury and Worcester, MA

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retirement

What To Look For In a Retirement Community In 2021

February 16, 2021 by Southgate

Congratulations! You’ve worked hard and have reached an exciting new phase of life wide open with possibilities—welcome to retirement!

So what now? How will you spend all that newfound free time? Where will you spend all that newfound free time?

You’ve decided to live in a retirement community, but with so many options, how do you begin to narrow it down?

Will The Community Fit Your Lifestyle?

You will want to make sure your retirement community offers easy access to the lifestyle you enjoy. Amenities and conveniences come in many shapes and sizes, so you should be able to make sure you have access to what you need to maximize the enjoyment of retirement.

Whether you’re more into physical activity, like to spend time outside or in the garden, enjoy pursuing more knowledge or simply gathering in social places, communities like Southgate at Shrewsbury have a wide variety of amenities and conveniences to ensure you not only adjust to life in retirement, but love it! With our on-site dining options, handicap-accessible garden, woodworking shop, gym and spa, extensive programming and so much more, Southgate is a great place for anyone to find what they are looking for in retirement. Check out our amenities here.

Convenience Is Key!

Convenience is Key
The pandemic has taught us all the true value of convenience and efficiency, and these are absolutely traits you should look for in a retirement community.

This applies not only to what they have on-site, but what is nearby. Do you have access to the healthcare you need or the shopping you desire? How about good food?

As we age, having access to great healthcare in an efficient manner becomes more important. At Southgate at Shrewsbury, we not only have excellent on-site healthcare and wellness options, but are located near some of the most highly regarded hospitals and medical providers in the country.

In terms of shopping and conveniences, it is quite easy to make sure your favorite stores are nearby or that your favorite delivery services will ship to your community. Communities like Southgate even have convenience stores on site, along with other services like beauty salons and several different dining options.

Cleanliness & Friendliness

When looking for a place to spend your golden years, you certainly want to end up somewhere that is both clean and sanitary as well as friendly. A positive atmosphere goes a long way to ensuring you make the most of retirement.

When checking out independent living communities, be sure to inspect the common areas for organization and cleanliness. Does the staff seem to take pride in what they do? Do the residents take pride in their community? If the answer to both of those is “yes,” you will likely be greeted by a clean and organized facility.

Be sure to also check out the staff. Are they helpful and do they carry themselves with a positive demeanor? If you are to spend your golden years at a retirement community, the staff can be the thing that makes it extra special. This is a point of emphasis for all of us at Southgate at Shrewsbury. We both set the tone and encourage residents to be as involved as they want to be in helping to shape their community.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: independent living, retirement, retirement community

The Benefits of Living in a Retirement Community Right Now

December 4, 2020 by Southgate

With social distancing and COVID-19 becoming a staple in our current everyday lives, living in a retirement community has a plethora of additional benefits that should be considered when looking at life after your career.

You’ve worked hard to get to this point—you should ensure you set yourself up to enjoy your retirement, pandemic or not! Residing at an independent living facility has its perks, regardless. The following are some extra benefits the pandemic has shown us an independent living community has.

A Built In Social Network

With a large, diverse group of residents, living in a retirement community contains a built-in social network to help you maintain a vibrant social life. During the pandemic, socially distanced activities can still be planned. At a facility like Southgate at Shrewsbury, our residents and support staff alike are active in making sure our residents have something to keep them engaged despite the challenges a pandemic can cause.

Safe & Enclosed Facility

During unusual circumstances like a pandemic, a retirement community functions as a walled-off safe zone, which further protects residents from the virus. At Southgate at Shrewsbury, our attentive staff ensures our campus remains free of unnecessary risk so our residents can enjoy a calmer lifestyle.

On-Site Support Services & Staff

If you’re considering a retirement community like Southgate, you’ll notice the many on-site services, amenities and conveniences that allow for less travel into the outside world. On top of that, the staff operating these facilities are always ready to assist residents.

At Southgate, you will find convenient medical care on campus, a convenience store, multiple dining options, a beauty salon, a health spa and much more. For your enjoyment, there is also a library, swimming pool, candlepin bowling alley, woodworking studio, handicap-accessible garden and more.

While the pandemic has brought with it many challenges, choosing to live in a retirement community can be a solution to many of them by providing you with a safe environment insulated from unnecessary risks. You will find an exciting social community, wonderful living facilities and enough conveniences, services and activities to keep you engaged throughout your golden years.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: assisted living, benefits, independent living, retirement, retirement community, southgate

Book Review

April 10, 2020 by Southgate

Being retired means you have more free time to devote to enriching things you simply want to do. You may be unsure of how to spend that free time at first, but over time, you will come to find there are numerous ways to bolster your life in retirement.

One such thing we get to do more after we’re through with the hustle and bustle of work life is enter the wondrous world of literature. Whether it be with a group or under the simple light of your bedside table, delving into a great story brings us both emotional and cognitive benefits. If you’re looking to add some books to your list or do some extra reading while social distancing, check out the following five award-winners and recent releases:

The Nickel Boys: A Novel by Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead’s dramatization of a real juvenile reform school operating in Florida during the Jim Crow-era South is explored through the eyes of Elwood Curtis, a young black man living in segregated Tallahassee who takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to heart. He believes he is “as good as anyone” and is about to attend a local black college. One innocent mistake changes Elwood’s trajectory, and he is sentenced to the Nickel Academy, a juvenile reformatory whose mission statement claims to turn delinquent boys into “honorable and honest men.” As Elwood encounters a sadistically abusive staff, he clings to Dr. King’s words: “Throw us in jail and we will still love you.” His ideals clash with his friend Turner’s, who believes scheming and avoiding trouble is the only way to make it in a corrupted world. The results of this ideological clash will echo for decades.

The Nickel Boys: A Novel explores the devastating history of a real reform school operated for 111 years in Florida during one of its darkest periods. The Florida School for Boys, or the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, would be completely shut down in the 21st century, but not before warping the lives of thousands. Whitehead’s dramatization is a New York Times Bestseller, winner of the Kirkus Prize, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, and was listed on Time Magazine’s list of the 10 Best Fiction Books of the Decade.

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

Author Robert Kolker uncovers and weaves the tale of the Galvin family, one of the first families studied by the National Institute of Mental Health, whose DNA has offered important information leading to decades of headway into understanding and combatting schizophrenia.

Don and Mimi Galvin are purportedly living the American Dream. After World War II, the Air Force moved Don to Colorado where he and Mimi had twelve children throughout the baby boom from 1945 to 1965. They seemed to be happy—a poster family for the new American Dream—but behind closed doors, the story was vastly different.

Being subjected to the hidden psychological, physical and emotional abuse took a major toll on the Galvin children. By the mid-1970’s, six of the ten Galvin boys had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, baffling the medical community.
The untold story of the Galvin’s offers a look through the often-dark history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization and lobotomies to the modern searches for genetic indicators of the disease. The happenings within the Galvin’s home on Hidden Valley Road and their DNA continue to play vital roles in the continuing effort to treat, protect from and even eradicate schizophrenia.

Code Name Hélène: A Novel by Ariel Lawhon

Ariel Lawhon explores the captivating story of real-life socialite-turned-spy Nancy Wake during World War II through four interweaving timelines coinciding with the four different names Wake used, starting with the time she married wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca in Paris.

After the Germans invade France, Mrs. Fiocca adopts a code name: Lucienne Carlier. She begins smuggling people and documents across the border to safety. As Ms. Carlier, she was dubbed The White Mouse by the Gestapo for her ability to both avoid capture and keep her identity secret. Eventually, a bounty of five million francs was placed on Nancy’s head, and she is forced to leave France and her husband behind.

After escaping to Britain, Nancy Wake trains with the Special Operations Executives in Britain and is given a new code name to use only with comrades: Hélène. Upon completion of her training, Nancy receives a mission and is airdropped back into France.
Back in France, Nancy now goes by Madam Andrée. She goes on to become one of the most influential and dangerous leaders of the French Revolution. She was witty, cunning, and known for both her signature red lipstick and ability to summon weapons straight from Allied Forces. Nancy only remains safe as long as the enemy cannot connect the dots and link her four identities. As France nears liberation, Nancy becomes more exposed and keeping her identities separate and secret from her enemy becomes more difficult and more imperative.

This novel was just published on March 31, 2020, and is already generating excellent reviews and substantial buzz. Kirkus Reviews says, “A compulsively readable account of a little-known yet extraordinary historical figure—Lawhon’s best book to date.”

Valentine: A Novel by Elizabeth Wetmore

In February 1976, the next great oil boom is about to hit Odessa, Texas. Wealth and prosperity are on the horizon, and the town is abuzz. Suddenly, the morning after Valentine’s Day, fourteen-year-old Gloria Ramirez appears on Mary Rose Whitehead’s front porch, barely alive after suffering a vicious attack in a nearby oil field.

What happens when justice is difficult to achieve? When a case has already been tried on the local barstools and in the local church pews? Valentine explores the intersections of violence, race, class, religion and industry during the West Texas oil boom, painting a dark yet hopeful tale.

The number one new release on Amazon, Elizabeth Wetmore’s Valentine: A Novel has already received high praises, marking a wildly successful debut for Wetmore. Publishers Weekly says in a starred review, “Stirring … Wetmore poetically weaves the landscape of Odessa and the internal lives of her characters, whose presence remains vivid after the last page is turned. This moving portrait of West Texas oil country evokes the work of Larry McMurtry and John Sayles with strong, memorable female voices.”

The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Mantel

Recently released in March 2020, The Mirror & The Light brings author Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy to a close. Following Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, The Mirror & The Light explores the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the once-poor boy who became one of the most powerful men of his time.

The latest installment picks up in May, 1536 after the decapitation of Anne Boleyn. Cromwell, the simple blacksmith’s son from Putney, is celebrating with the victors. His master, Henry VIII, weds his third queen, Jane Seymour. The regime faces many threats, both internal and external. Under Henry VIII’s watchful and ruthless eye, how will Cromwell go on to become one of the most feared and influential people of his time?

Crafting a story from a historical event in which the outcome is known can be very difficult, but that’s exactly what Mantel does expertly in closing out the Wolf Hall Trilogy. The Times Literary Supplement referred to it as “some of the most complex and immersive fiction to have come along in years,” while the New York Times hailed it “the triumphant capstone to Mantel’s trilogy.”
Not sure what to do with some of that previously social time during social distancing? Dive into a great story and visit a whole new world.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: reading, retirement, senior living, southgate

8 Reasons Why Many Seniors Prefer Senior Living Communities To Living Alone

July 23, 2014 by Southgate at Shrewsbury

1. The end of yard work and home maintenance

Keeping up a home is hard, especially for those of us who have developed physical ailments. Mowing the lawn, climbing a ladder to change light bulbs, shoveling snow, pulling weeds, vacuuming- these become things of the past. You can enjoy the beautiful New England seasons without having to rake a leaf or pick up a shovel. At Southgate at Shrewsbury, our dedicated staff is here to ensure those worries are a thing of the past.  But don’t worry green thumbs: residents are more than welcome to adopt a garden.

2. Vanquishing boredom

Residents need never be bored at a senior community. There’s something for everyone. All kinds of entertainment and activities are offered, both on-site and out in the local community. Entertainment can range from visiting musicians and performers, to day trips that might include local landmarks, forays into nature, or just an outing to the local art museum.  Southgate offers countless amenities to allow you to pursue your hobbies and explore new interests, including a health club and spa, indoor swimming pool, candlepin bowling alley, woodworking shop, arts and crafts studio, billiard and card rooms, fireplaced library, and much, much more!

3. Better family relationships

Older folks frequently become dependent on their grown children, or other close family members, for help of all kinds. Unnatural role reversals can strain relationships and foster unhealthy feelings of resentment, both by parents and their sons and daughters. Younger family members are liberated from the role of full-time caregivers, and are able to assure that time with their older loved one is meaningful and high-quality. Older residents are glad to return to the role of family matriarch or patriarch and often pleased that their grown children no longer have to “parent the parent”.

4. Better food

There are many residents at senior communities who used to live alone, and were not eating right. Some skipped meals, some were living on ice-cream alone, and one lady would put cat-litter in the coffee brewer. At Southgate, residents don’t have to worry about grocery shopping, meal preparation, or even coffee brewing, if they don’t want to. In addition to fully-equipped kitchens in every apartment, you can enjoy a fine dining experience every day of the week at the Fountain Cafe, the Atrium Dining Room, or the Saratoga Cocktail Lounge.  A full menu offers you a selection of entrees, as well as a variety of seasonally-inspired dishes to satisfy the pallet.  Alternative meals are almost always offered and special diet needs can be accommodated. It’s common for new residents, who had been eating poorly before they moved in, to experience breathtaking improvements in their health and well-being just from three square meals per day.

5. No more stressful driving

Driving can be a tense and stressful as we age, and our driving abilities may not be what they once were either. For these reasons, most residents prefer to take advantage of the free transportation that’s provided by Southgate at Shrewsbury. There’s no need to rely on a car any longer, although parking is available for residents who still drive.

6. Feeling like myself again

Living alone, we may not be able to participate in games and activities we enjoyed, that were both fun, and helped keep us sharp. But senior communities offer a wealth of opportunities to keep engaged. This can include favorite games like chess, bridge and poker, engaging reading groups and discussion groups, and fascinating classes and lectures on every conceivable topic.  Southgate at Shrewsbury offers a variety of activities like our summer concert series, lobster bakes in the park, and our legendary Southgate Olympics for all to enjoy.  In addition, our diverse program calendar includes oil painting, jewelry-making, bowling, bocci, woodworking, language arts & more.

7. Making new friends

Older adults who live alone often become isolated, which is unhealthy at any age. At senior communities we can make friends, share a meal, and enjoy festive occasions with one another. On the other hand, those of us who are more introverted appreciate that our privacy is respected, but are still glad to have folks around.

8. Finally feeling safe

Residents can rest easy knowing that they are secured from thieves, con-men and ne’er-do-wells. Furthermore, residents enjoy the peace of mind that comes from the emergency response systems that are in each apartment, or sometimes on the resident’s person as a pendant. This alleviates fears about falling and becoming trapped for hours or even days, a scenario that’s all too common for senior’s residing alone.  Southgate at Shrewsbury provides unparalleled 24-hour staff, security, and emergency response systems to each and every resident.

If you are interested in learning more about Southgate at Shrewsbury’s unsurpassed amenities or would like to schedule a tour, please call us toll-free at 1-800-492-8331.  It’s not too early to start living your ideal retirement lifestyle!

Filed Under: About Southgate at Shrewsbury Tagged With: community, independent living, reason why, retirement, senior living

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