When you make the decision to move into senior living homes instead of staying in your own home, it can be a difficult and heartbreaking one. Leaving everything that you’re most familiar with behind is harder than it seems, even if you know what you’re doing is for the best for you. 

One of the best ways to combat the untethered and unsure feeling is to branch out and make new friends. Just because you’ve moved doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy all of the things you once loved; all it means is that you now get to do them with all of your new neighbors! 

Unsure of how to reach out and make new friends in senior living homes? No worries! Here are some tips that can help:

1.) Invite Fellow Residents to Your New Home 

Just because you’re moving into one of the many senior living homes near you doesn’t mean that you can’t continue to enjoy the events and activities you did at home! What better way to break in your new senior living space than having a housewarming party or inviting friends over for a movie? 

When you move into a new home, you’re going to want to invite over friends and family to check out your new place! Don’t stop that practice just because you might no longer be in your own separate home. In fact, it’s more important than ever for your friends and family to come over to your new home at the senior living center! 

Though it may not initially feel like it, your senior living center is your home. It’s the place where you will be living for the foreseeable future, where you’ll be resting your head every night. Making friends with your neighbors is so important, and what better way than to share your home with them!

 

2.) Make Friends With the Staff

The other residents aren’t the only faces that you’ll become familiar with during your stay! The staff at senior living homes are dedicated and devoted to making your experience the best that it can possibly be. 

Reach out to the staff members and make friends with them! If you’re going to be seeing these same faces throughout your time in the senior living community, then it only makes sense to treat them as friends and extended members of your family. Make an effort to speak with them at meals in the dining area, or offer a smile to them as you pass them in the halls. Thank them if they’ve done a good job preparing and organizing one of the community activities. 

A little kindness goes a long way, and you’ll be surprised what a kind word can do to help bring up someone’s mood!

 

3.) Keep a Positive Attitude

When you make a big change in your life, it can sometimes be hard to keep up a happy and positive outlook. Everything feels and looks different, and trying to stay positive can be challenging. 

However, it’s important to remember that keeping a positive attitude is vital not only to your own personal health and well being, but also to creating and maintaining friendships and relationships! If you keep hidden away in your apartment, then it’s difficult for your neighbors and other residents to get to know you. 

As the saying goes, you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar, and that applies here too. Be kind, open, friendly, and positive, and making friends will be easy. 

A group of senior friends talk while having coffee

4.) Get Involved in Your Community 

Moving into a senior living home doesn’t mean that you can’t still be involved in all of your favorite things in the community! You aren’t moving into a different world; you’re merely moving into a new home. There’s no need to isolate yourself from everyone just because you may feel as though you “can’t” be involved anymore. 

If you were a member of a church before the move, then there is no reason why you can’t continue to be involved in your church! Go to services, do volunteer work, and more. Or, if you were involved in some kind of club like a knitting club or a radio club, then you should still attend those meetings! The friends you’ve made there will love to see you, senior home or no senior home. Plus, you could invite residents at the senior living center to attend with you, extending your friend group! 

 

5.) Try Something New 

Senior living homes are perfect for trying new things that you hadn’t gotten the ability to try before. To keep their residents happy, healthy, and engaged with everything going on, many senior living homes and communities offer different classes, events, activities, and more that residents can participate in. 

Because all of these events are sponsored by the retirement center, this is a perfect way to try new things that you might not have ever been able to try before! If your senior living home offers classes like cooking or painting, then that is the prime opportunity to attend the glass and try something new completely risk-free. Plus, you’ll be able to meet a lot of new people doing it!

And even if you aren’t great at it, that’s okay too. There’s the idea that “misery loves company”, and while we would hope that you aren’t miserable at these classes, having a shared experience of not being good at something is a great bonding tool to make new friends. 

 

Kingsley Makes Things Easy

Here at Kingsley, our senior living homes make it easier than ever to make new friends in your community. From our robust life enrichment program, to our offsite scheduled trips for shopping and fun, we have everything you need to make new friends in your community. We encourage all of our residents to participate in good food, good friends, and good fun. 

If you’re interested in making Kingsley luxury senior living your new home, we’d love to have you. Contact us and schedule a tour today!