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Intergenerational Housing: Shaping a New Era For Senior Living

Have you ever considered why visits with your grandchildren or other younger family members bring you so much joy? While yes, it’s partly because it’s great to spend time with your family, it’s also because older and younger adults need one another. Research has proven that mixed-age interactions can make older adults feel more purposeful, social, and energetic.

Why is this so important? 

As you age and start thinking about your options for retirement, you might begin exploring the many senior living communities in your area. Senior living facilities boast idyllic settings and living arrangements with like-minded individuals. Many communities even offer varying levels of care, including independent living, assisted living, and sometimes memory care. But, watching the other residents around you face declining physical or mental health can negatively impact your health and wellness. 

Witnessing age-related decline can often increase feelings of loneliness, depression, and isolation. Older adults, just like people of all ages, are impacted by their environment. While senior living facilities offer safe, secure, and supportive environments for aging adults, they can also be somewhat depressing. 

Benefits of Mixed Age Living Arrangements

Instead of sitting in a senior living community and watching your friendships fade as your acquaintances’ experience health declines, you should consider senior living that allows you to surround yourself with the positive energy of younger generations.

Mixed-age community living benefits older adults through: 

• Cultivating purpose – While many people choose to socialize with their same-age peers, there are benefits to sharing a common purpose with mixed generations. Whether going for walks together, helping neighbors with groceries, or forming relationships with younger kids in your neighborhood, all of these things can create a sense of community and purpose for aging adults. 
• Mental health support – Older adults with close intergenerational connections have reported lower instances of depression, improved physical health, and a greater sense of purpose according to several studies. These individuals tend to be happier with their current life and more hopeful about what the future has in store.
• Physical activity – Older adults can find a sense of motivation and inspiration by watching younger generations stay active. According to a clinical trial published by the National Institute on Health, older adults who spent time with kids saw major strength and physical improvements.

What Makes Upside the Best Option for Intergenerational Living

Upside members enjoy the many benefits of living in mixed-age apartments. We fully embrace the idea that engagement with others that flows down the generational chain may make you healthier, happier, and live longer. We have found that intergenerational relationships are a critical ingredient in well-being as you age. 

Upside offers coastal living options that cater to the 55+ community while also keeping you front and center to fully experience all that life has to offer. With mixed-age housing, you can build a community with your neighbors that extend beyond the four walls of a traditional senior living facility and instead spans across generations and life stages.

Why is Upside a better fit for you than traditional retirement facilities? Our members still get some of the benefits of traditional retirement living with security monitoring, housekeeping services, and assistance with everyday tasks. But, we also offer a truly tailored approach to senior living that can only be achieved through the freedom and true independence of retirement.

About Upside

Upside is proud to take everything you thought you knew about senior living and turn it on its head. Since our inception, we’ve been providing active older adults with living options that offer maintenance-free, active lifestyles in intergenerational communities. We offer one-, two-, and three-bedroom units that let retirees downsize to their comfort level while staying front and center for all the hustle and bustle of city life.

Learn more about our unique approach to senior living and start living the retirement life you’ve only dreamed of having. Contact us today to speak with an Upside Advisor.