5 Reasons to Downsize to a Residence Near a College Campus

5 Reasons to Downsize to a Residence Near a College Campus

5 Reasons to Downsize to a Residence Near a College Campus

Downsizing offers a host of benefits, including less stress and clutter, and fewer home maintenance chores. Yet you might worry that a smaller home means a smaller life. The good news is, it doesn’t, especially if you’re downsizing to a residence near a college campus, where you’ll find the dynamic lifestyle outside your door offers expansive new possibilities. Here’s a look at how downsizing to a university-based retirement community can amplify your life.

1: Abundant Lifestyle Perks
An array of amenities and services make university-based retirement communities places where you can experience more of the things that make life a joy. With a maintenance-free lifestyle, you spend your time pursuing activities that interest you rather than keeping up with household chores. Multiple dining venues feature chef-prepared menus with a mouthwatering array of nourishing, seasonal meals. And an on-campus fitness center and pool make it simple to engage in activities that support healthy aging.

2: Improved Cognitive Health
According to the Global Council on Brain Health, mentally engaging activities that challenge your ability to think can help you maintain memory, attention and reasoning skills as you age. In a university-based retirement community, you’re steps away from lifelong learning opportunities, with an entire catalog of classes to engage your curiosity and challenge your mind. In addition, you’ll find opportunities to explore new hobbies or learn new health and wellness practices, which have also been shown to engage your brain in beneficial ways.

3: A Wide Circle of Friends
Social opportunities abound in senior living communities. You’ll make new friends through organized community events, in the fitness center, in the library and over dinner. This type of connection can be especially important for older adults, who are vulnerable to social isolation, which is linked to an increased risk of dementia, heart disease, stroke, depression and anxiety.

You may also get to know college students around campus, so your circle of friends might grow to include younger generations, as well. According to the Harvard Study of Adult Development, older adults who invest in and care for people younger than themselves are three times as likely to be happy as those who don’t.

4: Expanded Sense of Engagement and Purpose
Residents of university-based retirement communities can engage in the joys of the collegiate lifestyle. Cheer on the home team at sporting events, attend campus cultural events, and take advantage of the amenities of college life such as a university library or a top-quality golf course.

You can also flourish with a fresh sense of purpose. As an avid learner, following your curiosity will have you bounding out of bed in the mornings. What’s more, you can find enriching opportunities to share your experience and wisdom with college students. In “How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations,” Marc Freedman says mentoring younger generations is a way to “engage older people’s untapped talents in helping to alleviate young people’s unmet needs.”

5: Comprehensive Plan for Life
It can be easier to find joy in the present when we feel secure about the future. In university-based retirement communities that are also Life Plan Communities, you’ll find that sense of security. Life Plan Communities have an on-site continuum of care — which may include assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation — that gives residents access to the support they need should a health crisis occur. You have the peace of mind of knowing you’ll receive the care you need in a community you love at a predictable cost.

Living Large at The Woodlands at Furman

If you’re intrigued by the expansive possibilities of downsizing to a residence near a college campus, come explore The Woodlands at Furman. We’re a Life Plan Community adjacent to Furman University, a high-ranking private liberal arts college. Here you can follow your curiosity, connect with other lifelong learners, mentor a college student, and delight in the services and amenities that make this retirement lifestyle so rewarding. Contact us to learn more about independent living at The Woodlands at Furman or to schedule a visit.