Moving into an assisted living facility can feel like you’re living in a foreign country. You’ll be surrounded by new people and new experiences that might initially seem strange or overwhelming. But the more time you spend in independent living facilities, you’ll become more comfortable. In fact, with some simple changes to your apartment or room—and just by getting familiar with your neighbors—you can make your space feel like home!
Get Familiar With Your Neighbors
It’s not just your home that can feel like a nest, but your apartment. When you move into an independent retirement community, getting familiar with the people around you is important. You might have neighbors who are non-disabled and looking for an extra hand with their apartment or a new resident who needs help getting settled in their new place.
You can also use this time to get advice from other residents on what they enjoy about their community and how they’ve made it feel like home despite having minimal space and privacy.
Bring Along Your Furniture
When you move into your new apartment, it’s important to bring along your favorite pieces of furniture. This will help make your new place feel more like home. If you have a favorite chair or couch that you love sitting on, bring it along with you! You can also bring other important items that remind you of happy memories—like books, artwork, decorations, and plants.
You’ll also want to ensure that all the appliances are working properly before moving in so there aren’t any issues later down the road.
Here are some tips:
- Keep Your Favorite Pieces: If there’s one piece of furniture or artwork whose presence evokes memories of your old home, don’t let go of it! You can always store it in storage until you have enough room in your new place.
- Bring Along Your Most Comfortable Chair: Some people go all out when buying new furniture for their apartments; others keep what works best from their previous homes and replace similar pieces with new ones that fit better within the space and style guidelines set forth by their landlords/residents association guidelines. Either way, if there’s a specific chair that makes sitting down after work bearable—or even enjoyable—bring it along!
Create A Craft Room
Creating a craft room is an excellent idea if you’re feeling lonely or want to get away from the rest of the world. A craft room can be a place where you can relax and unwind after a long day at work or even make new friends with others who share your hobby. If you like doing crafts, then setting up a designated area for it will help keep things organized and make sure that everything has its place so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
Focus on Positivity
As you transition into your new home, focusing on the positive aspects of your new community, friends and life are important. The more time you spend doing this, the more quickly you will adjust to your new situation.
Here are some things that may help:
- Spend time with people who make you feel good about yourself
- Take a class or join a group that interests you
- Learn something new about the world (for example: learn how to play an instrument)
The most important thing is to feel comfortable in your new home, and it’s not just about what you bring to your new place. It’s also about how you choose to connect with the people around you.
