As as we grow older, are the only options a care home or remaining in your own property?
What are the alternatives?
Let’s be completely honest, NOBODY aspires to living in a care home, right?
Consequently, we stay in our own homes as long as possible, even when our property ceases to be the right size for our needs and requires increasingly onerous effort and cost to maintain.
But what if there was a 3rd option?
- Another type of property to move into?
- One that was like living on a luxurious cruise liner but on dry land!?
- A type of property (‘IRC’) that hardly anyone has heard about or understands in the UK, but is incredibly popular already in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. Prepare to want one!
Before we discuss the 3rd option, let’s first review what you can do to stay in your own home, as long as possible. Because we all love our homes, full of treasured memories and the easy, comfy familiarity of everything we know and love.
Support in your home from friends and family
For people blessed with attentive family and friends living nearby, help with shopping, gardening, DIY, and household chores etc is very welcome, as is the sociable opportunity these interactions afford. At no-cost (other than saying ‘thanks’ with a cup of tea and some nice biscuits!), such support can allow people to live in their own homes long after this might have been possible, coping on one’s own.
Professional support and care supplied into your own home
The provision of professional support from external agencies has grown in recent years, in line with the aging UK population. In-home support covers a wide range from assistance in dressing, taking medication, meal provision, handyman services, escorted shopping, and social outings and much more. But delivery of such services has been impacted by Brexit (and the supply of support / care personnel, typically from EU countries) and by rises in the minimum wage, both constraining supply and making such services less affordable.
Live with family or friends
The option to move in and live with family and friends is not open to everyone but can offer a reassuring and familiar environment. This can also be mutually supportive if combined with childcare, for example, and perhaps some light household duties and cooking. Dependent upon your circumstances, your host may also be able to claim Carers allowance from the government, currently £81.90 a week.
Your 3rd option: Move into a Supportive ‘IRC Community.
This 3rd option (the one that sits between your own home and, potentially, a care home) is called an ‘IRC’ – Integrated Retirement Community. People who move into an IRC – at the right time – rarely need to move into a care home. Forget everything you know, or think you know, about moving into a ‘home’ when considering moving into an IRC. So, what do they deliver to the homeowners who choose to buy an IRC property?
- Safe and secure environment with on-site staff 24/7
- Fit for purpose building with level access and lifts to all floors
- Your own apartment and front door
- Your own kitchen and dining room
- Level access showers in all apartments
- Multiple bedroom options (usually a choice of 1,2 or 3 bedrooms)
- Your own private outdoor space (patio or balcony)
- Bar, bistro, coffee lounge, library, games and TV lounge, private dining room for large friends & family gatherings
- Car parking space
- Ample storage both in your apartment
- Maintenance-free living in your apartment, communal areas, and beautiful landscaped gardens
- Fellowship, fun and new friends from the many like-minded people who have chosen to live in an IRC with you.
The community spirit at Castle View, Windsor must be seen to be believed! You can read more about the Castle View IRC in Windsor via this link.
Or live in a Care Home
Many care homes do an excellent job for those who need them. But it is also true that very few people aspire to live in them, until strictly necessary, often driven by a debilitating care need. People who move into an IRC community environment are usually active and independent people. IRC resident homeowners do not need to move out if, later, they develop an advanced care need and can be supported in-situ in their own apartment, avoiding the need for a care home altogether.
For more information and to understand if an IRC is right for you, please get in touch with Nicky King:
E: nicky@castleviewwindsor.co.uk
T: 01753 378127
