Expert interview Questions

Kathy Lord: Widower who has retired in River Landing in Wallace, NC. River Landing is a community of many retired personnel but also families as well. River Landing is a relaxing place without the amenities of a true retirement community or a home.

1.  What brought you down from Connecticut to retire here in Wallace?
2.  How has retirement been so far?
3. What are the aspects of this community that you enjoy the most?
4. Why did you decide to retire here instead of in a retirement community or retirement home?
5. How do everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and lawn work affect you as you begin to reach an older age?
6.  What do you believe are the pros and cons of living outside of a true retirement community?
7. What are some of the ways you have thought about making your living situation more cost effective and/or more convenient?
8. How has living around a diverse amount of people helped you to adjust to this community?
9. What are your thoughts for your future in this community?
10. Is there anything we didn’t cover or anything else you would like to add?

Intensive Research

After looking into what may be some of the reasons people want to live in retirement communities versus those who don’t I found some good pros and cons. A senior living blog had 8 suggestions for why retirees would live in these communities. http://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/why-seniors-prefer-senior-living-communities/)

They suggest common thing such as feeling safe, not having to care for a house or apartment, prepared food, and having the ability to make friends that understand where you are at in life.

Likewise, I have found similar articles that have discussed reason to not live at a retirement community. http://nypost.com/2014/07/20/10-things-retirement-communities-wont-tell-you-2-2/ Some suggest that the cost can be too severe, sometimes even spending entire retirement funds for just this one living community. Other reasons imply that these communities don’t mention all the cost up front and therefor you can be stuck with unforeseen costs later. All of this is a problem because without an income of money retirees don’t have the ability to spend to their hearts desire.

These issues are just a few of the questions I believe would be interesting in our interviews with both individuals who like their retirement community and those who have chosen to live independently. I also want to further delve into what constitutes a retirement community and how they differ from nursing homes.