How to Make New Friends in Your Senior Living Community
October 12th 2022
Making friends can be challenging – especially as you become an older adult. As an older adult, you may discover that making friends is not the same as in your younger years. Thankfully, senior living communities can often make finding friendships easier than you may think.
It is easy to underestimate how important friendships are. In a previous blog, we discussed social isolation and how senior living helps combat this ongoing problem for many seniors’ health and well-being. Still, moving into a senior living community can be scary – so we wanted to help by providing a few ways to make friends in your new community.
Our Community Ambassadors are here to help! The Community Ambassador program is meant to welcome and show hospitality to new neighbors. Many Grace Management, Inc. communities have these ambassadors. Community Ambassadors are residents living in our communities who are passionate about welcoming new neighbors into the community and helping them integrate into their new home.
Invite others to eat a meal with you. At our Grace Management, Inc. communities, we are proud to offer our Graceful Dining experience. Food is often the center of a healthy social life and the building of new friendships. Enjoy a social, family-style meal that brings easy new friendships.
Participate in the scheduled Life Enrichment Activities. Our Grace Management, Inc. communities have a wide range of social activities for residents to participate in. Pay attention to the weekly activity calendar and make it a point to join in on a couple of activities each week. These activities can vary from fitness classes to club meetings to other social events!
Take walks during the day. If you are not usually a social butterfly, it may be tempting to stick to your new apartment. Getting out of your apartment is a fantastic way to get to know the community and gives you the opportunity to interact with other residents that you encounter on your walk.
It is also important to be optimistic. Attitude is everything; if you go into this new experience with a positive outlook – it is often surprising how easy it can be to meet new people. Having a cheerful outlook and outlook changes a lot about how difficult it can be to make new friends.
Are you interested in getting connected to one of our communities? Head over to our communities page!