Pros and Cons of Aging at Home

Aging in your own home, or aging in place, is the goal for many seniors. Most people don’t want to give up their familiar surroundings, especially when their home is filled with many good memories. There are also many pros and cons of aging at home. Some of these are obvious, while others might have missed your attention.

It’s important to be realistic about the idea.

Where you live can have a huge impact on your quality of life and your safety. Making a poor choice about your living situation could have long-term effects.

So, as with all living situations, you need to weigh your options carefully. Look closely at the pros and cons of aging at home, along with the pros and cons of other living options, such downsizing, senior apartments, retirement communities.

With that in mind, let’s dig into the idea of aging at home.

The Pros and Cons of Aging at Home

The Advantages

Let’s start with the pros of aging at home. Many will be obvious, especially to seniors who want to stay at home. Still, they’re useful to look at – and some of the advantages aren’t obvious at first glance.

Familiarity

Home is home. It’s familiar. It’s safe. It’s where we have so many good memories and experiences.

This familiarity is so important. We develop routines and habits. We know where everything is (most of the time, at least), so it’s easy to get around. This is always comforting and even more so for people with cognitive challenges.

Besides, moving to a new home always means developing new habits and finding new ways of doing things. There’s nothing wrong with that process, but it’s much easier to stay where you are.

Social Connections

If you’ve lived in the same place for a long time, you’ve probably developed social connections. Some might not be all that strong, but they’re still connections and you can build from them.

Moving to a new place means that you need start again with friendships. While doing so is far from impossible, it does take energy. And, many people find that they feel lonely and isolated when they first move to a new location.  

You Can Get Support at Home

If you’re relatively independent, then getting a little support at home might be cheaper than moving to a dedicated facility. For example, you might have someone come in once a week to help with cleaning or with some basic maintenance tasks that you can’t safely do yourself.

There are other options too, including caregiving and home health aides. You may even be able to get a doctor or nurse to regularly visit you at home.

And, of course, there is family. Many adult children help to support their parents, which makes it easier to live at home for longer.

Of course, the support you can get will vary depending on your finances, insurance, and circumstances. Still, the area is worth digging into, as there has been a strong policy focus on helping seniors to age well in their communities.

Independence

Living at home means that you control the environment. You don’t need to follow anyone else’s rules. Giving this up can be difficult.

Most alternatives to aging at home do involve giving up some of your independence. The main exception is if you downside to a smaller house or a senior apartment. In most other cases, you’re trading some of your independents for increased support.

That trade-off might be worth it. It could even be crucial if you’re struggling to meet your needs on your own. Still, it’s not an easy trade to make.  

Privacy

Living independently in your own home gives you plenty of privacy. You get to make decisions for your own life and, for the most part, other people don’t know what you’re doing. The peace this bring is seriously underrated and it’s something that people miss when they live with others.

You Can Change Things

If you own your own home, it’s not too hard to make modifications, including ones that make your home safer to age in. Installing some grab bars, for example, can help to reduce risk.

You might even be able to carpet rooms that had wooden floors before, to lower the risk of falling. And, of course, you get to choose what changes are made and how things are done. You can make sure everything matches your preferences. This isn’t something you can do in many other environments.

Cons of Aging at Home

Home Upkeep

Home upkeep can be frustrating and time-consuming at the best of times. This only gets worse as you age. Some types of maintenance, like cleaning the gutters or doing some painting, might have been easy when you were young, but become more difficult or even dangerous as you age.

You might be able to outsource some tasks, like house cleaning or lawn mowing, but this can get expensive fast. Seniors find it more difficult to do yard work, and cutting down trees becomes near impossible. It doesn’t have to be. You can contact Madera tree care experts for assistance with the heavy duty yard work.

Energy is an issue too. Even if you are physically capable of all the home upkeep that is needed, you might find that you lack the energy or enthusiasm as you get older. After all, cleaning and maintaining a 3-bedroom house can be quite a burden when you’re the only one enjoying it.

I noticed this one when my grandfather spend some time living in the family home on his own. He enjoyed the space and wanted to be there, but had no energy or interest for tending the garden. It looked like quite a jungle before too long.

The Physical Environment

Home might be familiar, but it’s not always the best choice for someone who is aging. There can be all kinds of hazards that increase the risk of falls and other injuries.

Stairs are the most obvious example, but there are many others too. For example, my grandparents had a fantastic bathroom where the floor was entirely tiled. It looked amazing and was perfect for most of their lives. But, as they aged, that same floor led to a number of falls.

You Might Not Get Enough Help

If you’re fairly independent, then living at home on your own can work well. But, if your health needs start to stack up, then staying at home might not be the best option at all.

After all, in-home care can get expensive and often won’t be covered by Medicare or insurance. Paying for it can be difficult, especially when you get beyond needing an hour or two of support each day.

And, even when you have people visiting regularly, there might not be someone at hand when you need them the most. This can be frustrating and even dangerous.

Moving Around Gets More Difficult

While staying active is always important, it can get more difficult as you age. For many seniors, losing the ability to safely drive is a part of this. If you can’t drive any more, your options for getting around become much more limited. You’ll need to turn to alternatives, like public transportation, Uber, or rides from family members.

The transport options will vary dramatically depending on where you live.

There might be a fantastic transport network in place or, perhaps, you have a family member who can regularly give you rides. You could also hunt for someone to drive you regularly. I did something similar as a caregiver myself. I managed to find a mother on Craigslist who wanted to earn some extra money. Just be cautious if you take that route, as you can’t trust everyone online.

Regardless, many people won’t have good transport options in their home environment. This can easily leave you feeling isolated and lost.

There’s No One Around

Being at home gives you plenty of privacy, but this isn’t always a good thing. If you have a fall or any type of accident, it might be hours before anyone knows – if not longer.

I remember this happening with my grandfather. He slipped and fell in the shower (in that bathroom I mentioned earlier). He was sitting on the floor with water running all night, until the visiting caregiver found him in the morning.

At that stage, he had caregivers visiting for an hour or two most days. If that hadn’t been the case, I shudder to think how long it would have been before someone found him.

It Can Be Lonely

Earlier on in this list of pros and cons of aging at home, we mentioned that staying at home is good for social connections, as you have access to all the connections that you’ve already developed and don’t need to start again. This is true, but many people find that aging at home is lonely instead.

After all, you’re normally living on your own or perhaps with a partner. Even if you have many friends, they all have their own houses and their own lives. It takes time and energy to go and see them or for them to see you.

You may find that you see your friends less over time, as going to see them gets more difficult. If your friends are the same age as you, they might face mobility challenges too.

In contrast, retirement homes, assisted living facilities, and even living with family all mean that you’re near people much more often. Even retirement communities give you more chance for connection, as you have many age-mates in your neighborhood.

It Can Stress Family Members Out

If you’re living at home on your own, then some family members are probably worried about you. Adult children tend to stress about the situation a lot, especially if they think you might have an accident or should be living on your own.

Sometimes this means that they may go out of their way to support you and check in. While such support might help you to stay at home for longer, it can come at a high price to them, especially if they have many other obligations as well.

Think About the Cost

It’s worth thinking about the cost of aging at home too, including how this compares to your other options.

Aging at home can be relatively inexpensive, especially if you are living mortgage-free in your own home. You still have bills to pay and the cost of maintenance, but such costs are normally less than what you would pay in an assisted living facility or a nursing home.

However, the cost will be influenced by many factors. Larger houses tend to cost more than smaller ones and older houses might need more maintenance work than newer ones.

The cost can creep up if you need to hire home help. Paying for a few hours of help a week might be realistic enough, but anything more than that gets expensive fast.

How to Age at Home

The pros and cons of aging at home are all significant. Whether the approach is worth it will depend on your situation and periorities.

More than anything, it’s important to carefully weigh up the good things and the bad things, then think about whether aging at home is the correct decision. If it is, then it’s worth working to make your home as safe as it can be, as there are many ways to make your home safer to age in.

Part of this involves closely looking at the hazards that are present and ways to minimize risk. For example, rugs can make people trip and increase the risk of a fall. Sharp corners on furniture can be an issue too, especially in hallways.

Make sure that your house is well-lit and easy to navigate, including at nighttime, in case anyone needs to visit the bathroom.

Finding ways to make life easier helps too. Examples include:

• Installing grab bars in the bathroom to reduce the risk of falling
• Look for furniture that is easy to get out of, like tall seats, chairs with arm rests, and seats that are sturdy. Cushions and chair raisers can increase the height of the chair, making everything easier.
• Incontinence products. Some reduce the risk of accidents, while others make accidents easier to deal with.
• Adaptive clothing. This type of clothing tends to be stretchy. If it cannot be easily pulled on and off, then it will have well-placed fasteners that are easy-to-use.

Finally, think about room design and the appliances that are used. It’s not difficult to find senior-friendly appliances and these can make a huge difference. The general idea is that anything that makes the home safer and easier to use should help you to remain there for longer.

Even small alterations can change the balance of pros and cons of aging at home – making the idea much more realistic.