70 Is the New 90 for Senior Living

Younger folks are showing interest in the hassle-free lifestyle of retirement homes

By Art Bukowski | Oct. 5, 2024

The old folks' home isn’t what it used to be.

That’s the loud-and-clear message from leaders at local senior living facilities, where the clientele is skewing younger and the activities are more robust and engaging.

What most people imagine when they think of senior facilities (naps in the recliner in between a few games of cribbage, perhaps, followed by a bland meal and early bedtime) is largely based on an outdated model that simply doesn’t appeal to many of today’s seniors.

This is particularly true for so-called “independent” living, where seniors can get hot meals, laundry, and other services without the hands-on, daily support provided in assisted living facilities. These folks still want to be engaged and stimulated, largely because they’re younger than ever before.

“We have a higher number of folks in their 70s than at any time in our 10-year history, and we’re also seeing more in that decade come in and put themselves on our waiting list,” says Karen Anderson, CEO of Cordia at Grand Traverse Commons. “They’re coming in part for the lifestyle…which offers an unparalleled level of freedom from household chores and worries and concerns, and also for the really wonderful, strong community we offer.”

A Luxury, Not a Last Resort

Cordia is an upscale facility in the Village at Grand Traverse Commons that offers 110 private apartments. The majority of the facility is independent living, while about 25 percent of “members” (as they are called there) take part in various degrees of assisted living.

Aside from meals, weekly housekeeping and linen service, and scheduled transportation, Cordia offers several wellness programs, a salon and spa, and much more. This makes for a place that people want to come to, rather than one they need to go to.

“It used to be that if we had somebody at the younger end of the spectrum, there was a health concern that motivated them,” Anderson says. “Increasingly, we’re seeing those members move in because they’re just attracted to the lifestyle. And even with our older folks, it’s much less need driven and more desire driven.”

Erin Griffiths agrees. Griffiths is the general manager of Independence Village, a 120-unit independent living community in Traverse City, and she’s seeing similar trends.

“It’s more of a luxury and a want versus a need when people are moving in, and I think we’re going to continue to see that shift as we get more into the [Baby] Boomers,” she says. “People have definitely shifted their view of senior living.”

A big part of the draw is that day-to-day life is simply easier, Anderson and Griffiths say, even if the people who move in are still capable of doing plenty for themselves.

“Some are widowed or single, and they don’t want to necessarily be cooking for themselves and eating meals on their own,” Anderson said. “There's a lot to be said for being part of a community where you can be on your own when you want to be or when you can be with friends at other times.”

And it’s not just fun to have people around you—there are also proven health benefits.

“Gerontologists will tell you that isolation is one of the greatest causes of morbidity in seniors,” Anderson says.

Taking Control

The seniors of today are also making conscious decisions to enter senior living while they’re still in good shape, Anderson and Griffiths say.

“People are not waiting until they are desperate and have to do something,” Anderson says. “They’re choosing to come in, and that’s making an enormous difference in their aging trajectory.”

Residents are aware that they likely will have to move or downsize at some point in their twilight years, Griffiths says. Why wait?

“People are planning a little bit more ahead of time and they’re moving in before they need it so that it makes things easier for them,” she says. “They don’t want to have to move again when it’s too hard. They want to move now while they’re still independent and able to do some things.”

Plus, seniors seem to be increasingly conscious of the burden they may place on their families if they delay a move too long.

“We hear residents say that they want to move now so their kids aren’t responsible for having to move them and take care of them,” Griffiths says. “They want to make it easier on their kids, because their adult children now are working and have children of their own, and they [don’t need] the stress and burden.”

These are marked shifts from earlier generations, where many seniors wanted to stay at home as long as possible and resisted moving to senior facilities, which were viewed more as prisons than places of fun and enjoyment.

“I think the Baby Boomers are much more open to the benefits of the lifestyle we offer than the Greatest Generation and the Silent Generation that is starting to fade out,” Anderson says.

“Instead of this being a place where you need to go, it’s a place you can go and live and thrive. And I think that will be more attractive to the Boomers as they’re coming in,” Griffiths says. “I could live here and have fun and thrive and live here for years.”

The momentum will probably snowball as younger seniors continue to move in. Older seniors who chose to enter senior living on their own accord are also setting great examples, Anderson says. About a quarter of the population at Cordia are in their 90s, and they’re showing that senior living can be tremendously rewarding.

“They are the most amazing, vital, active, engaged folks you could imagine,” Anderson says. “They and their desire to have a different kind of trajectory in their aging experience that led them here, they’re also role modeling for their children that it can be different than what everybody’s always held in our mind for so many years.”