Experts have named the country’s best retirement villages and it’s great news for Belong, with four of our villages: Chester, Macclesfield, Morris Feinmann and Newcastle-under-Lyme all landing a spot in the top 50, as compiled by researchers for the Daily Mail.
Whilst Belong is already well known for unrivalled round-the-clock residential and dementia care, the villages are also home to our apartment tenants who live independently, with some customers opting for a little extra support from the Belong at Home teams.
Judges lauded each of the villages’ amenities, including high-tech gym, salon and bistro, and for offering a wealth of opportunities to get involved in the arts, music workshops and intergenerational endeavours.
Wellbeing matters
The selection coincided with the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO) Wellbeing Week, highlighting the positive outcomes of living in integrated retirement communities (IRCs).
Every day we see and hear first-hand the experiences of our tenants and complementing this wealth of happy stories, academic research paints an equally positive picture of the benefits of living in IRCs, namely:
- Maintaining good health for longer
- Increased physical health, with a 75% increase in the amount of exercise undertaken
- Reduction in the number of falls
- Lower levels of loneliness and feeling isolated, including a 23% decrease in anxiety
- Higher life satisfaction and a greater sense of having a ‘safety net’
Community concept
In recent years, Belong has seen a marked increase in interest in living at the villages, specifically for having both retirement living apartments and residential care provision under one roof, along with village centre amenities that are also open to the local community.
Belong Chief Executive, Martin Rix, explains more: “There are two recurring themes we hear from customers as to why the concept of independent living within a wider care village appeals to them. One is that they have an eye on the future when either they or their partner may need support, so having the flexibility to adapt to changing needs and access home care, day services or even 24-hour respite care is key.
“Equally importantly, people want the vibrancy that a 24/7 site offers, and the fact that we welcome in the local community is a big part of this. Easy access to village facilities and activities really contributes to wellbeing, as does the ability to share these experiences with others and be part of a caring community.”
To read the feature, visit: https://bit.ly/BestRetirementVillages
