These five signs can help you decide if now is the right time to move to independent living: if home maintenance feels overwhelming, if your social life could use a boost, if your home no longer fits your needs, if you’re eager to explore new passions, and if you want to stay independent while aging in place. Independent living communities make life easier with amenities like dining, housekeeping, fitness programs, and pet-friendly spaces — helping you enjoy increased freedom and social connection.
Is independent living the right fit?
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Maintaining a clean and safe home can be challenging for anyone, but it can become especially tiring as you age. Independent living may be a good solution for you if you answer “yes” to some or all of these questions.
A good, reliable, and affordable cleaning service can be hard to come by. Independent living can eliminate this burden by offering convenient housekeeping services. Within A Place for Mom’s network of independent living communities, nearly 92% offer housekeeping, and approximately 78% offer laundry services.[01]
Whether you’ve lived in your home for many years or you built it recently, eventually maintenance needs, such as plumbing repairs, will become your problem to solve. In independent living communities, the staff manages everything from replacing hard-to-reach light bulbs to fixing water leaks, at no extra cost.
The average American homeowner who has a yard will spend an estimated 384 hours mowing their lawn over their lifetime.[02] At independent living communities, the maintenance staff makes sure that lawns and paths remain well-groomed. Independent living residents can enjoy a cold beer on their lawn chair, without any work.
If you enjoy certain aspects of yard work, you can continue to exercise your green thumb in most independent living communities. About 68% of A Place for Mom’s independent living partners provide raised gardening beds, helping seniors with mobility issues to garden safely.[01]
Loneliness is a serious issue for most seniors. Almost a quarter of U.S. seniors live alone.[03] Especially when children have moved away or a partner has passed away, seniors can feel isolated. If the following questions resonate with you, consider independent living as a way to build a social life.
Living alone doesn’t inevitably lead to senior loneliness, but the two often go hand-in-hand. Isolation can negatively affect your mental health and well-being, and it may increase the risk of diseases and early mortality.[04]. Independent living communities offer daily social opportunities without the hassle of arranging transportation.
At this stage of life, you may find that you want more opportunities to make friends or try new things. If so, independent living is ideal because it allows you to fill your calendar with fulfilling activities such as happy hours, trivia nights, poker, and dance nights with friends and peers.
Nearly all independent living communities within A Place for Mom’s network offer on-site activities.[01]
Is independent living the right fit?
Let our free assessment guide you to the best senior living options, tailored to your needs.
Over the years, you may find that your neighborhood has changed due to construction, or it may simply be too far away from the activities you enjoy. Ask yourself the following to see whether independent living may offer a better environment:
The average home in the United States is around 2,300 square feet.[05] If you’re an empty nester, all that space can feel lonely. Independent living communities offer multiple floor plans, from studio apartments to two-bedroom cottages, to help you downsize and feel more comfortable.
As you age, you may find that you crave more peace and quiet. This can be difficult to find if you have lots of children in your neighborhood, or your neighbors throw loud parties that last into the morning hours. Most independent living communities require residents to be 55 or older, enabling you to enjoy quiet evenings on your porch, or dine in adults-only restaurants and cafes.
Living alone or being even a little less mobile in a big house may make you fearful of trespassers. Of course, you can add security measures, but you may also be anxious about forgetting to set your security system or checking your locks before bed.
Independent living eliminates this worry because most communities have nightly security patrols, alarm systems, up-to-date locks, and other safety features. These added security protocols reduce the risk of theft and provide residents with peace of mind.
Aging often causes mobility issues that require safety modifications such as adding stair lifts and grab bars in the home. If you’d rather not spend your money or time making these modifications, most independent living communities have low thresholds, widened doorways, and elevators to reach upper-level homes. Grab bars, fall alert systems, and walk-in tubs are other common features.
Almost 90% of independent living communities in A Place for Mom’s network offer fully accessible apartments.[01]
As you reach retirement, you may want to pursue hobbies and interests that you didn’t have time for while working or raising a family. However, obligations to your home and property may hinder your ability to pursue such interests.
Ask yourself these questions to decide whether independent living is the right fit:
An independent living community grants you the opportunity to pursue your interests. Inclusive activities such as painting, music, and gardening allow you to rediscover old passions or find new ones.
Regular exercise can help older adults stay independent, prevent health problems that come with age, and have a better quality of life.[06] Seniors should get 30 minutes of light physical activity at least five times a week.[07]
Getting enough exercise can be tough for people who aren’t motivated to join a gym or attend classes at a senior center. Independent living communities often offer on-site gyms and classes designed for older adults.
Continued learning increases psychological well-being and reduces the likelihood of dementia in aging adults.[08,09] Independent living communities often host guest lectures from local professors, have weekly language lessons, or promote book clubs.
Within A Place for Mom’s independent living network, approximately 85% of communities offer lifelong learning opportunities.[01] Flower arranging, computer literacy, and even mechanics are other common opportunities.
In A Place for Mom’s network, nearly 80% of independent living communities have on-site fitness centers, and about 91% of them offer exercise classes.[01] Options like water aerobics, yoga, and hiking clubs mean there’s usually something everyone will enjoy.
Independent living communities are designed to help you be as independent as you want to be. You can continue to cook, clean, and drive as much as you want to.
Most older American adults want to age in place. In fact, “75% of Americans age 50 and older say they prefer to remain in their current residence,” a 2024 AARP study concluded.
Consider these questions about your level of independence and explore how independent living may assist you:
You may not want to cook every meal, but you still enjoy cooking a meal or two. In independent living, you certainly can. Within A Place for Mom’s network, approximately 90% of independent living communities offer a full kitchen or kitchenette within resident apartments.[01] Nearly 75% of the communities also offer cooking classes or a cooking club.
Dining services are also available for those who don’t enjoy cooking. Most communities offer at least two meals a day if not three.
About 87% of independent living communities offer restaurant-style dining and about 75% offer room service within A Place for Mom’s network.[01] Some even offer special dietary accommodations for gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan diets.
Some seniors prefer not to drive, while others still very much enjoy it. Fortunately, independent living accommodates both. Seniors can bring their own cars with them or utilize on-site transportation services.
Within A Place for Mom’s independent living network, over 95% of communities offer parking for residents, and about 90% offer complimentary or at-cost transportation services.[01] In communities that don’t offer transportation, concierges are happy to coordinate rides using reliable, external services.
Residents of independent living communities can leave the community at their leisure, host friends and family, and attend community-scheduled outings. However, there’s plenty of on-site entertainment, so you don’t have to leave the premises for everything. For example, many communities offer movie theaters, pools, libraries, salons, and barbershops as on-site amenities.
Furthermore, about 90% of independent living communities within our network schedule day trips and outings for residents.[01] A few outings could include an afternoon stroll in a park, a brunch at a local café, browsing museums, and more.
When you leave your apartment in an independent living community, housekeeping and maintenance staff will take care of your home while you’re gone. There’s no need to ask for someone to check on your house, mow your lawn, or pick up your mail.
You don’t have to worry about having to give up a furry loved one while living in an independent living community because you can bring your beloved pet with you. Over 90% of communities within A Place for Mom’s independent living network allow residents to bring their dogs and cats to live with them.[01]
If you’d rather not move to a new community if and when you need more help, continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) offer assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing on the same campus as independent living.
Some independent living communities even coordinate with home care agencies to help seniors receive the care they need without moving to another wing of the community. For instance, nearly 30% of communities within A Place for Mom’s independent living network offer contracted home care services and more than 60% have a home care agency onsite.[01]
Independent living questions? Get expert help
Tell us your care needs to receive personalized guidance from our advisors.
A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Advisors can help you find options near you based on your budget, preferences, and needs. They can also help you compare options, answer questions you have, and help you choose an independent living community at no cost to you or your family.
The average age of residents at A Place for Mom’s partner independent living communities is 80, but there are benefits to moving earlier. The sooner you identify what matters to you
in retirement, the sooner you’ll be able to take advantage of the benefits of independent living.
Most independent living communities require residents to be at least 55 years old, whereas the minimum age in most assisted living communities is 62 or 65 for residents.
Generally, being able to take care of yourself and complete all activities of daily living without assistance is the most important criteria for moving into an independent living community. That said, many communities do offer onsite or contracted care services in
case residents’ care needs change.
A Place for Mom. (2025). A Place for Mom proprietary data.
Today’s Home Owner. (2025, March 26). How much time Americans spend mowing in their lifetime.
Ausel, Jacob. (2020, March 10). Older people are more likely to live alone in the U.S. than elsewhere in the world. Pew Research Center.
Cacioppo, S., Grippo, A. J., London, S., Goossens, L., and Cacioppo J. T. (2016, March). Loneliness: Clinical import and interventions. Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Thompson, P., Grundy, A. (2024, June 28). Housing data show median house price per square foot by region. United States Census Bureau.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2023). Physical activity guidelines for Americans midcourse report.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, April). Physical activity for older adults: An overview.
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2021) Does higher learning combat dementia?
Narushima, M., Liu, J., and Diestelkamp, N. (2018, April). Lifelong learning in active ageing discourse: Its conserving effect on wellbeing, health, and vulnerability. Ageing and Society.
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