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More people than ever are choosing to move to continuing care retirement communities (CCRC). These communities provide residents with enrichment and social activities and are designed to help with activities of daily living when needed. Moving to a CCRC does not hinder independence; it enhances it! As one of the top independent living communities in Chicago, Montgomery Place offers a wide variety of services to help you live independently within our community. Learn more about our premier Chicago senior transportation options below!

Premium Senior Transportation Services in Chicago

In an independent living community, you are able to come and go as you please. At Montgomery Place, you’re welcome to bring your own car, or you can choose to forego it as we offer assisted transportation to our community. By providing transportation services, we help you maintain independence to shop, visit nearby attractions, or spend time offsite with your neighbors.

How To Recognize High-Quality Transportation Services

High quality independent living transportation services can be difficult to identify. Here are a few questions to ask when considering transportation options:

• Is transportation offered regularly?

• Are the drivers certified to operate all of the vehicles?

• Does the shuttle bus have a wheelchair lift?

• Can residents schedule special transportation when needed?

• What types of outings are planned by the community?

• Are the vehicles well maintained?

Once you have done some research, you will feel more confident that the transportation services offered by us are exceptional. We offer transportation for a wide variety of reasons so you can live a full, engaged lifestyle. 

Montgomery Place Transportation Options

Being nestled in the heart of Hyde Park, we know that some older adults may value the ease of transportation assistance to avoid the frustration of traffic and parking. 

Shuttle Bus

If you don’t like driving, our staff makes regular trips to various locations throughout Hyde Park and the surrounding area. This service is included in your lease, so you are able to take as many trips as you want each week. We also plan group trips to concerts, museums, and theaters so that you can enjoy our beautiful location. 

Garage

Here at Montgomery Place, we also offer underground parking spaces if you own your own vehicle for an additional monthly fee. 

Montgomery Place is a continuing care retirement community located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. If you are looking for a wonderful community for you or a loved one, we could be the perfect community for you. Contact us today to schedule your personal tour (either virtual or in-person). While on your tour, we’re happy to answer any questions you may have and find the best option that will suit your needs. 

Featured Image: Gorlov-KV/Shutterstock

After a long, successful career, people want to make the most of their retirement and thoroughly enjoy the fruits of their labors. Becoming part of an active retirement community is a great way to stay connected with other individuals transitioning to this new phase of life. If you’re looking for retirement living near the University of Chicago, Montgomery Place is an excellent option. Our luxury independent living apartments offer numerous amenities and social activities to keep you engaged and entertained. Because we are situated in the heart of Hyde Park, you’ll have the opportunity to explore one of the most culturally diverse, historic districts in the Windy City.

Ways to Stay Connected Within the Community

Retirement communities are designed for adults 65 and over, who want the freedom and space to live independently while having access to numerous services, amenities, and healthcare resources, should they need them. Montgomery Place offers a broad range of services including internationally inspired, chef prepared meals, housekeeping, planned excursions in and around the city, and countless art & entertainment offerings so you can spend less time on the mundane tasks of homeownership and more time doing the things you love.

Where you live matters, and at Montgomery Place, our custom apartment homes on the shores of stunning Lake Michigan, simply cannot be beat. Living here you will enjoy breathtaking sunrises and invigorating walks along the famed Promontory Point. If gardening is your thing, our massive urban garden offers residents private plots to grow their favorite fruits, vegetables, and flowers…without all the messy clean up! At Montgomery Place, what you do is up to you!

If you’re more of an indoor person, our indoor activities can be great options in cold or rainy weather. Here you can enjoy:

• Wine tastings

• Cooking classes

• Poetry readings

• World class musical performance by members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

• Painting and drawing classes in our studio

• A heated, indoor continuous wave pool

• Yoga

Things to Enjoy in Hyde Park

Hyde Park is a historically rich and culturally diverse and vibrant neighborhood in Chicago. Once home to President Barack Obama, Hyde Park was also the site of the 1893 Chicago World Fair. The neighborhood is bordered by the University of Chicago to the West, and the Lakefront and the Museum of Science and Industry to the East.

If art and architecture is your passion, Hyde Park delivers. Not far from Montgomery Place, you’ll find Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, a historic treasure that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the Hyde Park Art Center to expand your cultural worldview, or stop by the country’s first institution of African American culture and history, the DuSable Museum.

Take a stroll around the world famous “Fountain of Time” sculpture, a feature of Washington Park and one of the most important pieces in the Chicago Park District’s collection. For a more interactive experience, take a trip to the parks butterfly and bird sanctuary or the Garden of the Phoenix never disappoints.

Although the neighborhood is most well-known for its’ cultural and historic significance, Hyde Park also boasts a burgeoning restaurant scene. Sample handcrafted cocktails at The Promenade or start the day off right with breakfast from the historic Valois, America’s oldest cafeteria style restaurant. These restaurants, the art, the architecture and the stunning scenery all serve as a great way draw your friends and family in to visit, and showcase the vibrant neighborhood you live in. Whether you’re entertain visiting friends and family, or just want to get out and explore, Hyde Park is a wonderful place to be.

Reasons to Choose Montgomery Place for Retirement Living

Montgomery Place is an active retirement community that offers comprehensive services and amenities to keep you engaged and entertained so that you can live fully, in safety and comfort. If you need medical assistance for any reason, we can provide it right in the privacy of your own home. Moving to a retirement community such as Montgomery Place is a great way to stay active, engaged, and connected. Our goal is to provide you with an inclusive living community that will help you thrive in your retirement.

If you searching for a picturesque lakefront retirement living near the University of Chicago, come to Montgomery Place! Contact us today or reach us at 773-753-4100 to learn more about the many amenities and services we have to offer and to schedule your private showing to see how Montgomery Place retirement living is the best way for you to enjoy retirement in Chicago.

As you enter your retirement years, you may start to worry about what would happen if you were to get sick and need specialized care. Being admitted to a nursing home or long-term care community can be a distressing experience, especially if it separates you from loved ones. A good alternative is to find life care at home services. The Montgomery Place Retirement Community offers this type of service, so you can easily transition to more extensive medical care should you ever need it.

What Is Life Care?

As people age, their medical needs change. When people first retire, they may be healthy individuals capable of living independently, but an unexpected diagnosis could quickly require extensive medical care. Life Care at home is a medical service that aims to provide different levels of care as they are needed. While you may need minimal assistance when you first move into a Montgomery Place community, you may soon benefit from minor assistance such as cooking, dining, and medication management services. Eventually, you may need therapy or daily medical care, which can be provided from the comfort of your home with our life care services.

What Are the Costs of Life Care?

The costs for life care vary depending upon the community you choose. The following three contracts are typically available for you to choose from.

Type A

This type of contract usually requires residents to pay an entrance fee covering the cost of housing, amenities, and service. Although the initial price is often steep, you will have stable monthly payments through the duration of your stay regardless of how much medical care you need in the future. Because the medical care provided often costs less through life care services than it does in the open market, this type of contract is beneficial for people who have good reason to believe they will have significant medical expenses in the future.

Type B

This type of contract features lower monthly payments and entrance fees, but it often restricts the provided services. You may still be covered to receive therapy at home, but you may have to receive other treatments at another location. This contract is ideal for people who have little reason they will contract severe conditions later in life.

Type C

Rather than charging a steep entrance fee covering the cost of housing and services, this type of contract allows you to make monthly payments for these expenses. However, medical care is not included in these expenses. If you ever need extensive medical care, you will be responsible for paying the market cost, but high-quality care is guaranteed. This type of contract is beneficial for people who never need extensive care, but the market costs of care may quickly exceed the upfront cost that comes with an entrance fee.

What Are the Benefits of Life Care?

Life Care at home services considers that all retirees have different needs that change over time. Treatment is entirely customized to fit your needs. While you are active and independent, care is limited to helpful services that allow you to make the most of retirement instead of spending a lot of time cooking, cleaning, and folding laundry. When your needs change, and you need more medical care, our certified staff members will provide it without making you leave the comfort of your home.

The most significant benefit of life care at home is that you do not have to be separated from your spouse. If you need extensive medical attention, but your spouse does not, you may qualify for a long-term care community or nursing home, but your spouse will only be allowed to visit. Life Care services at home ensure that you both have access to the care you need without having to be separated. This can be especially beneficial if you are dealing with a condition such as dementia or Alzheimer’s and need to have a support system close by.

The final benefit of life care at home is stability. If you don’t have life care at home, you may have to travel long distances for treatment or even move to a different community to find the care you need. This can be stressful and inconvenient because it disrupts your daily routine. Getting the care you need from the comfort of your home allows you to form a strong bond with your caretakers without changing your routine.

Embark on your Next Chapter of Vibrant Living at Montgomery Place

Located in the center of the scenic neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago, IL, Montgomery Place is a retirement community dedicated to helping seniors make the most of their later years. In addition to assisted and independent living options, we also offer life care at home, so you can be confident you will receive exceptional medical care as you age without having to move to a different community. If you are interested in learning more about our life care services to determine if this is the right solution for you, contact us today.

As you get older, you want to be able to enjoy those years, but you also need to face the reality that you may need a little assistance performing daily tasks. A continuing care retirement community (CCRC) may be a great solution. CCRC provides a continuum of care, beginning with independent living and providing tailored support all the way through end-of-life care. Many people assume that independent living communities are too expensive, but you may be surprised because you don’t know how much independent senior living costs. You may also be surprised by how affordable some facilities such as Montgomery Place can be.

What Is Independent Living?

Independent living communities are senior living communities that provide residents the flexibility of a healthy social and recreational life, with the convenience of services such as housekeeping and cooked meals. Admission to an independent living community is limited to only those older than 55 or 65 who require limited assistance.

Members of the independent living community are afforded the delicate balance of autonomy and convenience, unlike other types of senior living. For instance, nursing homes mainly focus on providing medical care or help with daily living activities such as bathing and dressing.

Types of Independent Living

As you search for your perfect retirement community, you will come across various independent living communities. These communities offer different levels of independence and convenience.

Senior Apartments

Of all independent living arrangements, senior apartments offer the most autonomy and some services. In senior apartments, you get an apartment with a serviced kitchen and bathroom, allowing you to maintain your privacy.

Residents of senior apartments share a common dining room, which encourages healthy socialization.

Retirement Homes

Although they are a type of independent living community, retirement homes offer varied living options for older adults, ranging from townhomes and apartments to stand-alone houses.

Retirement communities offer seniors independence while also providing convenient onsite services, such as:

• Meals

• Laundry

• Recreation

• Transportation, etc.

These additional services make retirement communities more expensive than senior apartments.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities

These offer various senior living options, ranging from nursing home care to independent living, all within one community.

In these communities, you enjoy the flexibility of an active and social lifestyle with the comfort of readily available healthcare. Since continuing care retirement communities have nursing home care services, independent seniors have the convenience of having a permanent residence even when they become more dependent on caregivers.

Who Is a Good Fit for Independent Living?

With so many options, it can be challenging to determine which senior living arrangement is a good fit for you or your loved one.

The following seniors find independent living suitable for them:

• Adults who don’t need assistance with daily living activities like bathing, dressing, and management of medication

• Adults who enjoy their independent lifestyle and only want help with home maintenance and meal preparation

• Seniors who live alone and would like to interact with other peers through cordial social and recreational activities

• Retired adults who are ready to embrace a more laid-back and convenient lifestyle

Average Cost of Independent Living

Independent living facilities are all-inclusive, so instead of paying separate fees for different expenses, you can pay one lump sum every month. Costs vary widely depending upon how many services and amenities the community offers. While many independent living communities, like Montgomery Place, offer daily meals, housekeeping and laundry service, a wide variety of social activities, and staff members available 24/7, some offer even more amenities so you will pay more to live at those facilities.

If you’re wondering, “how much is senior living per month?” the answer may surprise you. Many communities offer base packages as low as $500 per month, and because these facilities are all-inclusive, the annual cost could be much cheaper than living on your own. However, you often have to pay an entrance fee to reserve your spot. This one-time cost varies drastically among senior living communities. If you choose to become a resident of a continuing care retirement community that will offer you different services as your needs become more extensive, this fee could be as much as $600,000. However, most facilities are more reasonably priced and have entrance started at as little as $1,800.

The Cost of Staying at Home or Moving to a Senior Community

At first, you may think that remaining in your traditional, family home throughout your retirement may be much more cost-efficient than moving to an independent living community like Montgomery Place. Many senior living facilities require a significant entrance fee, and staying at home allows you to avoid this cost. Montgomery Place offers leasing options, as well as partially refundable entrance fee-based leasing agreements. If you add up the costs of living on your own, you’ll find that the cost of senior living is comparable. Expenses from the following categories add up quickly.

• Housing: Rent or mortgage is one of the most significant expenses of living on your own. The average cost of rent or mortgage payment varies widely across the nation, but you can expect to pay approximately $1,200 per month just to keep a roof over your head. If you’ve owned your home for many years, you may not have a mortgage payment, but you’ll still have to pay property and HOA fees.

• Transportation: If you own a vehicle, you may have monthly payments that could be expensive. Even if the vehicle is already paid off, you’ll still have to pay for gas, maintenance, and repairs as needed.

• Groceries: You have to eat. Cooking for yourself is more cost-efficient than eating out every day, but the cost of feeding yourself can be expensive. On average, it takes $250 per month to feed one person three meals a day. If you want to consume a healthy, nutritious diet full of whole foods and organic fruits and vegetables, you could end up spending even more.

• Utilities: It costs money to keep the water running in your house and keep the lights on. You may also have to pay for trash removal or lawn care services each month.

What To Consider When Choosing an Independent Living Community

Before you settle for an independent living community, assess your options based on the following factors.

Social and Recreational Opportunities

Older adults who settle for an independent living want increased independence coupled with abundant social and recreational activities. They want to take part in hobbies and games with their peers.

Before choosing an independent living community, discover the social and recreational opportunities available. Ensure that the community offers a healthy combination of onsite and offsite activities to keep you or your loved one satisfactorily occupied.

Convenience Services and Amenities

The quality of services and amenities offered at an independent living community is a factor you should seriously consider. Find out how often the community conducts apartment cleaning, laundry, and other convenience services.

Before making a choice, you should also explore the entertainment and lifestyle amenities available. You should ensure your chosen community is appropriately serviced if you cannot live without a TV or theater room.

Dining Services

Few things are as important as food. Your dining experience contributes to your comfort and health. Find out whether your chosen option offers flexible meal plans suitable to your needs. Verify the number of meals offered and the expected mealtimes to know if your choice is a good fit.

Compare Actual Costs Before Deciding, Talk to Montgomery Place: Senior Living Community in Chicago Today

Whether you are looking into senior living options for yourself or a loved one, the independent living community at Montgomery Place is a great option for people looking for a place in Chicago, Illinois. We offer a wide variety of support services to help you live your best life while living as independently as possible.

If you would like more information on all Montgomery Place has to offer to see if our community is right for you, contact us today to schedule a tour.

Featured Image: Shutterstock /Yakobchuk Viacheslav

For many older adults, there’s literally no place like home. A recent AARP survey showed that 76% of Americans over age 50 want to stay in their current home. Even when moving to a senior living arrangement would offer numerous amenities, most seniors prefer to stay at home. If that’s how you feel, life care at home can be an attractive option.

What is Life Care at Home?

Life care at home means being able to stay in your current home while also receiving assistance with day-to-day tasks. This is also called aging in place. You go about your normal routine with the benefit of having someone around to take care of the things you can’t.

Some types of life care at home are temporary. For example, you may normally be able to cook, clean, and get around just fine. If unexpected surgery means you need to take things easy for a while, care helps you accomplish daily tasks without stress.

What are the Benefits of Home Care Services for Seniors?

Many seniors want to stay at home for the longest time possible. There are several advantages to aging in place:

1. Independence

Living at home gives you greater independence than many alternatives. You decide what to do and how. This includes decorating just the way you like and following your own schedule.

2. Familiar Places

Sometimes it’s not just your home that you love. You also enjoy being surrounded by friendly neighbors, charming oak trees, and nearby shops that you know well. There’s something to be said for being on a first-name basis with everyone.

3. Great Surroundings

You worked hard to pay for that dream patio that lets you see the sunrise every morning, so why give it up? Watching hummingbirds dart around a beautiful garden can have many benefits for your emotional and physical health.

The sights and smells of your family home aren’t easy to forget or replace. Life care at home can allow you to enjoy them for a long time.

What Does Life Care at Home Involve?

With modern home care services for seniors, you have a lot of flexibility for deciding what you want care providers to handle for you. Here are a few things life care at home can include:

• Preparing meals and/or cooking

• Reminding you to take medication

• Helping you get dressed

• Assisting you in moving around the house

• Accompanying you to buy groceries

 Other services include assistance eating, grooming, using the bathroom, and bathing.

How Can Life Care at Home Help Caregivers?

It’s not uncommon for a married couple to have unique health needs. One partner may be completely capable of caring for themselves, while the other may have serious health challenges that require assistance. If you’re caring for a loved one, can you still take advantage of life care at home?

Services can be a source of relief to many caregivers who feel exhausted or overwhelmed. When you don’t have to worry about, you can spend more time with your partner or get the rest you need to take care of your health. Professional home care services for seniors can also assist with personal care such as bathing, always in a dignified manner. 

How Can You Choose the Best Care Option for Your Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health?

Like many things in life, aging in place isn’t always sunshine and roses. There are challenges you need to be prepared for:

• Moving around

• Getting out of the house

• Keeping yourself busy

• Avoiding loneliness

• Staying safe and secure

• Getting to and from appointments

Another thing to consider is the condition of your home. Remodeling a two-story home that causes you intense pain every time you go down the stairs may not be feasible. What then?

Whether these issues are a problem often depends on your specific circumstances. For example, if family members live far away, you may feel happier overall with the companionship and community offered by independent living.

What About Independent Living? 

Independent living combines the independence of living from home with benefits and amenities designed specifically to make your life simple and stress-free. Residents reside in their own private spaces, but can leave tasks like housekeeping, meals, and home maintenance to professionals while also enjoying a variety of amenities and activities. It’s lavish, sophisticated, and satisfying.

At Montgomery Place in Chicago, we believe in uplifting both the heart and mind with our academic amenities near the University of Chicago. Exercise your independence with an extensive research library, art workshop, greenhouse, and other phenomenal ways to keep your mental focus sharp.

To learn more about our life care at home services and luxury assisted living, contact our friendly experts right away.

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Featured Image: Shutterstock / Robert Kneschke

You know it. Your kids and friends now respond with the mantra, “This place is too big for just you.” You admit to yourself there are entire rooms in your home you’ve not even entered for more than a month. But your home houses a lifetime of treasures, memories, books, and papers. How can you possibly release them?  How can you downsize? 

I still chuckle when I read this 2016 Wall Street Journal article, “Lock the door: Your boomer parents have decided to downsize” and think you might enjoy reading it too. 

Sorting through your treasures overwhelms you. It seems impossible to find a place to start. And when you finally do, you discover you’re simply putting everything you touch right back to where it was. This experience fuels a sense of defeat.

I know. I’ve been there. It is a big job.

Let’s break through feeling paralyzed. When you do, you may discover a sense of relief, a lightened feeling, a new freedom. I did!

Let’s start by busting a half dozen myths about what to do with some of your treasures:

1.  My kids will want this!

Invite your children, nieces, and nephews to join you for the explicit reason of identifying items they want. Contain your shock when they disclose, they have absolutely no desire for their baby bed, their artwork displayed on the refrigerator when they were 8 years old or even the chair they sit in when they visit. Their home already is filled with their own furniture and stuff.

And, if there is something they may want, insist they take it with them that day…before they change their minds!

2.  It’s still good and must be worth something!

Then, sell it. Check-out digital outlets such as Marketplace on Facebook, LetGo.com, or OfferUp.com. Ask someone to teach you how to sell using these apps.

Better yet, invite your kids to handle these transactions and keep the proceeds.

Not everything will sell, but if you were willing to part with a treasure and no one wants to buy it, it still has a future destination: Donate it to a charitable organization with resale shops that help fund their operations including Goodwill, Salvation Army, Red Cross, and WINGS Program, Inc.

3.  Memories are embedded in so many treasures!

A baby bed or a favorite toy can instigate a tsunami of sweet memories. But they are just the stimulus.

To savor those memories, take photos of these special items. Download them or have them developed by a nearby store. Then, create a short story of your memories tied to these items and save them in an album. Perhaps make two: one for yourself and one for someone in your family. You’ve now shared a memory rather than stuff.

And, please remember to give away those items too!

4.  I’ll use it again someday!

Will you? Really?

Here is a good way to test that theory. Pack these items in boxes. Label it. Seal it tight. Add a label with an “open date” date six months away. If the next time you see the box is past the “open date,” do not open it. Just discard it.

5.  Documents are important!

Everything from tax returns, mortgage papers, and bank records to A+ term papers, Christmas cards, and letters seem too important to discard.

How do you keep history without taking up space? Try this. Scan these papers and save them electronically. Then, shred the paper to make lots of room. This way, you can share scanned files with family members so everyone can see those ugly Christmas sweaters!

6.  Books are too valuable to toss!

I love my hardbound books too! Share them. Used bookstores, school libraries, senior centers, public libraries, and even the Little Free Library boxes are a great way to share your love of books with others.

Before you start stacking, look for first editions and signed books that may have more value and can be sold to collectors. Set a goal and pace yourself by sorting through one bookshelf at a time. Keep the most precious. Share the rest.

If you’re ready to give downsizing a try, select a closet or room you seldom use and take things out of that space or room with a plan they will never return. Commit to finding a new home for each. Take a picture, if you want. Then, give it away, sell it or dispose of it. But never put it back.

Set a goal. Measure your progress. Without a destination, your journey will wander aimlessly. Set a date for completing a room or closet. Post that date on the door. Each day check your progress. Stay on task.

Celebrate your success when you reach your goal. Choosing ice cream helps clean out your freezer too!