Moving into retirement is an incredibly exciting time, but the adjustment to moving from regular work based activities where you are regularly in a social environment with your colleagues to one where you are often spending more time on your own and within a smaller circle of friends, can leave some people feeling a little lonely.
Whilst it is a great opportunity for you to spend time doing activities that you love, travelling and seeing friends and family you might want to look at additional ways in which you can ensure that you are getting the connections that we so vitally need as human beings.
Here are a few ideas for how you can living well and stay connected in retirement:
- Exercise groups – this can be a great way to enjoy exercising whilst giving you the opportunity to make new friends. The group you join could be a formal class that meets at a gym or local community centre or it may simply be a selection of people who meet on a regular basis to go for a nice long walk in the countryside.
- Activity groups – these are similar to exercise groups but usually centre around a common activity such as painting, crafts or book groups. You will be able to find groups for almost any activity and for every level. At our sites we have groups such as Crafty Ladies that meet regularly and make items for charity throughout the year (pandemic guidelines willing of course).
- Group shopping – instead of taking a solo trip to the shops, why not get together with close neighbours or friends and enjoy a shopping spree together as a group?
- Community living – whether you look at Park Homes like the ones we have to offer or other retirement communities, this style of living allows you to meet with people who are similar stages in their lives. It is this common link that allows for a wonderful community to be created that is akin to the village style communities we were used to seeing in the past.