Seniors For Living

Walk a mile in my shoes: sometimes, that’s the only way to learn what the view is like from another’s perspective. To that end, mature market researchers, seeking information about the needs and preferences of older adults, launched Project Looking Glass in 2007. They did their research on-site, living full-time in a retirement community for an entire month.

Recently, researcher Cheryl Slavinsky embarked on a new phase of Project Looking Glass. For one month, she resided at Frasier Meadows Retirement Community in Boulder, Colorado. According to this update from Varsity Branding, a mature market research firm based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Slavinsky’s goal was to “uncover the mind-sets, lifestyles, life stages, limitations and expectations of today’s mature market, and see just how the times have changed a generation.” She also studied the impact of things like wellness, technology, healthcare and finance on continuing care communities, to determine if senior living marketers and professionals are prepared for the changes to come. (Results are slated for release later this year.)

Though families and individuals considering continuing care may not have the luxury of taking a month to live in a prospective community before making a decision, it is nonetheless essential to first visit in person — and read any available research and reviews — in order to get a well-rounded perspective.

Search for continuing care communities here.