Moving with an elderly parent is a challenging experience, especially when health concerns, cognitive issues, or mobility make it necessary. With the right approach, however, it’s possible to navigate these obstacles smoothly.
If you’re contemplating moving your aging parents to a home near you, into your own home, or a long-term care facility with or without professional moving services, the following tips can help you navigate the process.
Key Takeaways
- Moving elderly parents can involve emotional, financial, and health-related challenges.
- Clear communication and planning are essential to minimizing stress during the move.
- Prioritize seniors’ healthcare needs when planning a move.
- Tailor the moving process to accommodate seniors’ physical and emotional limitations.
- Using professional movers can simplify the relocation process.
Be Clear on the Challenges of Moving Elderly Parents Out of Their Home
Moving your elderly parents out of their homes involves unique, complex challenges. These challenges can often become overwhelming if you don’t prepare for them. Helping seniors move is different from moving with pets or kids. Your aging parents have built emotional ties to their home over the years. That attachment can make it difficult, especially for parents who can no longer care for themselves or their homes.
There are also financial concerns, such as managing the move’s costs or maintaining two properties until one sells. Physical and mental health considerations, such as limited mobility or cognitive decline require tailored, empathetic solutions.
Understanding these challenges is the first step in smoothing that transition. Recognizing potential stressors and planning accordingly helps make moving less stressful.
Plan Healthcare Needs Ahead of Time
Healthcare is a major factor in the decision to relocate aging parents. It’s also one of the biggest challenges. Ensuring your aging parents continue to receive the vital care they need to stay healthy is important. When moving with elderly parents, you must plan to meet their medical needs.
Critical parts of this process include:
- Coordinating with current healthcare providers to ensure they’re healthy enough for the move.
- Ensuring prescriptions arrive at a new pharmacy to avoid running out of vital medicines.
- Researching local doctors, specialists, and hospitals near the new home.
Understanding aging parents’ physical or cognitive limitations can help plan accommodations, like accessible living spaces or in-home care. Proactively managing healthcare logistics can ease the transition and prioritize their well-being throughout the move.
Communicate the Moving Plan Clearly with Parents and Other Family Members
Clear communication is essential when moving with seniors, especially if they have dementia or Alzheimer’s. Detailed plans help set expectations and minimize confusion for everyone involved. Share the moving timeline and key steps with your elderly parents. Tailor the conversation to their cognitive abilities and emotional state. Place important details in easily referenced spots to help them remember, if necessary.
This is a really sensitive issue. Involve other family members in the discussion to keep everyone aligned and ensure support when possible. Patience and empathy are critical. Keep your explanations simple and repeat details as much as necessary. Open communication fosters collaboration, which goes a long way toward a smoother move for everyone.
Moving Around the Needs of Seniors
Moving with seniors involves centering their needs throughout the process. It’s a significant emotional and physical adjustment, after all. You might take the lead on planning and logistics, but consider their comfort and preferences as much as possible.
Allow extra time for packing and moving day to accommodate their pace and ensure they don’t feel rushed. Arrange for frequent breaks and provide a comfortable, quiet space during the most hectic moments. There’s a good chance your elderly parents may feel as though they’re losing control over important parts of their lives. By being patient and empathetic, you can help them navigate this life change with grace.
Finding the Right Place to Live
A significant part of moving with seniors is finding the right place to live. Seeking safe accommodations when moving an elderly parent from one state to another is one of the biggest hurdles, especially if they need continuous care in an assisted living facility or have cognitive issues that make it difficult to adjust to new places. Whether handling it yourself or using long-distance moving services, keep the following details in mind as you plan the move.
Moving Seniors to Be Nearer to You
Sometimes, moving elderly parents to another state is a practical choice. Often, it’s because they live far away, and their independence makes frequent visits challenging. Maybe your mom lives in Florida, but you and your family decide it’s more convenient for her to relocate closer to you.
In this case, seniors can maintain independence by buying a new home or renting an apartment nearby. This arrangement lets them keep their lifestyle while also having loved ones nearby for support. This became increasingly popular during the pandemic, which limited travel; having family members closer together offered peace of mind.
Moving Elderly Parents into Your Home
What if you need your senior parent even closer than in the same city or neighborhood? Because of rising costs, more people have considered becoming in-home caregivers to their aging parents. Moving elderly parents into your home is a significant adjustment, and it’s not one you can take lightly.
When thinking about how to prepare for an elderly parent moving into your home, consider your family’s needs. Do you have space to accommodate your parent(s)? Will any kids have to share rooms as a result? Do you have pets? A small cat or dog could be a fall risk or cause an allergic reaction that requires medical attention. These are just some things to keep in mind.
Significant costs are also involved, especially if you need to retrofit your home for accessibility or safety. Widening doorways and adding walk-in showers isn’t cheap. Even utility costs can increase as you use more water or electricity.
Moving into a New Home Together
Sometimes, the best solution is to move elderly parents out of their homes and into a new one with your family. This option works well if neither home is suitable for multigenerational living. You can seek a shared space that meets everyone’s needs, affords privacy, and creates a comfortable living arrangement. This supports your family’s connection and preserves the aging adults’ independence.
While the approach provides convenience and closeness, it’s also a complex process that requires careful planning. Using professional residential moving services to handle the logistics ensures the move goes smoothly for everyone involved.
Moving Family to a Senior Care Facility
The best option for some seniors is to move from a traditional home environment to a senior care facility. These places can provide the attentive, around-the-clock memory or medical care aging family members often need. It’s also an option that requires significant downsizing and decluttering.
You may think this kind of move requires frantically getting rid of everything you no longer need. But that’s not the only way to handle belongings that may not fit in your aging parent’s new home. Using storage facilities to house those items while you decide what to do with them is a great compromise.
Moving Elderly Parents Out of Their Homes
Moving elderly parents out of their homes can be incredibly emotional for parents and families alike. That’s especially true for aging parents who feel they’re losing independence. Unlike moving for job relocations or to a retirement community in warmer climates, this will likely not feel like other moving days.
Moving your aging parents requires an empathetic, patient approach. No matter where they’ll call home, this is a significant life change for them. Take time and give them grace as they navigate the transition.
Be patient with yourself, too. This is a new stage of life for you, as well, and there will be plenty of hiccups and adjustments for you to make in the process.
Enlisting the Right Help for Moving with Seniors
Moving with seniors can be a stressful, emotional experience. Nothing will change that fact. Special needs and circumstances often dictate your move’s timeline and steps. Relocating your aging parents is often easier with professional moving services.
A moving broker like Safe Ship can help you connect with empathetic, experienced professionals. These movers understand the unique needs of moving seniors out of their homes and into a new environment. These movers treat belongings and customers with care to provide a smooth, worry-free moving experience. Many of these moving companies offer assistance with packing and unpacking to simplify the process.
Whether moving your parents across the country to be closer or into an assisted care facility to meet their needs, planning out all aspects of the move can help reduce the stress of this emotional period. Let a moving broker help source quotes from vetted carriers while you focus on other pressing matters.
Our commitment to service helps you find licensed cross-country movers within our carrier network at fair, competitive prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I cope with elderly parents moving?
Coping with elderly parents moving can be emotionally challenging. Focus on keeping open communication and involve them in decisions. Addressing their concerns with patience and empathy is important. If you need help, seek support from family, friends, or counselors.
Is moving stressful for seniors?
Moving is stressful for everyone. But it can be even more stressful for seniors because of emotional attachments, physical challenges, or health concerns. Leaving a familiar home can trigger sadness or anxiety. Approach the move with sensitivity. Carefully plan, communicate, and involve seniors in the moving process to reduce stress.
Are professional movers experienced in helping seniors?
Many professional movers specialize in helping seniors with unique needs during relocations. They understand the emotional and physical challenges and can tailor services to help. Packing and unpacking, downsizing support, and accessibility-focused solutions are a few services they offer. This ensures a safe, stress-free move for elderly individuals and families.
