ECCRC Here We Come! Reasons for Moving to a Continuing Care Retirement Community

To better understand why people move to CCRCs, we conducted qualitative interviews with 20 elders who were planning on moving into one such facility within six months of the interview. In this paper, we describe participants' reasons for moving and their perceptions of the trade-off or anticipated gains and losses inherent in the move. Push factors included desire to plan while still able to do so; optimal timing and being ready for a change; fear of burdening family; burden of home and yard maintenance; own or spouse's failing health; and environmental barriers. Pull factors included attachment to the community; joining friends and neighbors who were moving at the same time; proximity to family; amenities of the CCRC and the prospect of long-term care in the future. One of the unanticipated findings was that far from considering this as their last move, participants looked forward to a new and exciting phase of life. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.