My Aging in Place Housing Plan

“Move to Reston for the kids and stay for the parents. And that it be possible for anyone to remain in a single neighborhood throughout his life, uprooting being neither inevitable nor always desirable.”  -- The late Robert E. Simon (Reston’s visionary founder)

Introduction

The choice you make about housing as you get older is important to your peace of mind and to your health. Surveys show that most older adults want to age in place, but the majority of them do not know what they might need to do to make that possible. That’s why it’s a good idea to start planning where you’re going to live long before a health crisis occurs, especially if you intend to stay in your own home. That’s why we developed this planning tool which is centered around checklists and questionnaires to help you navigate how to age in place.

According to the Census Bureau, less than 10 percent of homes in the United States have features that support aging in place. It’s unlikely your Reston single family, town home or apartment was designed with aging in mind. For example, few homes have a primary bedroom on the first floor, a spare room for a caregiver, accessible bathrooms or kitchens with easy access to drawers.

The good news is that if your home does not have these features, you may be able to make modifications to make it accessible and safe. Some modifications are simple, low cost and can be done on your own and in the short term, while others may be expensive, long term, or best done by a professional.

Before you begin to fill out the questionnaires in these pages and create your own plans to age in place, you may want to do some reading first. Within this website are many resources that may help you in developing your plans. In the Further Reading section are some other helpful resources.