Keep Your Friends Close: The Importance of Communal Living
Communal living helps you create and maintain close friendships, stay active and healthy, and discover a side of yourself you never knew you had!
Ravi Uncle On His Go-To Karaoke Song
Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Todenge, indeed!
I sing this song nearly every week at karaoke night. Why? Because Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra were right all along: holding on to your friends is the way to go if you want to enjoy a long life filled with fun! It’s no wonder the two men are still going strong and are as energetic as ever.
My karaoke standard is a classic for a reason. It resonates because the sentiment is a universal truth: having friends makes us happier.
Staying Connected Is Essential in Communal Living
Recently I came across an article about the huge impact friendships have on health and well-being. Numerous studies have linked friends to better health, increased happiness, healthier behavior, lower stress, higher self-esteem, and a lower mortality rate. It’s clear to me that social interactions impact our mental and physical well-being.
So surround yourself with people who help you grow, listen to you and understand where you’re coming from. Hold on to those friendships and nurture them into your golden years. You’ll not only be happier for it; you’ll most likely live longer and live well too!
When Sweety and I moved to Priya Living it did wonders for our social life. We reconnected with old friends and made many new ones too. Our experience with communal living has been invigorating, restorative and just plain fun!
If you’re thinking of joining an independent living community, here are my three top tips to strengthen the relationships you have and to form new ones along the way:
Reach Out
We’re so connected nowadays. You can FaceTime with friends all over the world, from Delhi to London to San Francisco. But there’s still something to be said for good old-fashioned in-person, face-to-face friend time. If it’s a nice day and the sun is shining, have your catch-up gossip session during a stroll around the neighborhood. You might even pick up a new friend or two along the way. This happens all the time here at Priya Living, where your friends are always right around the corner!
Go Out
Girls Night or Boys Night out? Yes, do it! Go out to eat, have a picnic in the park or watch a movie. Make an outing out of it. Here at Priya Living our weekly excursions around the Bay Area are just one of the many perks.
Go All Out
Were you a field hockey star back in the day? Was kabaddi more your thing? No? Bhangra, garba? Try to find senior groups and programs in the area that you can join. And if you can’t find one that suits your interests, create one! At Priya Living we have a huge variety of programs to choose from: weekly Bollywood dance classes, walking clubs, antakshri nights …
Not to mention my personal favorite: karaoke!
Want to connect with friends both old and new? Want to sing your heart out at karaoke? Contact us to find out more about our unique senior living communities and our rich variety of programs for everyone!
