Differences Between a Senior Village and a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community

When people talk about aging in place, two popular concepts tend to come up: senior villages and naturally occurring retirement communities. Since members of each remain in their own home, it may be hard to tell them apart at a glance. But the blog The Best Life explains a few of the differences, describing villages and NORCs as two options along a wide spectrum of aging-in-place options:

Villages tend to be on the private-market end of the spectrum, collecting member dues and providing access to a combination of fee-based and volunteer services. Other geographically concentrated populations of seniors, known as naturally occurring retirement communities, or NORCs, tend to provide more social and healthcare services, offered with the assistance of local nonprofits and religious organizations.

The post also talks about how to start a village in your community. OurParents featured two in-depth articles on that topic as well. Part one is here. Part two is here.

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Leigh Ann Otte is a freelance writer who specializes in health and aging issues. She covers finding and paying for senior care for OurParents. If you have any questions about this post or need help finding senior-care options for a loved one, call 1-866-483-4896 to speak with a care advisor in your area.