Ontario is Canada’s most populated province, home to well over one-third of the country. Toronto gets a lot of spotlight, but regions like Durham are known for being beautiful, welcoming places for people of all ages to live.
For older adults, Durham has been an ideal place to call home for decades and is only improving. Cities like Ajax, Whitby, Pickering and others entice older adults for new and long-standing reasons. Let’s check out what some of them are.
1. Ideally Located
The Durham region is optimally located for older adults, as it’s bursting with natural wonders and parks to visit and the urban amenities you get from large cities. For example, check out the Oak Ridges Moraine, which formed over 10,000 years ago as glacial deposits melted away.
Today, it offers outdoor enthusiasts of all abilities beautiful trails to behold. It’s just one of the many park systems in the region. Durham is also located beside the country’s main economy in the GTA, or Golden Horseshoe area, bringing with it top medical centres, shopping opportunities, and more.
Older adults can go for an extended hike or enjoy the vista outside their window. They can step out and enjoy the benefits of living in a bustling commercial centre or take a quick trip to neighbouring Toronto. Durham gives residents the best of all worlds.
2. Age-Friendly Strategies
The end of 2021 saw the implementation of the Age-Friendly Durham Strategy and Action Plan, referring to 67 action items creating a strong, vibrant community for older adults to remain active, stay engaged and informed, and enjoy better overall health.
The work done so far is encouraging, though it’s not over. Creating an age-friendly community is an ongoing process still prioritized moving ahead. Durham’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan is a data-backed plan to improve on or mitigate against risks people face as they age, notably social isolation.
A few other areas of concentration for creating an age-friendly region include:
- Outdoor spaces and buildings
- Social participation
- Community and health services
- Respect and social inclusion
Durham is driven to be a warm home that promotes a healthy lifestyle for all residents, especially older adults.
3. Excellent Retirement Homes
Durham’s retirement homes let older residents enjoy the comforts of home and many social and health benefits. Leading centres let residents age in place because they have a warm, supportive family environment and trained staff on-site available 24/7.
Older residents can enjoy the fun, competitive game tournaments and group activities that promote good health, like swimming or yoga. Older adults in Durham’s best retirement homes get personalized support that makes living a healthy, happy life stress-free and simple.
Durham is a large section of Ontario, ranging from Lake Simcoe to the north and Oshawa hugging Lake Ontario to the south. The local landscape ensures that older residents can enjoy natural features like sprawling parks, while the civic commitment to improving the fabric of daily life has also yielded great results. Between this and the leading retirement homes found in Durham, the region is a perfect place for older residents to live.
