Niagara: Beautiful! Plus Age-Friendly

Niagara is a picturesque destination all four seasons of the year but it's particularly beautiful during the summer months when the city is literally in full bloom. If you've considered a retirement community in Niagara, why not spend a week or two visiting, touring around and getting a feel for the community.

The Falls
Horseshoe Falls attracts visitors for the famous photo ops year round and after filling your camera with magnificent shots of the falls, there's still much to see and do.

Tour Queen Victoria Park - the Floral Clock
The face of the time-keeping Floral Clock at Queen Victoria Park in the heart of the city is photographed nearly as much as the falls. Westminster chimes inside the back of the clock toll every quarter hour and its color comes from nearly 16 thousand beautiful viola flowers in spring and four cultivars of alternanthera plus green and grey Santolina Sage in summer and fall.

Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens
A quick drive up the Niagara Parkway leads to the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens where students at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture are known to love studying. The rose garden alone features more than 2400 roses and the park is home to one of Canada's loveliest collections of ornamental shrubs and trees.

Oakes Garden Theatre
Events and concerts are a summertime routine at the Oakes Garden Theatre stage featuring the falls in the background. If you haven't seen enough of the city's unique parks yet, there's McFarland House and Old Fort Erie both boasting "kitchen" gardens where old fashioned horticultural favorites are grown today, just as they have been for generations.

Laura Secord Homestead and the Mackenzie Printery
Fall and winter at Niagara are breathtaking with the changing leaves and the many choices of hiking trails around the falls. Trails are from a quarter mile in length to two miles through spectacular forest and vantage points. During the cooler months Niagara has many stories to tell between the walls of the historic sites like the Laura Secord homestead and the Mackenzie Printery.

Whether you love exploring alone, with a tour group or with friends and family, you won't run out of options in Niagara.

Niagara is Age-friendly
An inviting reason to retire to Niagara is that it is an age friendly community with the fourth largest percentage of seniors in Canada. Seniors in Niagara are known for giving back to the community by way of volunteerism, staying active in politics, community events and second or even third careers.

Holiday Retirement at Stamford Estates
The Stamford Estates Holiday Retirement community in Niagara Falls, invites guests to set up a tour to include a complimentary dinner if you're considering the option to retire to Niagara. Their amenities include the option to entertain family and friends in the private dining area and community members enjoy craft rooms, fireside lounges, chapel, billiards room, onsite beauty parlor and barbershop. There's no reason to become bored at Stamford; the activity programs are geared to seniors of varying fitness levels and appear to be enjoyable to everyone involved!

After delving into the highlights of the Niagara area, I personally look forward to visiting, not only for the many gardens and parks and the historic stories that the city is built upon but also for the natural beauty of the surrounding areas all seasons of the year; and I particularly love knowing that Niagara is an age-friendly city.

This article is brought to you by MATCH.

Pros And Cons Of Multi-Generational Housing

Can You Be Happy With Multi-Generational Housing?

Multi-generational housing is absolutely nothing new. It simply means that multiple generations of the same family decide to live together. Of course, it is very common for parents to live with minor aged children. This term refers to the less common situation when adult children live with parents and, sometimes, grandparents. Sometimes those adult children have their own minor children. This means that three or four generations of the same family could live together in the same home.

Combining families has become more and more trendy. In fact, it has become so popular that a new term has even been coined for it. Baby boomers, who may live with elderly parents and/or adult children, are called the boomerang generation. Actually, it may be the younger and older generations who are doing more of the moving in though.

Families may decide to combine households for lots of reasons. The most obvious reason is probably financial. Living together can be a great way to economize. It may help some family members save money or get back on their feet. Other times, some family members may need more help caring for themselves. Working parents may get child care help from retired family members. Elderly people may need assistance with some daily living activities. Sometimes, living with a family can provide companionship, and it is simply a remedy for loneliness.

Is the boomerang movement positive?

Actually, there are a lot of good reasons for families to live together. Companionship, economy, and child or elder care are a few of the best. If you look into the history of many other cultures, multi-generational housing was normal. It may be that our society's tendency to move off and live alone is odder.

Do families ever have problems combining households?

Are there every problems when more than one generation lives in the same home? Actually, that is like asking if families ever have problems. If your kids move back in, you may remember why you were so relieved when they went out into the world in the first place. Your elderly parents may have trouble adapting to living in a household where they are no longer the bosses. Hopefully, you can over come these issues, but you are probably prudent to expect some rough times.

It is very important to make sure everybody understands their rights and responsibilities if you choose to combine households. Grandma has the right to get to sleep without listening to the kid's music blaring at odd hours. On the other hand, young children do need a pleasant and safe place to play sometimes. Your adult children should become responsible about cleaning up after themselves. When they were you, you may have expected to find dirty laundry or dirty dishes in unexpected places. If they return home as adults, you need to make it clear that the rules have changed.

Is Combining Households A Good Idea For You?

I have known many families who enjoyed taking in adult kids, grand-children, and elderly parents. On the other hand, I have also seen situations where one party took advantage of another and things did not work out so well. I think that having clear expectations and open communication helped the successful families a lot.

This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY - where latest news are our top priority.