Educational Opportunities

• Are you affiliated with any national lifelong learning organizations such as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes?
• Do you have any affiliations with a college or university?
• Do residents have access to the university libraries?
• Is there a library on-site?
• Are classes offered on-site or on campus or both?
• If residents take classes on campus, is free transportation provided?
• Do residents need to enroll, or can they audit classes on campus? Do you provide assistance with enrollment?
• Do any residents teach classes on the community campus?
• How many residents participate in these educational classes? (Note: You can tell from enrollment how vibrant these programs are.)
• Are any of the on-site classes open to the public? (Note: Many communities open up their classes to outside nonresidents for some kind of fee, which is a plus!)
• Are fees charged to the residents for any of these educational classes?
• Are classes offered year-round? (Note: Some communities do not offer classes during the summer.)

Religious Affiliations

• Does your religious affiliation prevent alcohol from being served in the dining rooms?
• Do you have a chapel, church, or synagogue on-site? Nearby?
• Are any religious services offered on-site for residents?
• Do you offer free transportation to any local place of worship for religious services on Saturday or Sunday?
• Do you serve a Seder meal during Passover? (Note: Good test question to see how many of the residents are Jewish, if this is important to you.) Are non-Jewish residents invited?
• Is there a Bible study group?
• Do you do anything special at Christmastime or Hanukkah to celebrate the season?
• Do you have a meditation room?

Political Affiliations

(Note: These are tricky questions marketing people hate. Ask them anyway. This is typically a very important aspect of any community. If a community is 90 percent one party or another, it may prove fatal to being happy living there!)

• Does your community have any formal or informal political affiliations?
• Is there a Republican club? How many members in general?
• Is there a Democratic club? How many members?
• Is there an active League of Woman Voters?
• Do candidates for both parties come to your community to speak?
• Do you have any policies governing political signage or community communications during elections?
• What percentage of your community do you think may be Republican or Democrat? Other?
• Where is the nearest voting center? (Note: Often large communities have a polling/voting center on-site.)