I had this question the other day and I been really trying my best answer to it cause deciding between in home care and a retirement home shouldn't be taken lightly. Based on your experience I am curious what your thoughts are about in home vs. pricey assisted living care. For the record, I have been doing in-home care for almost five years and within the same company did live-in care for two and half years. That is going in for 24 hour shifts. I started with one day a week and ended up working three days per week. I do not work for an retirement home but my company has been hired by residents to take care of needs and wants that the retirement homes didn't meet. My live in client lived in what I would consider a pricey retirement center but they had their own cottage/condo that they lived in. I have been too a few places where the people would be in rehab and wanted the security of knowing someone was near by. That was the case with a blind person. I don't want to name names but the place that I have been sent to for the past two months has been the most that I have spent in a retirement home taking care of a client that is a resident of the home. That client is considered living independent and is kind of in between staying where she is and possibly needing more care. It's mostly so that she has someone to answer to and someone to say suggest things that are good for her and make sure she is safe in the part of the day where her pain level is the worst. . This hasn't been an easy question cause my job depends on mostly in home care so naturally... I want to say in home care is the only way to go. I am into job security. I think with both options you really have to weigh the pro's and the con's and go from there. As for cost... I believe in home care is more expensive especially thru an agency. Not only do you pay the agency of course they have to pay for their bills and stuff. However, I think from what little I understand from the pricy homes is that they charge you a huge fee upfront and I think my client's rent for one month matches my mortgage payment on my two bedroom house for 3 or 4 months. I am giving somewhat generic answers to avoid the risk of giving details too personal out. My client has told me that if she were to run out of money that she could continue to live there. Enough about money. Let's move on. Retirement Center's have the advantage of taking care of medical needs where in home aids can't see to medical stuff. Although, not all retirement homes will keep you once your needs become to high as in round the clock nursing care. Each situation has rules that one might not agree with or understand. My client in the retirement home has to leave her her to get her medications and was being forced to be fully dressed. Now, with the help of my company and a family member that works there she can put on a robe to get the medications. In home caregivers can remind you to take medication. We can open pill boxes and bottles but we can't dispense the medication. The elderly or hopefully family have to arrange the medications so we can do this. If a client is on hospice my company can send caregivers but when the patients are so ill and out it that they need paid medications put into their mouth then it's not something we are able to do. In home caregivers depending maybe on companies will have limitations on things that they could do for the person and some of it you or I might not agree with but we have to try to balance taking care of the persons daily needs without crossing the line of doing something that we know we are not suppose to do. This has gotten really long and I want to touch base more on the quality of life but I don't like my posts to be too long or I am afraid people might get bored. So, in another day or so..I will finish answering your question.