The Prioritization Grid
(The BEST way to create your ideal search criteria)
Discover What Matters Most to You
Choosing the right retirement community—or the right area to live—can feel overwhelming. But the best decisions always start with clarity.
That’s why we start with a powerful tool called the Prioritization Grid Exercise. It helps you identify your most important search criteria—based on what you truly value.
Why This Works
We’ve found that people are often surprised by what shows up at the top of their priorities list. The Prioritization Grid helps remove guesswork, second-guessing, and emotional fog. Instead of vague ideas, you’ll have a clear, ranked list of your own top priorities.
✅ This method brings clarity
✅ It’s easy and even a little fun
✅ It leads to better decisions and better outcomes
Here's How It Works (instructional Video Coming Soon!)
Step 1: Go to the Prioritization Grid external website
When you click the Prioritization Grid button, (not yet!!), a new "tab" will open at the top of your internet browser and you will now see an external website where you'll complete the exercise.
Now that you have two "tabs" open at the same (see the two tabs at the top of your browser?), you can switch back and forth between the two web pages (example below).
Step 2: Populate the Prioritization Grid with 10 choices
On the external web site, you'll be asked to compare 10 of your top priorities—such as affordability, amenities, social opportunities, proximity to family, and more. It’s a simple but eye-opening process that will reveal your exact priorities in order.
🔹 Tip: If you're doing this with a spouse or partner, we recommend each of you complete your own Grid separately and then compare results.
Below you will find the most popular choices from my clients over the past 20+ years, so let's use these..
These ten choices will really help us to find you the best community for you..
ACTION: Copy and paste (or type) these ten choices into the prioritization grid on the external web site.
- Month-to-Month - OR - Buy-In Fee Benevolence Fund (pick one or the other, not both)
- Short Wait List within ___ years
- 2 Bedroom minimum
- Skilled Nursing on-campus
- Memory Care on-campus
- Within ___ miles of doctor, church, kids, etc.
- Covered walkways to parking/dining
- Walking distance to outside services
- Covered parking nearby for __ cars
- Has a swimming pool/gym/etc.
Here's an example of the populated, but uncompleted, Prioritization Grid Exercise on the external website:
Step 3: Print or Save Your Results
Once you've finished the exercise in the external website, print or save your prioritized list so you have a copy. You'll need this when you return to our site to input your ideal search criteria.
NOTE: once you have your results, you do NOT have to fill out the rest of the form in the external website where it says "send your results to Bev". Just move on to our step 4.
Step 4: Use the Community Matcher Tool
Now that you know what really matters to you, use our Community Matcher Tool to submit your personalized search criteria. We’ll match you with retirement communities that best align with your priorities.
Or, if you’re still deciding where you want to live, you can use our Relocation Matcher Tool instead.
Note: The link above will take you to another website.
Don't forget to come back here to complete the
or the
TIP: Prioritizing Your
RELOCATION Criteria
If you are trying to prioritize your search criteria for what you are looking for in an alternative area to live, here are some examples of what you might feel is important to you and what you might want to prioritize.
Feel free to copy and paste some of these examples into the prioritization grid if they resonate with you:
- Maximum miles away from current home
- Proximity to family members
- Min/Max City Size
- Within desired home price range
- Highest tolerable temperature
- Lowest tolerable temperature
- Max inches of rain per year
- Maximum distance to major airport
- Maximum distance from major hospital or Kaiser
- Political ideology
Once you know what your priorities are when searching for a new area to live, then you can use our Relocation Matcher tool and we will send you our top picks that most closely match your priorities.