Healthcare expensive abroad, many return to spend 'sunset' in Kerala retirement homes

AFTER having resided in Muscat, Dubai, Sharjah, and later, the US with their kids, Thrissur natives Mallika Paul and her husband decided to return to Kerala to spend their retired lives here.

- ANNA JOSE @Kochi

However, when her husband's health took a hit and the pandemic struck, Mallika moved to an assisted living facility with him after a brief stay at their Thrissur home.

"As an elderly couple, we found it difficult to stay at our home. Also, when my husband's health worsened, we had to depend on a home nurse. Though our children urged us to return to the US and stay with them, we wished to stay here. Later, we decided to find a facility and move out," said Mallika, who has been staying at Bless Retirement Living for the past three years.

Industry officials said the number of well-heeled elderly Malayalis, who return to Kerala to spend sunset years at an assisted living facility, is rising due to high healthcare costs in developed countries, and because it lets them be with friends and relatives.

Babu Joseph, president, Senior Living Association of Kerala, said elderly Keralites settled in the UK, US, or Gulf countries return to Kerala due to several reasons, one of them being that their relatives and families are here.