Does anyone have an opinion about independent living residences that are part of a retirement community that has both a section for independent living with spacious apartments and resort amenities, as well as a section for assisted living. This is assuming that the person is well enough to stay in their own home but no longer wants to deal with the maintenance of taking care of it.
It’s a question of affordability and lifestyle. We had friends (former neighbors) who sold their house and moved to one. They were in a 2-bedroom house with an attached garage. It was not cheap, about $6-7K/month 5-6 years ago. The development provided 3 meals a day (in the dining room or for pickup), weekly light housekeeping, all exterior maintenance (interior when needed), and had a gym facility, a library, game room and basic medical care on site. We had a few meals with them as they also received a fixed number of guest meal tickets. The food was excellent.
They were older than us and we thought is was a good idea for them. They stayed a year or so and left, and rented a regular house elsewhere. They told us that life there had gotten like retiree high school, as cliques developed, more partying and and sex than they liked, and people started trying to outdo others with expensive clothing, trips, etc. We probably would have ignored all that and lived our own lives, but it really bothered them.
Not sure that one can judge these places by one experience or by visiting ahead of needing to be there.
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