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Life plan communities can be very useful for older folks, especially those without family support systems. But finding the best one for each person’s needs and personality is difficult. Websites want to start with a given location or at least a state name. So many automatically use your internet location to select “near me”. But what if you’re looking for a separate cottage treated as a condo with communal meals? Of perhaps you want a highrise condo with greenways or kayaking nearby? Or a place with pay to play excursions available? And you don’t care which state it is in?
How do you help an aging friend search? Or look for yourself when you think about a few years down the line? Maybe a site that gives minimum/average costs. And importantly, how long are waiting lists? It would help to have a big searchable database without the huge emphasis of advertising. Advertising preselects based on the searcher’s current location, and internet profile of the searcher, which is often in error. Are there any unbiased sources of info where you can really drill down into the data?
I randomly happened to run across a retirement community in Fort Meyers, FL called Shell Point Retirement Community.
It looks beautiful and right on the water. My husband and I aren't anywhere near that stage of life now (we're in our mid/late 50's) but it (or something like it) might be a good option down the road depending on what we can afford.
Like I said, I haven't seen the place nor have I looked into it other than seeing the website. There is some pricing info available on their website, as well as, a variety of living accommodations.
As I write this hurricane IAN is headed north into the gulf of Mexico. Living "right by the water" is something to be considered very carefully.
It is wonderful on good days and extremely distressing on bad ones. Been there, done that.
Retirement communities come in many varieties and one must do their "due diligence" very carefully.
A couple of "independent living" facilities I found on line provide 1 meal a day. I get hungry at least 3 times a day.
If you have a car, can you park in within walking distance of your unit? Some of us don't walk as well as we did years ago.
Remember, never again will you be as young as you are right now.
That is a good point. I saw where Shell Point has a hurricane shelter but I don't know the specifics of it or what category the residential buildings are built to withstand. Most of the structures in Florida these days are built to withstand a minimum of a cat 3. But that is certainly something to consider.
I'd probably go there for a tour and talk to some of the long timers there to get a sense of how storms are handled from a resident's point of view. I'm pretty sure that residents in the Independent Living housing shop, cook and prepare their own meals. There are restaurants within the community but folks in IL pay for those meals.
The Assisted Living seems to have a dining room where lunch/dinner are served and there's a cafe on each floor to grab a quick breakfast. But I think those dining facilities are in only one of the Assisted Living residential buildings although I'm not real sure about that. Obviously, a person who is in Assisted Living usually needs help with meal preparation and isn't able to get out to the store easily...that's why they are in assisted living in the first place so one would think that meals would be provided/included in that level of care.
As far as Independent Living communities that provide 3 meals a day, you could look into Holiday Retirement communities. They aren't Life Plan Communities as far as I am aware, though.
Another thing that could be a positive or a negative depending on your viewpoint is that Shell Point apparently does not serve alcohol in their restaurants. Not even wine. They are also a smoke free community which I'm fine with but, at the same time, I can see how a guy might want to have a cigar with his whiskey every now and then. But if you are looking for a clean lifestyle on the water, it sounds like it could be a nice community.
Last edited by springfieldva; 09-25-2022 at 04:23 PM..
I haven't found a search site like you described. What we ended up doing is creating a spread sheet to keep track of information we found on interesting communities and how they matched up to our requirements.
Usually you have to talk to the community to get pricing and availability details. One thing to ask for is their disclosure statement. Sometimes you can find it on-line and sometimes they have to sent it to you. It will give you alot of good information on the community that isn't on their web site. They are long and bone dry to read but very important. At first you'll want to read a few all the way through. After you get a few under your belt you will be easier to skim them for the pertinent details.
Also for life care communities they will usually have a skilled nursing facility. You can look up that facilities rating on medicare.gov to get an idea of the quality of care.
Interestingly enough there is every possible combination of amenities and financial arrangements. We were amazed at the variety that we found. So if you aren't finding what fits you just keep looking. Eventually you will find it.
Have you looked into the info CityData provides? They don't get info sr living specifically but they can tell you population, housing costs, weather patterns and there's an income comparison calculator. bunches of other information.
I'm curious how the refundable portion of "refundable Entrance Payments" is calculated.
The CCRC in Brentwood, TN mentions Entrance Payments starting at $307,900.
At the one I am most familiar with the monthly fee is much higher when money is refunded.
This is a similar decision to what age to take social security. Lots easier if we knew when we were going to die.
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