By Ann Burnside Love
For this week’s blog, I introduced myself to some new neighbors, and asked them why they decided to move into a senior living community like the one I call home.
He says: “We had accumulated all these things together during our marriage. We were getting up in age. Rather than leave one of us to have all that to deal with, we decided to move into one of the beautiful new patio cottages this community has built. We’ve been here a month and can already tell it was exactly the right thing for us to do.”
She says: “We still need to go back to our house and finish sorting out the last of our possessions, so we can put the house on the market at the beginning of next month. We’re almost finished, thank goodness. We’re quite ready to settle down and have time to experience more about our new surroundings!”
He says: “We have many friends here already, and several couples we know well are also moving in. We’re getting together again soon.”
The lovely retirement community I live in is located in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area suburbs near gorgeous farmland and mountain views. The community is now 14 years old. It’s so popular there have been waiting lists of 400 since long before I came. Of course, there aren’t 400 people waiting for each model of apartment or existing cottages, but the turnover here is very slow.
So, buying adjoining land makes it possible to build 200 large, new patio cottages for the 55-and-up age group. A large new apartment complex will follow in a couple of years. The first 10 cottages have just been occupied, with about 30 more to come in the spring. Observing it all in a drive by, I can tell ground has been broken for scores more cottages, so we will have lots of new neighbors very soon.
She added: “If we want to go away, the lawn gets mowed and everything’s secure while we’re gone. Actually, we will be spending three months in Florida soon.”
He shared: “When we get back, we look forward to discovering for ourselves all the amenities, such as the swimming pool and the Wellness Center, which are so convenient for us now. The dining room, of course, is there for lunch or dinner if we don’t feel like cooking, in spite of this beautiful new kitchen. And the ancillary services: There is a branch of our own bank in the community, where we can get cash any time we like!
“So you can see we’re very happy with our decision. Except, the weather could have been a little more accommodating!” he concludes, referring to the recent recurrent ice and snow storms.
Right now there’s a driving snowstorm over parts of the Mid-West and all of the East Coast. Six to ten inches by tonight where we are, and fierce winds. But the weather people can’t formally call it a blizzard — because the winds aren’t quite strong enough.
I think I’ll end this and go down to dinner in the dining room. Isn’t that a lovely thought?