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16 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2025 Are you considering selling your home? Has it become too much for one person? Or perhaps caring for an aged parent is too difficult, too expensive, or just takes all of your time and energy? What kind of assisted living places are available within 30 miles, and what is the cost if you want to keep your present style of living? Looking at three places online gives some information about the kind of care and costs for assisted living. However, it is necessary to call, make an appointment for a tour, and importantly, tell your tour representative that you want to have lunch there to sample their food. All of the places were thrilled to set up a luncheon tour and site visit. A recent research visit to the most luxurious place revealed a fantastic view. Entering site #1. a high ceiling foyer, beautifully decorated, welcomes visitors. Behind a large desk, open every day and all night, a cheery receptionist requires visitors to sign in with identification. A few residents slowly stroll around the area, many with walkers. The average age appears to be 75, at least. The tour begins when the pleasant tour director asks a few questions to determine what you are expecting or what you need to see. A large folder shows floor plans, activities, costs of the various choices, with pictures and testimonials of smiling, active residents. The first two sites and the most expensive are a bit different from Four Seasons. Site #1 included one meal each day, light housekeeping bi-weekly, laundry, and daily check-in via wrist or necklace fob provided. A medium-sized apartment in the building is between 700 - 900 square feet. That plan includes one bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchenette, and a French balcony. The available apartment on the second floor will be cleaned, painted, and redone floor to ceiling for a new resident. Activities include 20-30 activities similar to Four Seasons, excluding the more strenuous ones. With only 100-200 residents, activities are reasonably fewer. A travel club offers off- site trips and buses. Vans are available to take residents shopping or to medical visits since many do not have cars. Lunch is served by a uniformed staff. A restaurant atmosphere greets visitors. The tables are pre-set with cloth covers and napkins. Center pieces adorn the different- sized tables. The large menu offers seven main dishes, as well as the usual sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs. The first course is a bland soup followed by a tasty main dish, lasagna. Breads and drinks are included. Dessert is a choice of bakery items, ice cream, and, of course, Jell-O. So, what is the cost of this luxurious plan? A life-plan that includes assisted living or memory care is suggested. Before all the possible add-ons for additional care, a buy-in of $120,000 or more purchases the space, not the bricks and mortar, but the time or space a resident is there. It is similar to a time-share purchase. Then the month or community fee is added to the food and care price totaling $4,265 for two people in a one-bedroom unit monthly after the buy-in fee. Site #2 was similar except its units are not apartments in a multi-storied building. Separate cottages are available as well as duplexes. All home care and landscaping are provided and the hours of operation are 24/7. The grounds are well-cared for with small areas for pets and walkers. A small coffee shop offers the breakfast and lunch- type food with one-meal included on the meal plan. The literature provided shows happy residents waving to a man driving by in a golf cart, a necessity to get from a duplex to the main facility for activities or meals. For those with limited mobility, this is a negative. Again, walkers were often seen in elevators walkways and were plentiful in a corner of the lovely dining room. Food was once again delicious. Residents often joined together at the community tables where they are encouraged to get to know a new person. Choosing from a more limited menu lunch was delicious as well as large enough portions to take home for another meal. Both facilities offered a business computer room, fitness gyms, a pool, entertainment, and unfurnished apartments or cottages. Prices for site #2 were a little different as residents can choose a rebate plan that enables their heirs to recoup some (50 percent) of the buy-in fees. The buy-in fee at site #2 was higher, but they have smaller one-bedroom units, perhaps requiring couples to opt for the two-bedroom. In that case the buy-in was What's Next? Part 4 SPOTLIGHT ON AGING By Andrea Henderson Researching the next big move • ••- •€ €•- •