With hubby's handicaps and my arthritis it was increasingly difficult for us to maintain complete independence. We were paying for lots of things we used to do ourselves and when we added it up it made sense to have smaller living space and some amenities. My daughter was ordering our groceries online and I was schlepping everything else. I was just using frozen dinners, not cooking because it was too hard on my arthritic back. And we were in our 80's!
The real estate market was the final decision making factor. We found that our house was currently in demand, a pre-war colonial in a section of New Haven that was very desirable and we could sell for a very large profit. And Masonicare had what we wanted and needed. A recently renovated 2 BR, 1and 1/2 baths, apt size kitchenette became available and we grabbed it!
I was a bit wary about what the food would be like but I was thrilled with the quality of the meals here. We have breakfast and lunch in the apt. and eat in the dining room for dinner. It's a lovely setting, looking out on a small lake, and we get menus every week in our mailbox.
My only disappointment is that everyone here is white. They are nice people but there is no diversity except for the black wait staff in the dining room.
There are lots of programs here: concerts, movies, and many groups such as book clubs, exercise classes, choral groups, and painters who do some lovely watercolors that are displayed everywhere.
Importantly, they provide rides to doctors' appointments, visits to a local supermarket, and a library where my most recent book is available for residents to take out. And we don't have to shovel snow or fear power outages from storms. That is a huge relief!
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