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Just starting to look as we are 81 and I’m nearly 75. As we struggle with fire insurance in California and hassle with Comcast – they took away our local sports and baseball season is imminent, and other house and neighborhood activities are time consuming and complex. We are Firewise neighborhood leaders and the responsibility is a challenge.
Our health is excellent for our age but cancer treatment and a chance of Alzheimer’s for me, lots of experience taking care of our elders, only one child to take care of us, and we babysit with joy for our one and soon to be two grandchildren – all that makes us wonder if we should move to a CCRC.
None of our contemporaries in several friend groups are even thinking of that! Most are sure they want to stay forever in their home.
Have any of you worked on that process? Made the move?
There are also other CCRC’s supported by universities such as Davidson College, Duke University, and Arizona State University. Are they better choices? Any feedback will be good.
Do you mean Forest at Duke? I’ve visited it but I’m not aware that the university “supports” it. The Disclosure Statement says that it has “programmatic affiliations” with the university and the medical center to “provide services and activities to the residents”. But it is “owned” by “The Forest at Duke, Inc., a nonprofit, independent corporation managed by a Board of Directors and a professional management staff.”
It is a full Type A facility, meaning the monthly fee is the same regardless of the level of service. I decided I would rather pay less in Independent Living and more in Assisted Living in the hope I would spend longer in the former. Also, the ceilings in the units were so low I felt claustrophobic, and it seemed to be spending a lot of money on decor.
Found this on internet: “Duke University does not directly support The Forest at Duke. However, Duke University Medical Center has a contract with the Forest’s health center.”
I understand Cedars of Chapel Hill is associated with UNC. Any thoughts?
I don’t know why you think that, but you can read the Cedars’ Disclosure Statement here. It’s a condominium set up and I wouldn’t touch it.
Cedars is listed here.
https://www.universityretirementcommunities.com/
There are multiple ways universities are involved with communities.
That site appears to be some kind of for-profit marketing exercise. It is listing CCRCs based on physical proximity, not on actual relationships. If you read the Disclosure Statement I listed you will see that the only connection between Cedars and UNC is that the Medical Director for the health center is “retained through UNC hospitals”. This is hardly an unusual practice. The medical staff at the clinic at my own CCRC are from a university medical center, but it would not therefore claim to be associated with the university.
Both Duke and NC State have Osher Lifelong Learning Institute programs, available to all seniors, although I believe UNC at Chapel Hill does not, and any senior can attend classes at a state university on a space-available basis. There is nothing special about Cedars in that regard.
However Cedars, in common with Cypress of Raleigh, run by the same outfit, is unusual in not having a separate Assisted Living facility. If you don’t need full nursing care, you have to pay extra for in-home help (provided by the outfit running the facility), exactly the kind of thing you were trying to avoid by moving to a CCRC.
Your initial suggestion was that some CCRCs are “supported” by universities. There may be some, but you have yet to list one.
I knew a couple when I lived in Raleigh (we moved back to NY in 2023) who moved to the Cypress after the husband was diagnosed with metastatic cancer (he died in 2022). The Cypress has assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing in its Rosewood Health Center. They had nothing but good things to say about the facility and the wife said the hospice care her husband received was exemplary.
According to the Cedars’ website, The DuBose Health Center on The Cedars’ campus is Medicare-certified and offers assisted living and skilled nursing care. The fee sheet indicates that charges for members are approximately 50% of the fees for non-members.
Here is an article in Financial Times listing such CCRC’s
https://www.ft.com/content/f510bdaf-14e6-4a0f-90fc-e5ebb54e86bd?accessToken=zwAGL_OqmsD4kdP1EL2vFOZKD9OQ_OXrtU6GvQ.MEUCIEtvctCpcrUZT7tquw-kK5S0LsNpyf8CSZxHcTu0QzjxAiEAqv6Ha38r45GdJ5k6VgrJ7_ez8XUZPuuylNSAgG2jGT4&sharetype=gift&token=442d7ec4-5980-4725-9301-98dd0d94ce76
I looked up the Pines at Davidson website and Disclosure Statement. There is nothing at all in the DS about Davidson university, and the references on the website are to lectures and basketball games. My CCRC has lecturers from local universities, that doesn’t mean they’re formally connected. I don’t dispute that a few CCRCs such as Mirabella may have closer connections, but the guy behind the website seems to be trying establish ones that don’t exist. He certainly provides no justification for including the CCRCs he lists, certainly nothing amounting to “support”.
He outlines his methodology in his website and see descriptions under URC 101 page. My original question is still: Are they any better than regular CCRC?
Define “better”. In any case, it’s hard to generalize, you would have to look at the specific CCRC. What exactly is the relationship? Is it contractual? Is it financial? How does it affect management? How does it affect the relationship between residents and management? If you are not a graduate, would you feel like an outsider?
I find the website unhelpful, as it doesn’t explain how listed CCRCs meet the five criteria. I suspect that in some cases it is simply proximity, which is necessary but not sufficient. While Forest at Duke does have “programmatic affiliations” with Duke, there is no evidence that Cedars has any relationship with UNC beyond an arrangement with their medical center.
The only crieria that are actually meaningful are physical proximity and formalized programing. My own CCRC has way more than 10% alumni and retired faculty from one of the local universities, and likely more than 10% alumni from another. If you want a close relationship 10% seems rather meager.
my wife’s parents would lock the caregiver we hired out of the house, my parents have grudgingly accepted help two days a week. The thought of willingly moving into a CCRC is as foreign to my experience as space travel
will my wife and I do better? I certainly hope so, although facilities in our rural area are decidedly below any acceptable standard. Blake Hurst
My wife and I moved to a CCRC 4 years ago. We love it. Life is simple compared to owning a house. Our children don’t worry about us. We have an active social life and daily exercises classes. My wife’s parents lived in the same CCRC and we saw how they thrived. They made it to 95 and 98. A friend in a different CCRC said to me “move before you have to.”
My simple answer is YES. I came to our CCRC, Aberdeen Heights in Kirkwood MO, when I was 77 years old and my wife also 77, and I feel it was a very good decision. All the worries of home living are gone, no grass to cut, no roof to fix, all utilities paid for, the only bill to pay is your Cell phone! I was the one who thought it was way too early, but pick your time, because you will downsize and fell free of many possessions you can do without. I look at it as simplifying. The activities are endless, the people are so exciting to meet, and it feels like I am on a Cruise Ship, but no waves. Visit 5 to 10 CCRC’s and pick one to live in, you will enjoy your choice. Best of luck to you both.
We made the move two+ years ago and feel that it was one of our best decisions ever. Late 70s, no children, three primary relatives with Alzheimer’s Disease. No debts, sold the house for cash before RE prices declined – used proceeds for the entry fee with plenty left over.
We spent one summer visiting the choices in our area and could see variations in the “culture,” though that’s hard to define. There were a couple of other highly-regarded CCRCs nearby that were more expensive. We were on the waitlist at the most welcoming, friendly of the places for three years before we accepted an apartment with a terrific view. Buy in was $375,000 (plenty of apts in the building with lesser view would be cheaper), monthly fee $5000 for two.
We chose a nonprofit CCRC – It is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary and over the years has added an assisted living section, a fourth skilled nursing wing, and recently, a memory care building. The endowment is more than $13 million, and its income is available to pay fees for residents who outlive their assets through no fault of their own. The whole place was completely renovated during the pandemic years and is gorgous.
The building is a fortress and constructed of steel and concrete, so we are the only retirement community in our area that, with the blessings of the county, does not evacuate during hurricanes. Most important are the things we have observed: excellent communication, mutual respect, and appreciation between management and residents.
Can you talk to my parents? Haha
I’ve commented previously, likely to one of Kathy’s pieces, that my wife and I joined the waiting list for 4 CCRCs last year in our mid 60s. This after taking a senior class on CCRCs and aging in place, several visits and a good bit of research. It’s possible in our area based on our accommodation preference and local demand we will wait 10 years and we are OK with that. Some factors in our choice include, but are not limited to, potential health concerns, limited family, previous family experiences, friends in CCRCs, and, of course, insurance. We are fortunate to live in a state where CCRCs are fairly well-regulated also. We joined the National Continuing Care Residents Association-NaCCRA-for $25 and follow the forum comments to follow the topics of discussion. Home – National Continuing Care Residents Association, Inc
Thanks for the link, Rob. I’m now a lifetime member of the North Carolina CCRC Residents Association, but I didn’t know about the national one. The NC one is busy trying to get a revised statute through the legislature.
One of the higher rated CCRCs near us in the Atrium at Navesink Harbor. the costs vary widely between 1 and 2 bedroom units. This is from their website,
One-Bedroom: Entrance Fees start at $140,600; Monthly Service Fees start at $3,882.
Two-Bedroom: Entrance Fees start at $597,600; Monthly Service Fees start at $8,413.
I think this is very possible. I’ve seen it with my neighbors.
You and your father-in-law are very fortunate and I’m glad it worked out for you. But I would offer that waiting for something bad to happen and taking whatever is available to you at the time is not a good plan. In my view that “option” is rolling the dice.
Having four hours to select a nursing home precludes research. Also, if one lives alone, they’ll be stuck with whatever the hospital suggests. There are a lot of less than stellar nursing homes out there: you got lucky.
I think the discussion below may have veered a little off track. Unless you are one of the fortunate few who drop dead while still in good health and possession of their faculties, or meet with a fatal accident, at some point you will no longer be able to live independently. When that happens to me, I will simply move from Independent Living to Assisted Living in the same building. What will you, aging in place, do?
If you are relying on a spouse or child to act as caregiver, may I point out that caretaking is a difficult, demanding and debilitating job, usually performed by unpaid women, and that the spouse or child may not be around when needed.
Agree. From a financial perspective, the buy-in and to some extent the monthly fees, are a form of insurance. Yes it can be expensive. And if you don’t use it, it benefits other residents as the risk pool is significantly smaller than an insurance company. My mom ended up a nursing home for 11 years after a major stroke. My dad ended up in rehab for 2 years after trying to take care of her. Quickly drained all of their savings resulting ultimately in Medicaid. Getting consistent and trustworthy care to come into their home was, to the least, challenging and in some respects more expensive that residential care (which is not unusual). My wife and I certainly don’t “plan” on AL or NH care and we don’t mind paying for it if we don’t use it.
I also see some friends independently living in 55+ communities as long as they can. Then they move to a rental assisted living/memory care facility when they end up needing it. There are no down payments and monthly rentals are about $6000/month for assisted living and may increase based on services one needs. Memory care would cost more. They offer transport to doctor’s offices/shopping. Turnover of residents is high.
I am curious to see if HD readers have any experience with such rental facilities.
My brother’s wife put him in an assisted living building with memory care when he could no longer stay in their home. It was owned by a for-profit corporation which sold the place to another similar company. Turnover in management and staff. It was quite expensive and she was often unhappy with the care he received. She was about to move him when he died.
The 2 CCRCs with very high entry fees that I discussed below also have direct entry options to assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing. Several of my neighbors have gone this route. Payment is the way you mention. Seems to work well. Actually, it’s the way my husband and I intend to deal with advanced needs.
Kathy, if you are uncertain about a decision right now, you might consider putting your name on a waiting list after checking out a few CCRCs. They mostly all have them, at least the more desirable ones do. Some places have a 4 year wait. You can always remove it when your name comes up, if you are still not sure.
Although you may feel you and your husband are managing a household right now, the more you both age, the sooner the day comes when it’s next to impossible, especially if you develop serious health issues.
I checked out a CCRC in Collierville, TN about five years ago. My conclusion: Absolutely outrageous!!! The upfront cost for me and my wife was $600,000. That was for long term care, not medical care. And the monthly cost for lodging ranged from $6,000 to $8,000 depending on the apartment or townhouse or single family home that you chose. You are renting, not buying, so you are not building equity. In addition, calculate your lost income. That $600,000 was in our investment accounts making money for us. At the time, our ROI was about 7%. So project out for ooohhh, maybe eight years and you have $336,000 in lost income. We’re now knockin’ a million bucks up front. And check carefully about what happens to your $600,000 if you opt in and your partner dies maybe eight months later. Another thing to consider: The number of CCRC organizations that have gone belly up! It’s significant. What happens to your $600,000 if that happens to you. So, no thanks!! I’ll stay right where I am.
Some points:
Obviously, you need to do due diligence before signing up. My CCRC has been in operation for 30 years and has good financials. It promises not to throw me out if I run out of money, and no one has ever been forced to leave for that reason.
I can increase Rick’s sample size slightly. I live in Madison Wi. The two CCRCs that are considered “best” have entry fees about the same as he mentions; the monthly fees are much higher. Here’s another consideration. The city recently established a bus rapid transit system. It stops right in front of each of these CCRCs. The bus isn’t for the residents; those who are in independent living drive and there are also vans that take residents to appointments, shopping etc. The public buses are to accommodate the workers at the CCRCs. I wouldn’t be thrilled to live in a situation where low income workers provide my food, cleaning, entertainment services, while I did effectively nothing. Recently, HD writers debated the effect of splitting a restaurant meal on tipped servers. How about being served EVERY meal by a low wage worker?
I am rather amused by the suggestion that residents of a CCRC do “effectively nothing”. It’s true I don’t do my own house or yard work, but I didn’t do them before I moved here. I have been very busy since I moved in. Some people still work. More still volunteer “outside”. Still more volunteer “inside”. While the 70 exercise classes each week are run by staff, many of the social, intellectual and cultural offerings are arranged by residents. For instance, the library is run by volunteers, and the funds are raised by resident activities.
The CCRC where my wife and I moved to 15 months ago has done a good job of retaining its dining, housekeeping and maintenance workers. The end of the year bonus from resident contributions was more than $2,000 per employee for those who had worked here for the full year. Several of them have told me that, unlike our facility which pays them benefits, this wasn’t the case at the places where they were previously employed. Even though our facility has 320 residents, we are on a first name basis with many of our dining room servers including several who remember our apartment number.
Some of the residents have also organized an ESL (English as a second language) class for employees that has a current attendance of 15-20.
The reality is many of us will need assistance with activites of daily living. Based on our experience, a CCRC or assisted living facility is more likely to provide its employees with better income and benefits than most home health care agencies which typically pay their employees no more than 50% of what they charge their clients and often limit their hours so that they don’t have to pay them benefits.
Many seniors get to the point where they have neither the energy nor the enthusiasm for cooking and countless other daily tasks. Is it wrong if they spend their money to live their final years without the associated stress? Meanwhile, is anybody forcing employees to work at CCRCs for those “low wages”? My mother lives in a CCRC in Florida and the dollars involved look nothing like those listed above by Rick.
Perhaps the difference in buy-in and monthly prices are related to the size of the unit and number of people occupying it. I believe the prices Rick and I found are for two bedrooms and maybe a den and the monthly charge is for two people. The charges for a one bedroom apartment and for one person is considerably less.
Take the $600,000 that Rick mentions. Is it fully or partly refundable? Before you assess whether it’s excessive, you need to know the details of the contract.
Again, my mother is in a CCRC. She has a large two-bedroom unit. She didn’t pay $600,000 to buy in. Not even close. And she doesn’t pay $6,000 to $8,000 a month. Not even close.
CCRCs, I believe, are an intriguing option not only for senior housing, but also for pooling the risk of long-term care. It would be a shame if folks didn’t investigate CCRCs because of one institution’s apparently scary price tag. That would be like hearing the cost of a Ferrari and concluding that car ownership is unaffordable.
It’s good to learn that lower cost options are available. After our rigorous review of the CCRC in TN, my wife died and I didn’t do further research.
There are 2,000 CCRCs in the United States with many choices available. US News reported on Sept. 12 that the average CCRC entrance fee, nationally, is $410,000 per person. Regardless, how you pay it, that money is no longer working for you. You lose the return on your investments or give up a significant amount of your home equity and no long enjoy the appreciation of your home’s value. For me, this is an ancillary cost of moving into a CCRC.
Bankruptcy of CCRCs is not common. But it happens and can result in the loss of life savings by residents, as reported by the New York Times on Jan. 22. It’s a factor to consider.
Many individuals have had a positive experience with CCRCs. The choices are numerous and complex. Those interested should move carefully.
More info here:
US News: https://health.usnews.com/best-senior-living/ccrc/articles/continuing-care-retirement-community-costs
NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/health/retirement-community-bankruptcy.html
You seem very concerned that moving to a CCRC will cost you money you might make in increased equity or growth of investments. (Neither is guaranteed.) But what do you want the money for? When I moved to a CCRC, I started drawing on my portfolio for the first time. Less than 1%, but I expect it to go up over time. However, it didn’t bother me, because that’s what the money is for. if you don’t spend it now for a CCRC you’ll likely spend it down the road when you need in-home care. Meanwhile, I will have been enjoying the friends and facilities at my CCRC.
Obviously, when choosing a CCRC, you need to check the track record and current financials. In NC CCRCs are required to provide that information in a defined format and it is available on the Department of Insurance website.
The $600,000 buy-in here is non refundable in both CCRCs. Refundable is over $1,000,000. These numbers come directly from the CCRC website. Neither community is located on huge properties or on one of Madison’s lakes. Both have operated for decades and are nonprofit and church affiliated. I can’t explain the difference between this pricing and your mother’s situation. But I don’t believe either of the places here is a luxury option.
I can’t explain the pricing, either. But your two local CCRCs sound expensive to me. The good news is, there are other options out there.
There seem to be a fair number of HumbleDollar readers who live or know about CCRCs. Does a $600,000 nonrefundable buy-in, along with a $6,000 to $8,000 monthly fee, sound like the norm?
Probably somewhat higher here for a couple but for a single old lady – me – in a studio – close. More for 2 of us in a 2BR 2 Bath space.
So appreciate all the thoughtful comments and advice! Have been a reader and fan since you were at the WSJ. Thinking about you and wishing you and yours all the best as you navigate the time you have left.
Based on helping our parents shop their options and looking for ourselves, in four different states, those numbers sound high.
It’s good to learn that lower cost options are available. After our rigorous review of the CCRC in TN, my wife died and I didn’t do further research.
There are 2,000 CCRCs in the United States with many choices available. US News reported on Sept. 12 that the average CCRC entrance fee, nationally, is $410,000 per person. Regardless, how you pay it, that money is no longer working for you. You lose the return on your investments or give up a significant amount of your home equity and no long enjoy the appreciation of your home’s value. For me, this is an ancillary cost of moving into a CCRC.
Bankruptcy of CCRCs is not common. But it happens and can result in the loss of life savings by residents, as reported by the New York Times on Jan. 22. It’s a factor to consider.
Many individuals have had a positive experience with CCRCs. The choices are numerous and complex. Those interested should move carefully.
More info here:
US News: https://health.usnews.com/best-senior-living/ccrc/articles/continuing-care-retirement-community-costs
NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/health/retirement-community-bankruptcy.html
It is really hard to generalize when it comes to pricing. The location, the type of contract and the target demographic all factor in. At my CCRC there is a wide range of prices: the non-refundable entry fee for a one bedroom in the original building was $154,000 in 2023, a studio was about half that but I’m not sure how many of those we have. In contrast, the two three bedroom plus den “penthouse suites” in the new building were $861,000. You paid noticeably more for 50 and 90% refundable fees. The good news is that all facilities are available to everyone, regardless of entry fee. Entry fees are the same for singles and couples, while there is a monthly surcharge for a second resident. Monthly fees also vary, with $6,000 at the very top of the range. I have a two bedroom with den in the new building and pay less than that.
A little research suggests the cost of living here is a bit above the national average, although housing costs are 29% higher. Forbes tells me the cost of living is 7% higher in Madison.
i do understand that a CCRC may be the right choice for some people. I have several friends, in various parts of the US , who have chosen that option. But Madison isn’t an especially high cost of living place and I doubt that the area of Tennessee mentioned in the earlier post is either.
As for the nobody is forced to do the low wage jobs argument, technically that is correct. But the juxtaposition of one set people having their needs and wants catered night and day, while another group works for low wages providing those comforts does concern me.
Marilyn, we live in a country where we enjoy many freedoms and we all have the opportunity to better ourselves in attaining higher paying positions.
you are also assuming that the low wage earners are in subservient positions. As for the residents, most worked hard and long to be in a position to enjoy the comfort and convenience a CCRC affords them in their declining years.
Many are single people who have no one else. Would you have them go off into isolation to die, as in days of yore. We live in a new age. Your view of our system is un-American.
Marjorie, I honestly don’t know whether I should laugh at or be angry with your statement that my view is “unAmerican.” I do, however, believe your post is flawed in several ways.
You appear to subscribe to the Horacio Alger myth. I do not accept your belief that willingness to work hard today guarantees a boost up the economic ladder. Sadly, too many people today lack the necessary skills to advance. For example, many residents of homeless shelters are employed, but they don’t earn enough to afford housing. I doubt they don’t want a better job, they just can’t get out of the low wage rut. I do taxes for low income people through the VITA program at Goodwill. I see such clients all the time.
You argue that CCRC residents worked hard and therefore “deserve” their comforts. As I wrote in response to Jonathan, I have friends who live in such communities and I do appreciate their reasons for selecting such arrangements. At the same time, the resident/worker relationship in CCRCs does reflect the increasing spending power of a small percent of the American population who can afford what seem to me to be extraordinarily high entry and monthly fees, while low income workers do what is necessary to assure their comforts. (According to an article, in The Wall Street Journal on Feb 23, Americans with the highest 10% of income currently account for 50% of the country’s spending— three decades ago, it was 36%.). Does this look like a healthy societal arrangement?
Finally, do you really believe that “in the days of yore,” most single people died in isolation because there were no CCRCs? I doubt it. Immediate and extended family, religious organizations, neighborhood, and community institutions provided a social network that aided most seniors from resorting to the ice floe! That network is admittedly weaker today, but it still does exist.
Maybe the CCRC will and should represent an increasingly important way for seniors to spend their final days. I don’t know. But as my mailbox fills each week with slick flyers showing gleeful CCRC residents enjoying an afternoon glass of wine, looking at a potted geranium, or wandering along a well manicured path, I do wonder whether able bodied people should be giving up responsibility for themselves.
Have a lovely evening, Marilyn
Thanks for bringing up this important topic.
As you say, none of our friends are thinking about CCRCs. They just want to age in place. I also understand that if you do choose a CCRC, you need a relative or friend to visit you often to make sure you are well taken care of. Otherwise you end up being low on the priority list.
Maybe others with experience can comment on this.
“I also understand that if you do choose a CCRC, you need a relative or friend to visit you often to make sure you are well taken care of.” My mom was in a nursing home for 11 years. Although I was out of state, I made an effort as the only child to visit as often as I could. She got adequate care when I wasn’t there but I was able to address specific needs and do some advocacy so I think it helped some but I wouldn’t say it was a requirement. But to the larger point, a CCRC is not a nursing home. Most people live in independent living, have active lives and the AL and NH are there for insurance (not because the residents expect to end up there).
My mother-in-law spent about 5 years in a 3 different communities, starting in independent, moving to assisted, and finally dementia care. As Jonathan states below, each level required different levels of family involvement. This corresponded to her health situation, In her lsat few years she required some unique wound care due to an ostomy. Her first facility was unequipped to handle this, and we had to find a different facility, and finally third. My wife, and I very experienced nurse, did some research into the conditions and specific supplies and trained with the company’s head nurse. She then provided in-service training to the facility’s staff. Our situation was unique, and we were lucky that several of my wife’s siblings were nearby and visited often. Each situation has its own unique needs that must be considered.
If you’re in the independent living portion of a CCRC, you should — fingers crossed — find yourself part of a vibrant community, and there should be scant worries about how you’re getting “taken care of.” That might be a concern if you’re in the nursing care portion of a CCRC, and perhaps also in assisted living.
I am currently in Independent Living. I am single with no relatives close by and have felt no need for an outside visitor. People in Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing are visited by other residents, both those who are friends, and by members of a group of volunteers. The situation in other CCRCs may well be different, that’s why you should visit the entire facility and talk to existing residents before signing up. The Skilled Nursing facility at my CCRC got a perfect rating from it’s most recent Medicare inspection – something else to check. Possibly you are confusing CCRCs and assisted living or nursing homes: they are quite different.
If you are aging in place and need nursing assistance, not only will you have to arrange it yourself, but who will be checking on you?
Agree. When some one moves to assisted living, nursing care, or memory care in CCRC, visits from relatives or friends will become important. You don’t move to CCRC thinking you will never need assisted living. I was told picking a CCRC located close to some one who can visit you when needed would be a plus. It is one of the many factors to be considered. Assisted living (not part of CCRC) has the same issue.
My mother’s CCRC experience would seem to validate this. Residents are seeing each other daily, and if someone needs something they appear to not be getting, staff and if necessary management are going to hear about it, and residents will be watching for followup.
That’s awesome.
Kathy Wilhelm, HD’s experienced advocate for CCRC’s, covered your main question. I want to suggest a solution for your other problem: have you ever tried MLB.tv to watch baseball games?
When we switched from cable for live TV we got the MLB.tv app on our AppleTV and started a subscription. It’s worked quite well. We’re fans of an out-of-market team so we’re lucky it does work so well.
We do use an Apple TV babysitting our granddaughter. Switching between multiple games as my husband does seems hard in a streaming setting. The last button and the longer seasons allow him to check in multiple games and skip the commercials! And he knows all the stations – 1313 has big ten games?
I live in California and know what she’s talking about. The SF Giants games are broadcast on CSN Bay Area. If you live in that service area, you can’t watch Giants games on MLB.TV because of blackout rules. I’ve had the ridiculous experience of staying in SF literally blocks from the ballpark at a hotel that doesn’t get the channel and being unable to watch the game.
CSN recently announced that all of their sports networks were going to be bundled into a package that costs extra unless you’re already a premium subscriber. So this means some people in the Bay Area have to pay more than they used to for Giants games, Warriors games, etc. My own mother (83) is a huge Warriors fan but is refusing to pay the extra money.
I think these blackout situations for streaming services are going to go away in a few years, but for the moment, it’s super irritating. I can’t watch the Giants on MLB.TV in Hawaii (5000 miles from Oracle Park) because they (and all the other California teams) have claimed territorial rights there.
My mother-in-law has been in a CCRC for a year. She is 95 and was placed in independent living by her son with the idea that she could move to assisted living if she felt she needed it. Her various infirmities have now caused her to want to move to assisted but she has been waiting on an opening since October. Is this usual?
I visited several CCRC’s and found that they may have 150 -200 units for independent living and only 25 -30 for assisted living. That means some may have to wait. Wait time may also be based on the type of contract.
I would have thought not, but there is a lot of variation between facilities. You don’t mention whether this CCRC is for-profit, non-profit, Type A, B, C or D, how big, etc., or what her son was told when she moved in.
It is non profit and good size. Don’t know what ABCD mean.
Mine is a good sized non-profit, but it tries to keep space available in both Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing for residents who may need to move. But that’s not to say that all facilities are always successful at that.
A, B, C and D are different types of contract. I believe the first article I linked below addresses that.
My mother-in-law was able to move straight into a memory care facility that was part of a church-owned nonprofit CCRC. When a room became available, we had to wait until they first offered it to any current CCRC residents. Thankfully, it all moved along pretty quickly, and she moved in about a month after her husband submitted the application.
Great that you are starting to think about this, but I hope wait lists in California are shorter than they are here in North Carolina. I moved to a CCRC in October 2023, and I had been on a wait list for four years. It would have taken longer but the facility opened a new building.
You might start with these articles:
https://humbledollar.com/2022/03/life-care-compared/
https://humbledollar.com/2023/02/continuing-care/
https://humbledollar.com/2024/03/getting-in-line/
https://humbledollar.com/2024/04/gift-to-myself/