In Reply to: Re: Good: Small controllable space, activities, transportation, people to sm posted by sm on Mon, Sep 20 2021 at 02:10 PM CDT:
DH works in a very, very expensive senior community. I could describe it, but you know what you want and can afford, and I'm not trying to sell you on a type of place.
DH has found that some of his residents use everything and some barely leave their home/apartment. Some people are happy and some are not (even during Covid lockdown).
In his opinion the most important thing is the employees. Some places seem to have high turnover, which means a perfect life could turn bad or things could go up and down - which is stressful.
My mother was in a small group home that was fantastic. Then her caregiver got another job and the new lady was just awful. She got fired (partly due to my complaints) and the next person was okay but nothing wonderful. Then her original caregiver came back and life was beautiful again until the end.
Where DH works they have many people that have been there 20+ years and well over half of the staff (from lawncare/housekeepers/laundry to patient caregivers/nurses) have been there 5+ years. Having that continuity makes a big difference as we get older, especially into 80s and 90s.
So, as you look around keep that in mind. You can do research on lots of details, but that one is rarely mentioned. A facility might be willing to give you employee info (especially if it is good) or you can ask other residents if they think things are stable.
Good luck to you. And let us know how it goes -- I'm not too far behind you.