The Best Independent Living Communities in Orange County, CA

"We liked everything about Carmel Village Retirement Community. There was nothing negative about them. We were greeted by the person I was told would be greeted by, and that was David. He did an outstanding job. Overall, they did a wonderful job. This location is our number one pick right now. Cleanliness was outstanding both inside and outside. They have some construction work going on and David was explaining this to us. Whoever owns it is investing a lot of money into the structure of the building, especially the exterior. The size of the room was decent. We looked at both a studio and a one bedroom. The atmosphere was very lively. They were preparing to have an event that day. It was like a luau or something like that. There was a lot of activity as they were getting ready for that event. The residents were very, very nice. A number of them were telling my dad, "This is a great place." "They treat you good." "The staff are nice." So, he had some first hand feedback from residents that are already living there."

"Very nice - refreshed - good size appts . No individual washer/dryer. Could use one on both sides of the building on every floor. Wonderful staff. Beautiful main areas. Safe. Could use more parking for guests. Leadership is excellent. Well done all the way around."

"After my father passed away, my brother and I started looking for a facility for my mother to spend her remaining years. After visiting several places, we found Walnut Village in Anaheim, Ca. Our mother has been a resident now for 5 years. It is a first class facility....that is no exaggeration. It is truly the quality of Celebrity Cruise Line on land. From the staff, the cleanliness, the dining room which looks like a 5 star restaurant that has menu items like Filet, Scampi, and beautiful salads and even a salad bar. To the piano lounge with "Happy Hour" every night. Residents can bring their own drinks or use "wine lockers" there. They offer various types of assisted living services including an entire memory care unit. The facility has a very unique way in determining the monthly fee you pay. The facility even has church services on site for various denominations as well a full exercise programs, library, arts and crafts room and even on-site hair salon. An underground parking garage is there for residents who drive. They have a shuttle that takes residents to appointments, shopping and even a day trip monthly to Pechanga Casino and wine country. Everything is included so no money is ever exchanged. 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms are offered and cleaning and daily nurse visits are provided. It is right near Disneyland so the residents can enjoy the nightly fireworks. If you want your loved one(s) in a first class living facility, Walnut Village is it!!"

"My stepmom is a resident of Rowntree Gardens, and what I like most is the responsive and caring staff. It is a Christian community, and it has many activities. The people that are living there are very nice. It's a wonderful community. It has an atrium in the middle. There's a lot of outdoor beauty in the gardens and a lot of outdoor space to mingle. They have doctors that come. They have a church and a full-time pastor. They have a beauty shop. They have a fully stocked library. They have rooms for private events that you can reserve. They have a little gift shop, a main dining room, and a fire lounge."

"Very nice facility with friendly and attentive staff. The rooms were beautiful, clean and multiple activities for residents. The food looked great! We attended a Luau at the facility which was very nice and loved by the residents that attended. This is definitely a contender when my mother is ready to commit!"

"The rooms are very nice. The staff is wonderful. It’s a lovely place to be. The food is good, and the special holiday events, extra wonderful."

"Although my mother was only at Atria since March 2024, until her recent passing, she could not stop talking about how wonderful the place was. She had a studio apartment that was so cute, and the atmosphere there was so cheerful. The staff was always so kind to my mother and always kept tabs on her, because she lived alone. If there was any issues with anything in her apartment, they would immediately fix it. I will actually miss the staff and appreciate all the fond memories they gave my mother."

"I visited The Meridian at Anaheim Hills and toured their memory care for my mom. It was nice and organized, and everybody was very caring. It seemed like it had good activity programs. The memory care was clean and well-organized. They had a dining area and an activity room. The staff who toured me around was also very knowledgeable."

"I live here in Independent Living and I love it. I moved here from another, smaller, senior community one year after my wife passed because this one has more residents and more chances for me to make friends. I immediately asked and was encouraged by senior staff to facillitate two mentally challenging discussion groups every week for people with like interests. They are still going strong and many of us have become good friends. I can't praise the staff enough for consistently providing excellent meals, activity opportunities, and overall cleanliness. I also can't praise my fellow residents enough; we have been successful enough in life (I retired 26 years ago as a high school principal.) to be able to enjoy this quality of life with our peers."

"My relative moved into Ivy Park at Laguna Woods. I was there today. The staff was fine, They're helpful. They're responsive. There are plenty of activities. Great value for money."

"My aunt and uncle moved to Bayshire Yorba Linda. They can accommodate a lot of things. The grounds are kept clean and the atmosphere is very inviting. It was very spacious. It didn't seem like everything was kind of crammed in. The people that we met there were very helpful and very kind. We haven't run into any problems as far as helping my aunt and uncle. The food is very good. My uncle is not as social as my aunt. Even within memory care, they have a lot of activities to stimulate their brain, and to keep them busy. We've been very happy with the available activities. The value of memory care is awesome. It's pretty reasonable."

"My wife will be moving into Sunnycrest Senior Living in the first week of July. The facility is nice. I just saw the rooms for a few minutes and it looks fine. The staff was knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. They had movies and games for their activities."

"I toured this facility with my mother and found it to be very inviting! It's a newer facility and the rooms are beautiful/clean. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. My mother really liked that the rooms had full kitchens and washer/dryers as her independence is important to her. The location and activities provided were awesome! This is definitely a contender when we are ready to commit!"

"Oakmont of Capriana is relatively small, like 100 people, and it's a CCRC, which is what we're looking for. In the independent living, the apartments were relatively large with high ceilings and they had nice views (the place we're looking at has a view of a garden and a koi pond). Then over beyond, there's a pool. It had all the amenities: the gym, the library, and things like that. The staff was all very helpful. Everybody was friendly. They responded to phone calls and they were just very good. We had great food there and we met with residents and talked with them. It was a good experience. They also do a great job with the cleanliness."