The Best Independent Living Communities in New Castle County, DE

"The staff at Friends provided professional and compassionate care for my mother. She entered Friends in July 2024 for respite care, which continued periodically until the end of September, when she became a full-time resident. She was thrilled that the wonderful maintenance crew painted her room a soothing blue. They will customize the décor for any resident. (Note: We bought the paint.) We used some of the furniture Friends had in storage and brought in some of my mother’s pieces. The building is historic, and Friends is updating and renovating rooms and systems, including a new elevator. The kitchen staff were very helpful in meeting my mother’s dietary needs and she liked the many menu choices and the quality of the meals. My mother took advantage of many of the stimulating activities using the Montessori philosophy – mealtimes with other residents, arts and crafts, the choir, recitals, knitting group, the library, and field trips – which all helped give her a purposeful life while dealing with short-term memory and physical health issues. My mother loved sitting on the front porch in nice weather and in the sun parlor watching TV with the other residents. We found the medical staff to be very responsive to her needs, especially when working with the hospice aides and nurses in the last weeks of my mother's life. My mother passed away in May 2025, and all the staff at Friends were so warm and sympathetic throughout a difficult time. I cannot praise them enough."

"Harmony at Glasgow had no laundry and no full kitchen inside the apartments. The staff was friendly, courteous, and knowledgeable. I saw the menu. The facilities were very clean, well-organized, bright, and cheerful."

"Ivy Creek Gracious Retirement is close to where I live. They have a nurse and a manager on staff. It's clean and friendly. The employees were very attentive. The dining area was good, and we were able to eat lunch, and it was fine. They had an art studio and a chapel. The one-bedroom was very small. The person who assisted me was very friendly."

"The tour was excellent. It was very beautiful. The staff was gracious. They made you feel welcome. The person who did the tour was wonderful and very informative. They were very helpful, very pleasant, and very accommodating. What I've seen of the food, and what was I told about the chef and all, if I chose that place, I would be very happy."

"My mom has been at Chestnut Ridge for three years now. This facility is very clean. If I could afford it, I would live there myself. The rooms are very nice. My mother is in like an apartment-type room where she is able to have her own living room and bedroom and there's even a little kitchenette. They serve three meals a day plus two snacks a day. They have numerous activities. They have a wellness center there on site where they administer her medicines for her. They also have a rehab facility there. For activities, they have arts and crafts, bingo, karaoke, etc. They would take them out to go to movies or to go to casino. They would also take them out for rides or for dinners, etc."

"Meadowcrest at Middletown was a beautiful place. The lady was very knowledgeable, very helpful, and very nice. She knew everything that she had to know. She even gave me advice on how to get extra help. The common area was beautiful. However, they only provide you with a certain amount of meals and the rest comes out of your pocket. If I had to go in there, I wouldn't think twice, but it was just costly. It looked clean. I didn't smell anything. I saw a lot of different rooms and different activities going on, which looked good. I saw some people playing a puzzle and others just walking around and watching TV. They just do whatever they wanted to do."

"We visited Arbour Square. The facility is brand new, it has a lot of openings, the waiting-list is short, and it has a nice concept. It has a nice atmosphere, and the rooms were adequate. The staff was very pleasant, and the people were pleasant."

"My mother has lived at the Bellingham for over three years. She started in independent living. The residents reached out to each other and provided nice support. I think my mother liked the dining hall and the system they have to encourage residents to make friends and sit together. She especially liked the informal dining area with a gas fireplace. The facility is always clean and the staff is friendly. Eventually my mother needed memory care. The transition was easy and I feel she is very safe and comfortable. I get the impression that the friends and family members of the residents at the Bellingham are very involved. That is the key to a successful senior living experience. "

"Wellington was very nice. We liked it, but I don’t think it’s the right fit for my parents. The apartments are very nice, it’s very clean, and everything is in good order. It’s a very nice community, with a very nice setting and neighborhood, so the environment is good. "

"I visited Wesley Enhanced. The apartments were beautiful, and very nice. They have all kinds of activities, from physical therapy to pool, and they have an indoor pool too. They have three dining halls. It was clean, well-kept, and well-maintained."

"We toured St. Martha Villa. I like where it's located, and it was on the grounds of a church, which was important to me. It wasn't too big. It was very well kept, nice looking, and very cozy, and not institutional at all. Everybody was friendly. They have a dining room and crafts room. They have a chapel. They have nice grounds to walk on. They have a bus to take you shopping."

"Freedom Village at Brandywine was very, very nice. I liked it very much and I like the memory care being attached to their skilled care. I visited the memory care and the skilled care. It was very clean. The staff was very nice. The residents seemed like they were well taken care of. They were very friendly. They answered all my questions. They didn't directly at all. I took all the time I needed. The landscape outside was very nice. There were flowers and it was manicured."

"We live at The Quadrangle, and we are extremely happy. We are in a cottage. We've been here for eight years. We wouldn't want to be anywhere else. We have all the support we need for any problem that we have. This is a physically beautiful community with 70 acres of woodland. We have trails around. I ride an electric cart, and I can ride all around the fire road. We have a pond. We have very active activities, all organized by the residents. The Quadrangle emphasizes the life of the mind. Most of our residents are highly educated, formerly people in education and business. We have a common dining room, and we have a grill, and you can eat at either place. You have to have reservations for the dining room. It's very elegant. We think the food is wonderful, it's healthy, and has many choices. Since we live in a cottage and my husband and I are still well and in good health, we generally get our dinner and bring it back to the cottage so that we can eat privately. We have just undergone an extensive internal renovation of the facility, and this summer, there will be an external renovation of more plantings and more designs. We have over 70 activities."

"I toured Echo Lake, and it was worth a six. It was like being in a luxury hotel. It was gorgeous. Everything that you can imagine they have, except for the chapel. They have doctors' offices. They have a gym. They had a huge art room, and a bus to take you places, like a weekly run to the supermarket, within a certain distance. Also, to doctor's offices if you didn't want to use the doctor that was there at the building. It's a couple of stories high. It was huge. For me it was expensive. They had a lot of two-bedroom units there as well."