The Best Independent Living Communities in Putnam County, IN

"I had just visited The Oaks at Brownsburg. It was nice and was clean. The lady I met with, Tammy was her name, she was very nice, very informative, and she told me all about the place. We went down and toured one of the one-bedroom apartments. They are on one single level, so there are no upstairs or downstairs. All of the units have doors to the outside and a little patio that you can use. However, it's a much more managed facility than I expected. For example, they provide three meals a day, so the kitchens and the apartments are very minimal. They don't even have an oven or a stove in the kitchen. They have a small refrigerator and a microwave oven, and that's it, and that's because they expect that you will eat in the cafeteria with everybody else since it's free. I'm not certain I'm ready for that kind of care. It's not high on my list of options right now merely because of the cost. It's the most expensive place I've checked out so far. It's almost $2000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, and it doesn't even include a stove, so I'm a little concerned about that. They have a lot of amenities, and there's a lot going for it, but I work a full-time job, eight hours a day, five days a week, and so I'm not going to be eating lunches there. I'm going to be eating lunches at work. I'm probably not going to be eating breakfast there either because I got to leave early in the morning to get to work, and I'm probably not going to have time to go down to the cafeteria every morning for breakfast. So the most I would be doing is probably eating dinners there, and I just don't think that it's worth the extra cost for that amenity. If I was retired and I stayed home all the time, it might be a different matter, but I'm not retired yet, so I just don't think it's for me. It's a nice place. Like if my mom ever needed a place to go, I would recommend it, but it's right for me right now. The atmosphere was very nice. There was a bunch of people in the cafeteria eating, which is very nice. It was very clean, and it didn't have any smells. It was nice; I liked it. It's a nice place, just not for me. It's a great place for certain people, just not for me, not at this time in my life anywhere. The staff who gave me the tour was very nice. She answered all my questions. I liked her. The facility was beautiful. They even have a theater there and it was filled with these recliners and big screen TV that you could schedule to have family and friends over for. They have these living rooms where people can gather around a fire, and they have fireplaces. It was a nice, beautiful place. I just don't think it's right for me right now in my life."

"Woodland Terrace of Danville is new, so it's going to be good. I've only been there a couple of times to see it. They're very professional. Good prices. The staff was very helpful and very informative. Prices are fair. I think it's going to be a wonderful place. It's brand new. The staff were very kind and very knowledgeable."

"Park Square Manor was a really nice place. We had lunch there, it was very good, and everyone was very friendly."

"I'm living at Broadstone Pointe Apartments. I've been here for less than one year now. I love my apartment. It's a two-bedroom. I use one bedroom for my office. It's not huge, but it's got a balcony, which I love. The staff members are not that interactive. They try to be helpful, but yet they don't do a whole lot. It's hands-off most of the time. They cut corners with maintenance, too. The elevator was down for about a week, and I live on the third floor, so everybody had to take the stairs. So that's my biggest problem. I noticed there were mouse droppings in the stairwell, too. I reported that and they cleaned that up. It's not there any longer, but there was a lot of it. If a resident had not mentioned it, they would not have cleaned it up. They have a pay washer and dryer on the first floor. I have access to that, but I didn't want to. I bought my own washer and dryer. I have a refrigerator and an electric stove. Everything's electric here. They have a garage, but right now it's full, and there's a waiting list to get on to the garage, and I'm on a waiting list for that. They have an exercise room, which is below average. It's got an old recumbent bike. It looks like it's been donated, and it doesn't work well. They have a treadmill and some weights. They have a library, which is stocked with donated things from previous residents. They have a computer station, but it never works, so that's pretty useless. They have a kitchen and dining area that if you want to use it, you're welcome to You just have to go in and tell them that you're going to be cooking down there. You have to reserve it, which is no problem. And once a month, a vendor will come in and we will have bingo. I like the location."

"I moved into Brownsburg Meadow two weeks ago. It’s attractive, I’ve heard a lot about it, and it is convenient. The staff that showed me around was very nice. I had my sister with me, and we looked at their assisted living apartments; I was very impressed. We had lunch in the dining room, and that was very nice. I can’t afford the assisted living apartment, so I ended up getting a garden home, which is not far from the main building. It’s just a living room, bedroom, and small kitchen. "

"I toured Autumn Park of Ellettsville. What I really liked about it was the fact that it's a smaller facility, and it's a very new facility. I liked the fact that it's not in Bloomington so that when I need to go see my mother, it's less crowded. Traffic isn't as bad. The units themselves are very clean and spacious. They have a studio, which is what I think she needs. They have that available. It's a really good option because they have lots of things that make you feel like you've got your own kind of independence to a level that you can handle it, such as you have a microwave, you have a refrigerator/freezer, and you can bring in your own little appliance. They have lots of activity spaces there. They have indoor and outdoor recreational areas. They have a movie room where you can go watch movies with others if you want. The staff is very friendly, and very interested in working with me. They were very knowledgeable about what kinds of degrees of assisted living are available, and what needs to be done for those who require more assistance than others. So, all in all, I really, really liked it. The only possible downside would be while it's not in Bloomington, it's still a little bit out of my way, but that's just a very minor inconvenience, so I really couldn't think of anything major or negative. They did show me the menus that they had, which I thought was really good, because they have their basic food that they serve, but they also give you options if you don't want that. I got to talk to the cook and he also seemed incredibly knowledgeable and very energetic, so I think they've got a pretty good staff overall from the people I met."

"I'm in a three-story apartment building for people 55 and older on a fixed income and it's Thornbury Pointe. We have bible study once a week, we have cards a couple times a week, we have Friday night movies. There are activities. People just get together and talk. The staff is very good. Our manager loves to cook and so she'll fix lunch for everybody. We have a nice kitchen. It has a dishwasher, a nice stove, and a microwave. It's gas heat and gas hot water. The maintenance man here is very nice and very knowledgeable in how things go. That's the only two staff members we have. The people here all get along pretty well. We tend to help each other if somebody is down or sick. We try to take them down to dinner, or if they feel like they're closed in, we'll all go out to lunch or something like that. We help each other. And then besides the three-story building, they also have some cottages with garages. You can rent a garage there. In this building the mail comes to the first floor in our mailboxes. Packages are delivered to our door. We have trash bins at the end of the building. It's very well-maintained and clean. The layout is very good. You come in the main door and there's an elevator that takes you up to the second and third floor. And as you get off the elevator, there are signs to tell you which way the apartments are or whatever apartment you're looking for. The value for the money is pretty good, and we have just received Section 8 clearance."