The Best Independent Living Communities in Allegan County, MI

"My wife and I are planning to move to an independent living place called StoryPoint Wyoming. The exterior seems to be quite modern. It was brick and was very attractive and appealing. We also like the interior because I think the place was built as a hotel so there's like an atrium, a walk-around area, and it's open right up to the ceiling. I find it kind of attractive. We were able to see a 1-bedroom and 1-bath model apartment which we found, very bright, and adequately spacious enough for a 1-bedroom. It seemed to be well kept up, too. I also liked the idea that most of the apartments have either a balcony or a ground-floor patio."

"My friend moved to Centre Meadows which is a 55 and older apartment complex. I like the location the best. The least would be the lack of staff communication. They offer food drop-off five days a week, Monday through Friday. They do cookouts and they have luncheons (it's mostly female there and he's male). They also have a movie theater, hair salon, a game room that has a pool table, and a fitness room. So, it's an excellent value for the money."

"I visited the memory care facility of Addington Place of LakeSide Vista for my wife. What I liked best about it is that the quality of care appeared to be very good. The thing I liked least would be that it is a little older and not as modern as the others, but it's still very good. I only met the head of the facility, and she was excellent. The facility was very clean, but it was a little bit older, and the ambience seemed more confining."

"My parents-in-law will be moving into Rivertown Ridge. I checked out 16 places, and this one was the nicest. It fits their needs for going into assisted living. The residents and all the people that work there were very friendly. This place seemed very bright, pretty, and well-run."

"My husband will be moving to Blueberry Hill Assisted Living. We had a very nice tour of the place, and the staff was very nice and informative. They also have lots of things for the residents to get involved in. I don't think the assisted living room we saw was the largest, but there was nothing wrong with it. The upkeep of the place was very good, too. We went through the dining area, and it was very clean."

"I visited Freedom Village Holland. I was not able to see any of the apartments, but the gentleman told me about the different types they had. And since then, he has called and mentioned possibly going into one. I am somewhat familiar with this community because I know some people who live there. And years ago, I was friends with a woman who was in an apartment there, so for quite while I would visit her. I know that they have a pool, a fitness room, and an atrium. It is an open living area on the first floor where you can sit and chat with friends and visitors. It is nice because of its location, and it is one of the things that appealed to me. It is within view of Windmill Island if you're outside and there's a walking area along the river there. I also know there is a nice trail along there that I have walked and sat on and looked for birds before. It is really nice. The people I know who are there are very happy and the gal that I talked to a couple of weeks ago from my church is very happy. When I called, I was not anticipating moving there this year but maybe 3-4 years down the road, depending on how my health stays. But apparently there is stuff available now so that's a possibility too, I guess. When I got there nobody seemed to know about the appointment and I have to go to the desk and sign in. They then set me up with this gentleman who also did not know that I was coming either. But he was very gracious and sat down with me and talked to me and showed me different things and gave me pamphlets to take home. He was very welcoming."

"My father has moved into American House Holland. What made us choose this place is the location, the friendliness of the staff, and the knowledge and condition of everybody in the building as well as the building itself. It's very clean. My father has a 350-square-foot studio apartment. It's very nice and open. He has large windows for plenty of outside viewing. And it's conveniently located close to where he eats, so he doesn't have to walk very far."

"My father moved into River Ridge Retirement Village. It was the most welcoming community that we found. Everything is great there. The food is good, everything is better there, this is the best facility we found. They keep them pretty active there. They are upfront with what they provide, and they are very hands-on with their residents."

"We toured American House Jenison and it was very nice and very well maintained. I'm 50 years old, and it appealed to me. The only issue that I could see would be that the tub is not a full walk-in, where there's very little transition. It's kind of got part of the tub sidewalls and then almost like a U out of it where you step in there. But it was kind of still a high step for both of my parents and that would be the one thing that I would change, the actual shower stall, I would make it like a complete walk-in. The staff was very nice and friendly. We did not get to see the dining area because we looked at the independent. The dining area was in a different building, it wasn't in the same building. There was a washer and dryer on-site, which was nice for my parents, had they chosen to go there. They wouldn't have to take it anywhere. In American House, they were kind of split up into pods, per se. So, we didn't see the activities or question the activities or anything like that."

"The one bedroom apartment is pretty small, but very nice. The staff was wonderful! Very friendly and welcoming."

"Mom is at Commonwealth Senior Living at East Paris. She is in the memory care and our experience has been pretty good so far. She's new there so we're still kind of trying to see how things go, but the management was really kind and good about getting her in there. Occasionally they are not real quick to answer the phone, but I understand that they get busy trying to take care of people. The facility is clean and in good condition. It's all relatively new. They've just refurbished it, so it's nice. The color scheme is bright and updated, and not more dark and gloomy. This place is much brighter and feels more upbeat than the other places. Mom seems to be OK with the food. It's nice because they don't overstate what they have. They don't make it complicated. Some places write things down for the residents and they don't understand what they are because they put soup du jour instead of soup of the day, but there, they're just straightforward about telling you what they're having. Mom has gone out and watched some movies a couple of times, and they have some other activities and stuff, but I think there are some people who would probably like to do some things that are a little more active, more than just sit down exercises. Most of the staff that I've interacted with have been very kind and helpful for the most part. We've had a couple little hiccups with the things that were miscommunicated from where she was before to where she is now, but they've been trying really hard to get everything situated and make things work, and they seem to be kind and engaging with the residents. For the most part, they're doing pretty good."

"My mother-in-law will be moving into Sentinel Pointe Retirement Community. I think it's a little bit dated, but the people are very friendly. According to my wife, the rooms are a lot better at Sentinel than in a lot of other places, which is consistent with what my mother-in-law said, too. We just felt comfortable that the rooms were better. It's not as glitzy as some other places. The staff during the tour was very friendly and helpful. They're pretty good about taking residents to the store frequently and getting them out that way. I know they have certain other activities, but I didn't get into that too much."

"Our tour to Hope Woods Senior Community was a very good experience. There were lots of woods around and it's very well-secluded. It's a smaller facility and it just seemed very nice. There were lots of places to walk the dog and it was very clean and quiet. The manager was wonderful. We had some trouble getting our time together and she just worked with us until we got a time that would work for us both. She was so helpful and so nice. They were going to have a happy hour just as we were leaving, but they also have other things to do. They have therapy, a gym, crafts, card games, bingo three nights a week, and other daily things. They offered a lot. The rooms were nicely laid out, bright, cheerful, and exceptionally very nice. Entryways were also nice. I was just very impressed with the room."

"We did a tour of Heritage Community of Kalamazoo. I liked that the staff was readily available to explain how a continuum of care investment was a good fit for our family. They have a lot of dining options and socially active living for independent living to support long-term care, and for healthier living for as long as possible. I have tried the food and it's very delicious. The place is immaculate."