The Best Independent Living Communities in Dakota County, MN

"I toured Chapel View Senior Health & Living Senior Living Community. It seemed very nice. The staff was very friendly. I didn't spend a lot of time there, but what I saw, I thought was really good."

"I toured Elim Shores. I like the price of the unit. And it was located by a lake, so that was another plus for me. It also had the capability of having assisted living, and you would stay in your own unit, and not move, so it has services where you live. Also, they would take a program in Minnesota called elderly waiver. They have three meals a day. You have the option of buying a meal plan. You didn't have to buy all three meals. You could pay as you go or buy a reduced ticket group. I like the availability of meals and I like the availability of assisted living and elderly waivers. As life changes for me, I will probably need all of those. They have underground garage parking, which is ideal in Minnesota. There's a beauty shop, and of course, crafts and church services, so all of that was appealing. They have units that view the lake. If financially you could afford them, then you could live there. I had a taste of their barbecue, and it was okay. They have a dock, so those who would like to fish that would be available. They were planning to buy a pontoon, so there would be rides in the water. I think they have a bus and take people out in outings."

"My mom will move into Oakdale Commons. When my mom and I were there, she just fell in love with the apartments because they had a nice little patio, a walk-in shower, and it had its own washer and dryer. They had a gym. They also had a conference room. They also had a kitchen area, where you could have guests come over and stay. Outside, they have a nice little area where you can sit and gather, and they have a gas fireplace out there. They also had little garden plots where you could plant tomatoes or flowers. Another thing that my mom liked was underground parking. The lady who gave us a tour went out of her way for us, and she was very friendly. I liked her a lot."

"We chose Covenant Living of Golden Valley. We liked how happy everyone was, the involvement of people in the community, and the interactions that people had with each other. The residents were just interactive, happy, and welcoming. It just depends which room you get. Some have laundry, some don't, and it depends on the size of the room. But one thing about them, there's a buy-in option, but you can redecorate your room how you want it before you move in."

"My dad moved into Benedictine Windermere Way. When you walk into it, it is so inviting. They always have fresh coffee and water there, and the staff is pleasant. The food was great. The facility is very clean. There's an activity calendar, and there's always something going on. They have bingo, and they have a bar place. They have a movie night. They play cards. They play left and right, and they play dice. They have a puzzle room, a library room, and a workout room. My dad has a studio, and I was impressed that he had a stove, a fridge, and lots of cupboards in the studio. They have a huge chapel. It's spacious, friendly, well-kept, and they have security."

"We live in RidgePointe of Minnetonka. It's an older building, but it is very well-run. The management is like family. We like it. The staff is wonderful. There's quite a bit for us to do. Cards are a big thing. On Thursdays, we always have an excursion of some sort. We have a dining room. You get three free meals a month. We have a bedroom and a den, two bathrooms, one with a bathtub and shower. It's wonderful. It was built in the 80s and they built the wall with cement blocks, so we hear nothing from the neighbors, upstairs or downstairs. The room on the top floor, I believe, is a little larger, but of course it's more expensive. We're paying $2200 a month, which I think is a very decent price. Another nice thing is they are sitting on a good size large piece of property. We pretty much have trees going all the way around us. We have a balcony that goes out that you can sit on. The bottom floor is called the atrium and it's a dome, which is all glass. Halfway around is glass and looking up this hill where they plant flowers and stuff in the summer. Every day, I get up at 8:00. We meet for coffee downstairs and it's nice. They vacuum and they wipe the kitchen and the bathrooms down. For dinner, it's butter cod with steamed broccoli and potato, a side salad, and a frosted brownie. Tomorrow night, it's honey baked ham. They had a Mexican street salad one night and honey baked fried chicken. They do a good job. They have a nice dining room with white tablecloths. Because it was built in the 1980s, there are some things that are a little outdated, but for the most part, I find it just so good. They have a lot of card games and games going on. On Thursday, we're supposed to go to the Minnesota Zoo. They take us to several plays. We have a happy hour at 3:00 for everybody. I'm comfortable in my apartment. I really like it a lot. A girl sets up all of these activities that we do. She has three exercise programs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She does chair yoga. She does just a regular stand-up type. We had this couple come in and played the guitar and sang. Everybody was so excited. The girl usually has hors d'oeuvres for us and we can choose wine or just punch. Alcohol is not a big thing here. We probably are less expensive than a lot of these places."

"I toured Ecumen Seasons at Maplewood. It has a continuum of care, in other words, if I can manage it in independent living, I can and if I need more help, I can add more services. So, it's not either or. It's more flexible in terms of what services I have to take. Plus, I can stay in the same unit even if I need to add care. I don't have to move to another section of the building if I go from independent to assisted living. It's a beautiful place. There's a huge walking path out in front and they have a walking club. And in the summer I like to walk. But the continuum of care was the biggest for me in my choice. They have an opening now, but I have to get my house cleaned out. So they said that they'll have openings in the fall. They know I'm coming then. The staff are caring and helpful."

"My friend will be moving to Benedictine Living. The food was fantastic and the rooms were awesome. I toured the memory care unit and it was the nicest one I've seen yet. It was spacious, bright, and cheerful. The people seemed nice. They were very helpful and they were not pushy. They knew that they had a good place to sell, and so they were forthcoming on anything. They had a workout room and sort of a makeshift space that they used for church and different services and stuff. They showed me the library. They had a quilting group that displayed quilts, which made it look and feel homey. The elevators were conveniently located plus I liked that they had stairs. If you wanted to walk up the stairs, you could walk up the stairs for exercise up or down. I liked how it was extremely secure. You couldn't just walk on and off the street. You had to either call somebody that is there or you talk to the office and they would allow you in. I liked how they're not hovering out the front door trying to make the residents there feel like they're being watched all the time. I loved the dining room area. I also liked how they could convert it into other usable space. I loved the view that my friend would have from her room. I liked the proximity of the actual building being right next to a line of medical clinics and a hospital. The biggest selling point was that they were the only ones in Northfield that had memory care on the premises. When I looked at the information as to what their upcoming events were, they would take them shopping, bowling, and to different places in the community for lunch."

"The rooms are older and small. The care is moderately good. The biggest complaint is that we purchased new comfortable clothing for him and within a week all but one item we purchased “disappeared” never to be seen again. They also “lost” a sweatshirt that was very dear to him. It is obvious that they randomly distribute clothing to other patients as we often arrived and he was wearing items that were not his own. I would be very wary of this place."

"We had my mom ready to go into Cornerstone Assisted Living, but we'd have to put her into memory care there. Having seen other memory cares, it's probably the best one but that's a drastic change, and it's not an environment I would want to put my mother in at this point. It's a very nice community, and the assisted living was beautiful. We toured the assisted area where they have a dining area, a solarium and activities. It was very nice. My mom would have to be sent down into the lower level, which they lock up unless family comes. It's a newer community, but the memory care rooms were pretty small, which my mother doesn't like. They also wouldn't allow pets, and that was a big deal for her too, and that was probably the last straw for her. From what I understand, it's normal for any memory care community."

"My mother lived at Oakridge Place. The price was good. You have a choice of doing a full meal plan, one meal a day, or two meals a day. They had wonderful staff there. We visited there. I thought that I was going to be able to have a meal there, but I didn't get to. I was a little late, and they were in the middle of their lunch. If you don't like what's on their menu for the day, you can do an ala carte menu. They could have said, 'Well, we can get you a sandwich quick' since people were still eating in the dining room. They could have done that. I think the staff either forgot or had to continue with the tour because I was late, and she had other things going on. The staff was wonderful. I visited this place two weeks ago, and the person who did the tour was Heather. She is new to that place, but she's very good and helpful. They had a couple of apartments that they were fixing up. After someone leaves a place like that, they thoroughly have to go through it and clean it. Heather did a great job. I was pleased with it. It didn't make a difference that I didn't get a lunch, but I think if they tell you you're going to get lunch, you should get a sandwich or something. They have a lot of activities for the residents. They had a lot of people coming in to sing. Sometimes, during the meal, they had light piano music going on and a lady was playing. It's not a place that I wanted, but it would be a great place for the right person. They were very efficient with everything. The dining room was very clean. The hallways were very clean and kept up well. They had a lot of activities. From experience with my mom being there, they have activities that are geared towards older people like bingo, putting puzzles together, and music. They have a van where they'll take you to the bank or they'll take you where you need to go. My mom was there during COVID the whole time and it doesn't bother her too much because she wasn't used to going out much anyway because she's blind and couldn't see. She had those books where they listened to the books. Those are provided by the Foundation for the Blind and that was her enjoyment for activity. There are good things for the people to do there. Overall (and I based it on what my mother was able to do), they were very efficient with that. They had therapies that would come in if your doctor agreed that you needed that. They had bingo, music, therapy, exercise, and some other types of games."

"I moved to Bay Harbor of River Falls. It's wonderful. All the people that live there are very nice, and they have wonderful activities every day. I enjoy it very much. The food is excellent. Yesterday, we had music in the afternoon and bingo. The dining area, they're remodeling it right now, and it's very clean and very nice. I like my room very much. They send somebody in once a week for 15 minutes to do the floors, the sink, and the bathroom."

"My mother wants to move into Eagan Pointe Senior Living. They have two-bedroom apartments available. When I walked in, soft music was playing, and the residents seemed very happy. A resident approached the staff and asked about something. She said, 'I'm on a tour right now, but if you tell this person, she can show you.' She engaged with the residents, which I loved. The rooms were great in size and kept clean. They were also in the same colors, which was very good. The facility had a library, a salon, a gym, a movie theater, and a craft room where they did puzzles and other crafts."

"I just moved into The Legends Of Apple Valley Apartments. I like that they have large windows, big balconies, and friendly people. It's just a nice place. Friday night, we had a potluck and a sing-along thing afterwards. They have lots of stuff for the seniors to do. Everybody was very friendly and helpful, and the apartments are wonderful. It's a restricted income, independent living. We don't have meals. We have a full kitchen and I have a washer and dryer in my apartment. I have a storage locker downstairs. We have a beauty shop and a gym with good exercise machines. We do not have a pool. They allow small cats and dogs; a lot of people have animals. It's just a wonderful place. We also have a library. I'm very pleased. The staff is wonderful. The place is kept well. We also have elevators and stuff to get to our floors. I'm very happy here. They have a lot of programs; I'm interested in the sewing club. They have a garden club, a book club, and they have Bible study. They have a music group that sings, not only here, but in other places. There's pretty much stuff for everybody here. This is less than a lot of other places we looked at, and to me, that was by far the best. I'm an artist and the windows are wonderful. They're light, bright, and sunny."