The Best Independent Living Communities in Buncombe County, NC

"My grandmother is being taken care of by a great staff of physical therapists and attendants. She has several programming events to participate in per day and she seems to be comfortable in her living situation "

"I'm looking at staying here at Givens Gerber Park, at least until COVID is under more control. I have a good situation, and I feel safe. The first two buildings that they built were government subsidized buildings. The building that I am in has a buy-in, but it's a very reasonable amount. The rent is based on your income, but to a certain amount. You have to have a certain amount of income to be able to pay it, but there are several amenities such as my cable, a television, and my internet, and $125 to spend in the cafe a month. It was very delightful until COVID. They have been one of the stricter places, which is good, but it has been less enjoyable because of COVID. As it was originally established, I found it to be a pleasant place to be. There are single men, single women, and couples. They have one- and two-bedroom apartments, and they're hotel style, not garden apartments, and I'm on the third floor. There aren't as many activities as I might think, but they have a clinic. It's a doctor's office and it has a PA there certain days of the week, but nothing I'm paying includes that. It's all another cost to use them, but that has been provided since I came. I could go there and get my blood work done. The food was better when we ordered a la carte. We have choices on the menu for the week, but it's not as good. I can't blame them as much as I can because of the situation. My reasons for looking at moving is I'm anticipating a different level of care. I have back pain that limits me on getting everything done. I have to pay for somebody to come clean for me. I have an apartment and I found at least the kitchen to be bigger than two of the more expensive facilities in the Asheville area. They're all somewhat handicap equipped, but mine in particular has a walk-in shower and some of them have tubs, and you request what you want. The staff is very cordial. The maintenance guys are just like your buddy kind of thing. They're really nice. The kitchen ladies are very nice. They have very friendly staff."

"Compton Place is a nice place to live. The rooms are real nice and spacious. My aunt has a giant one bedroom with a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Some people have two bedrooms. It's real nice, but they're horrible when it comes to management. You can't find anyone when you need help or need to find anything out at all. They're just non-existent. They don't answer the phone, and it's very hard to get a person at all. It's the only thing I don't like about the place."

"I've chosen Pisgah Valley for myself. I have paid the deposit and got my name on the waiting list. I toured it a couple of times. The independent living was what I would want, but they showed me the assisted living facility as well. What I like best is it's a small community in a rural location. It's a small community of villas. I think there are probably 30 buildings with two villas in each building, and it's surrounded by fields and mountains. The people that I encountered were the marketing person, the wellness person, and the activities person, and all of them were just as nice as could be. They have something going on just about every day. There are shopping visits and visits to the cultural activities in Asheville. They have a community building where they have music coming in and different activities come to visit the folks there. One of the big amenities is the wellness center where they have a heated pool, and they have all sorts of exercise equipment. One of the unique things about Pisgah Valley is they do not have a food plan. The independent residents can prepare their own food or take advantage of all the restaurants in Asheville. They're not tied down to a food plan, which I found very appealing. They have a dining area for the assisted living and the independent living people can go there if they want to, but it's mostly just for the assisted living people. It's just a little dining area. The villas are up to 1560 square feet, two-bedroom, two-bath, living room, and sunroom. It's just the perfect living situation. It's very well maintained."

"I chose Trinity View because of the smell, the food, the separation of the residents, and the overall cleanliness. I also like the aspect of laundry being done separately, so my mother's is not mixed with everybody else's laundry. Some of the amenities and activities include pool, bridge, bingo three times a week, exercise classes based on the multiple abilities of the folks, yoga class, and a hairdresser. They also have a doctor on-call. They were very helpful in getting her set up with a couple of physicians and dentists in that area. The staff is very friendly and helpful."

"Everything in Ardenwoods was very good and outstanding. It was just the room sizes that made us choose something else because we wanted something bigger and more apartment-like. "

"My grandmother is living in Marjorie McCune's assisted living, but she was living in their independent living cottages before that. She really liked that she had her own space because she's not used to sharing a room at the assisted living level. The staff there is very devoted and they know everyone. It's pretty organized. The place isn't really brand new, not flashy or gorgeous, but it's perfectly nice. I ate there once and it's more like a cafeteria than a restaurant. There are no white tablecloths or anything like that, but it has a good sense of community, and it's still nice. It's one-story living, and it's not too big, so your family member won't feel like they'll get lost. It's not over-the-top, or too big, but it's well managed, it's cozy, and doesn't feel like a facility."

"Givens Highland Farms was new. It was very spacious and aesthetically pleasing. I walked through the dining area and it was very clean, they had a lot of choices, and it looked good."

"The one thing that I would say about Fletcher was that it was quite hilly. If you went into the place where you needed wheelchair or something like that, going around the independent living side would be a little difficult, but if you went into the assisted living, then you were fine. The housing itself was excellent. I liked that they had a lot of sunlight. The building as a whole was brighter with natural sunlight. As far as the independent living facility, other than the fact that it was silly, was a little difficult to go around, and had a lot of corners, I would rate it a 5. "

"Carolina Village was absolutely fabulous, and the visit was very delightful. The grounds are beautiful. The dining room and service were very satisfactory. The people were so friendly. "

"One of the key things about The Bridge At Lake Pointe Landing was the good pricing. My mother's allowed to keep her dog there, and they help her with that as well. She has her own little apartment that's very good for her. The staff is also wonderful, and my mother didn't have any complaints about the food. The place is very spacious and well-maintained."

"I have moved into Springhaven Estates. It's affordable, and the scenery was much better. I've only been here for two months, but I like it far better than where I was. I was living in an apartment building before, and it was just too close quarters for me. Springhaven Estates is a park full of mobile homes, but it's very upscale compared to others. The people are all very nice. I haven't found anything that I don't like about it yet. There's only one staff member, and she's wonderful. They don't serve food at the community. We all have our own kitchens, and we can drive to restaurants and stuff. There's a clubhouse with pool tables, and then there's a park with grills and all that kind of stuff."

"I moved into College Walk Independent Living 3 years ago. I was attracted to this facility because of all the activities that were offered, the cleanliness of the total facility and the people that I was dealing with and the fact that I had a dog and animals were welcome. I found that the residents are very friendly and I was made welcome immediately. The staff and care givers are outstanding. When I needed help with a problem, nursing, custodial or general, someone was there to take care of the problem very quickly. If you can live independly, but just need some help, this is the place to live."