The Best Independent Living Communities in Wake County, NC

"We chose Woodland Terrace for ourselves. It is away from the very busy streets, so it's very quiet. It's just 2 blocks from Trader Joe's and all those places where I buy fruits. To me, the location was great. We only have 180 residents. We have a pond with a walking trail and ducks on it. The people here are extremely friendly. I just came back from a friendship committee where I am a volunteer. There are a few things that I would personally want different. But to me, the things that were of high concern were the heated pool, the walking space, the fact that it's not too big, and the freedom we have in this community. We have breakfast. You just get bacon and eggs and other choices. By 11:30, we have lunch. If you want dinner, you pay an additional $200. We cannot eat two of these meals. It's impossible. We eat fruit in the evenings and that's good. They offer the activities that I need and they have good facilities here."

"I will be moving into Atria Oakridge. It's friendly and clean. They provide meals and they clean your apartment. The bedrooms are a little small, but they have a den, and the apartment I was looking at had a screened-in porch you could go out on and sit and enjoy the fresh air. I liked that about it. They have activities. They have video bowling, poker night, and other social events. All the staff I have met are very friendly and I met some of the residents and developed a friendship with one person. He's friendly and we talked a lot. They're the best place I looked at and I looked at several places."

"All of the physical features are great...so are the meals. However, many of the Independent Living options that my wife and I visited shared these attributes. We have lived here 13 months now. What I now realize is that what I like best is the sense of community. It is something you can not directly see as you tour various options. I think here at Atria Cary, the sense of community is nurtured by all of the engage life activities and the open seating for meals. It feels like everyone is a friend. We exchange stories and many laughs at meals. We share and develop new interest at so many activities. Another "not-directly-observable" attribute is the management team effort to listen to feedback and suggestions from residents. They schedule regular feedback meetings for each of the directors to listen to comments and report back results of earlier suggestions. So, Atria Cary is an evolving community meeting ever-changing resident needs."

"I've been here 4 months, made good friends and love the active activities. Everyone is friendly and helpful. I am really enjoying my time here. I'm close to two of my sons and see them often."

"I toured the independent living community of Jordan Oaks in Cary. So far, I liked it better than anywhere else. The people and staff seemed very nice. I met the manager there, and he was very good and very helpful in making me understand what was included and not included in the price. The location is very close to a lot of my doctors, so that is a very big plus. It was very close to town, toward Cary, and it was very easy to get from there to Fuquay-Varina. Everything seems to be quite clean. The place was very well-kept and neat. The structure was very nice. I also like that they have a library. It was small, but they had it. They have an exercise room, too. The apartments were just kind of what I was looking for. I'm looking for a 1-bedroom, and I thought the bathroom and closet spaces were very good. They had some amenities that were included in the price, which I like. Overall, I liked it very much."

"We toured the Reserve at Mills Farm. The person who showed us around was very charming and knowledgeable. We told her what we were looking for, and then she gave us a tour of the facility. She sent us home with some paperwork, information, and maybe floor plans. She did take us to a unit. The ceilings were tall. It was lovely. All their units have a patio, which we'd be very interested in for a little outdoor space. The patio is small. It's just enough for two chairs, but enough to sit there and have coffee in the morning. She showed us all around, like a game room, dining rooms, outdoor spaces, and common areas."

"What I like about The Cambridge at Brier Creek is the wide-open spaces, the hallways that are very wide and easy to walk on, and the whole ambiance. It's not a very old place. We are both in our 80s, and it is something that we could visualize living in. Some of the places that we looked at we didn't find appealing at all because of the different scenarios that they had. The person who helped us was excellent. Katie was upbeat, very personable, very outgoing, and very professional. She is all-around a great person to deal with. We did have food, but it all looked really, really good. They have several dining area choices and a snack bar. They offer coffee 24 hours a day in the lobby. The food looks good. They have a lot of game rooms, they have puzzles, they have card clubs, and bingo. There is a huge gym and a swimming pool. You could do laps there. They have a pool if you want to do water aerobics, and then they have a hot tub that you can utilize. They offer everything as far as entertainment and physical fitness. They have transportation to your doctor's appointments and to different shopping sprees. They go out for lunch and dinner. You can book reservations with that, so that was another thing that was great about it. We looked at six facilities, and this is the one we like the best. The staff was excellent. We met quite a few already, and they were all really friendly and willing to help in any way they could."

"I went to see Brier Pointe Retirement Community and toured the place for independent living, and it was a very positive visit. I was with a friend and the person who took me through showed us everything around. We went through a model room that was furnished, and then we also went through one that was unfurnished. Quite frankly, anything I see after that will have to meet their standards because right now, they are number one for me. I have no negative thing to say about them at all. They have on-site physical therapy and a physical therapist on duty. They have a 24-hour manager and a concierge service. All of my doctors are in Chapel Hill, and when I'm no longer able to drive or feel comfortable driving, their transportation would take me there. Everything they had was a plus. They're pet-friendly, and there's no extra fee for a pet. They offer three meals a day, and they have a 24-hour chef kitchen and pantry where they have salads and sandwiches that are already prepared. It also has juices, soft drinks, and things you can just go by and pick up. I also like that they are not plated meals; it's a buffet. They have two soups a day that they change constantly. They post outside the dining area the activities for the day as well as the menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their theater is very plush and nice, and they have movies there. They also bring in live entertainment. Today is when they're having a Kenny Rogers impersonator. Their calendar is very full. They have a large craft area that includes sewing machines and places where you could do quilting and that kind of thing. They have a separate library, too. All of their amenities were just very nice. I like that they don't use a lock and key but a keypad. The only key is from the manager. You have a choice of a bracelet or a necklace for a Life Alert system. They have a full-size washer and dryer in all the units. They have weekly housekeeping that includes changing the sheets. All of that is inclusive, and there's no tipping allowed, which I like."

"The staff are very helpful and responsive. They care about checking in with you and your loved one. The lease process was transparent and easy to navigate."

"I was very satisfied with Cambridge Village of Apex. When I'm ready to make the move they will certainly be the top contender. They had what I wanted. I was looking for a place that had an indoor pool. They had that. The apartments looked fine to me. I met and talked to a few people. The only thing that was a downfall was that the annual percentage goes up on the apartments from year to year. I understand people have to make money. I didn't want to move into some place where four or five years down the road I would have to move. I told the girl who toured me, when she followed up with a phone call, that that was the thing that I was a little bit apprehensive about. I met the marketing director and the head of activities, and I thought they did a good job. It was the marketing director's job to market the place, and she answered all my questions. The place was very clean."

"The Lodge at Wake Forest only had apartments on the third floor at that time, and I was looking for the first floor. The staff, the cleanliness, and the structure were excellent. The rooms were fine."

"Hayes Barton Place is at the top of my list. I visited their model in September, and then I went back in February when they opened, and I just got an invitation today to go to their open house. I walked in, and I knew I would fit in. People looked like me; they were active. They have a big fitness room, an exercise class, and a swimming pool where people are doing aerobics. This is an active community. They have a library and all the amenities that all these places have. Their rooms are nice and updated. They have beautiful appliances. They have a great kitchen, a living room, and a dining area. It's either a two-bedroom-two-bath or a one-bedroom-and-a-den. It is exactly what I'm looking for. I walked in, and they greeted me. The lady that I met in September showed me all around. They loved the place, and you could see they were happy. They have five different places where you can dine, which is one of my concerns. If I'm going to eat a couple of meals a day, I want to have choices. It's just a beautiful, brand-new facility. They have a bocce court, a putting green, a pickleball court, and a cornball. They have things that I like to do. The size of the rooms is good. They have nice bathrooms and beautiful kitchens. It's brand new, and it's state-of-the-art. They had dogs, too. The people who were there had their hair done, and they had smart clothes on. They were my age."

"My sister-in-law's mother is at The Oaks at Whitaker Glen, and it is a very nice facility. It is very clean, operates well, and the staff is nice and helpful. They adhered very well to the COVID protocols, like not allowing anyone in unless they were caregivers. They have lectures, bus trips, movies, and an exercise facility. The food is excellent, too. She's very happy there."

"Overture Centennial 55+ Apartment Homes is the best place we have found, so far. The facility was new and very pretty. The apartments were a bigger size, with several different layouts to choose from. It had a pool that was ADA-compliant. They had a big workout room, a large craft area, a movie theater, and a really pretty courtyard around the pool that you could use to grill out or to have social gatherings. It was just a very well-planned community. They do not serve meals. They have people come in and give talks and social gatherings, and they do provide food at those. We had a good girl that gave us the tour, and she was the activities person."