The Best Independent Living Communities in Cleveland County, OK

"Mon Abri was a very nice place, but it was just more expensive than what I could afford. The staff was very nice and caring. They showed me some of the places. The apartments were very nice and roomy. "

"The Carlstone is new and the interior floor is beautiful and modern. It had a dedicated saferoom for tornadoes, which we wanted. It had ground-floor apartments that you could go outside. On their second floor, they had another living area space and their Pilates is up there. We didn't go in there because they were closed at the time. They had additional space on the second floor. There are second-floor apartments. They had an activities room, but they were not able to show it to me that day. They just had a New Year's party in the dining area. They still had glitter on the floor and people were walking around with funny hats on. The apartment was pretty classic and it seemed to be the model that everybody is using. You walk into a modified kitchen area with some kind of flooring and then you go a few feet into an open space that is your living area, then the bedroom and the bath. I am not a carpet person, and I know that's modern for my generation. When I see apartments that are carpeted like this, I'm a bit disappointed. I understand some people like it for falls and things like that, but I have allergies and I'm not very fond of carpets, so that's just a personal preference. It was pretty much the standard one-bedroom apartment, but I've gotten three calls from them that they have apartments available that met my needs. The one negative is they don't have a coffee shop that the other place has. You have to go to the "desk" which makes you feel like you're going to the nurses' desk at the hospital and that's where the coffeepot is. There's no gathering spot where you could sit and drink your coffee and read your paper or anything like that. You pick up your cup, you go someplace else. The exterior is stark. There is no exterior planting. The area where the doors open out to kind of a central courtyard is not gated and secure. Unfortunately, the neighborhood is right on the edge of a major intersection and the fairgrounds can be a high traffic area. To me, parts of it should be gated so that you can feel safe. The staff during the tour was excellent. They apologized that they did not have a lot on the list because they were so newly open and that they had not filled all their apartments because of COVID. They were kind of doing it very slowly, trying to keep everybody safe, so they did not have a whole lot of activities."

"The manager at Savannah House Senior Housing was very nice. She asked good questions like what you wanted to see, what you were looking for, or how much room you needed. We looked at a couple of apartments and the two bedrooms were very nicely put together. There was plenty of room. It was probably some of the coldest days when we visited, so they had maintenance going around. Even their elevator quit working. It was so cold they couldn't keep it going. She then showed me the meeting room and they have activities there. They didn't provide meals. They were set up just to provide activities and you could rent it out and everything. It was clean and well put together, so it would be a nice place to stay. The only thing was the elevator was outside. You had a shelter to walk in, but if it was raining and blowing or something, you would still get wet. Sometimes in Oklahoma, we get icy below-zero weather. So in the wintertime, it's kind of hard."

"I went to Savannah House of Norman II. They're also owned by Carlsbad. They're a senior apartment. They do not provide meals, but they have like a recreation room where they have parties and you could rent it if you had a family gathering or something, you could reserve it for that kind of thing. They were very nice. It was probably one of the coldest days we had here so far in Oklahoma. It was right around Christmas. Their elevator quit working because of the cold. It's an outside elevator. Their facility has outside walkways that are protected from rain coming straight down, but if you had anything blowing, you'd still get wet or whatever. But it was very nice. The people were extremely nice and helpful with information. I looked at a two-bedroom-one-bath, and it was nice and clean and well set up, but it was a little higher than what I wanted to pay. The staff who toured us was a lady and she was one of the leasing agents. She was very helpful. She gave me a lot of information. We saw two different apartments. One of them had been mislabeled. She thought it was a one-bedroom, and when we got there, we found out it was a two-bedroom. It was a very clean place. You could walk up and down the stairs or you could take the elevator. But the elevator was outside so you were in the elements. "

"We will move into The Grove. It was all excellent. They just finished building some new apartments, which we're going into. It's one story. I don't have to go upstairs. There's no one above me. They have a beautiful clubhouse that has a theater room. Everybody is active. They're always playing games, having parties, and having potlucks. We have met so many nice people. So far, everything has been wonderful. The staff has been great. Everything has just been nice, comfortable, and easy to do, and the only hard part is us packing up to move."

"I toured Rivermont Independent Living in person. It was really good, and the people there were really nice. It was clean, and I loved it. I thought the apartments were beautiful, they were certainly spacious, clean, and I thought they had plenty of room. I was impressed, they had a big closet, and a big kitchen. The staff was very, very kind, very nice, and very polite. I thought it was friendly, welcoming, and they seemed to have a lot of activities for the people, which I thought was good. They had some that were just for them, and some where they invited the family, like they have a Thanksgiving dinner that the family can come to. The facility was older, like the decorations are a little older; it certainly wasn't remodelled, it was aesthetically fine, but it certainly wasn't brand new."

"My dad is in an independent living center. He is at Southwest Mansions. It's very nice. They're very well organized and very friendly there. They're very caring with him. They're very conscientious about all of their customers. They pay attention to their needs, and they keep them happy. The food is very good. They have a cook there. The amenities are very good. They have little celebrations for holidays; the residents love those. The activity rooms are very spacious. The residents go in there and they participate in the different activities. They have puzzles, sewing, and different games for the men."

"I was looking for an independent place to live and I found Autumn House. They have every single thing in the world that I want. You have to be 62 years old, disabled or handicapped for you to get in here. When I moved in here, I have been told that this is probably the best retirement center in Oklahoma City. Physically, it is a well-manicured place. The building is very well-maintained. They have their rules but I agreed with basically all of them, so I don't have any problems with that. I like the freedom that this place gives me. I'm free to come and go. If you're off the grounds or out of your room, they just want a little tag put on your door so they'll know. This place is monitored 24 hours a day. If you don't live here or you don't know anyone that does, you don't get in. Their staff is also excellent. "

"My mother is at Arbor House of Midwest City. It's excellent. It's complete move-in ready. We had to provide furniture, but other than that everything was taken care of. The food is excellent. They have physical activities, mind games, socialization, church, bingo, and there's a library."

"Whispering Creek is open and has lots of room. I like the neighbors, it's quiet, and they have a nice area to walk or run around. You can go out to dinner with a group and play cards and games like croquet. The staff is extremely helpful. I've only had a few work orders, and they handle them the next day. They had a Veterans dinner and a Memorial Day dinner, which were both very nice. I'm very pleased with where I'm at."

"I am a resident of Paseo Avenues. You can eat here or cook your own meals, but there's no extra charge. The food is excellent. Other than that, I'm used to getting sandwiches every day. The rooms are very spacious. You have a huge walk-in closet. The bathroom is so big that you can get lost in it. I share a room with two other females. The staff is very friendly, very knowledgeable, and very experienced in what they do. They are very caring people. There is a playground on the side for families that come to visit with their children, and on certain days of the week, there are meetings on what to do, and what not to do. They do board games, exercises, video games, and stuff like that. It's very affordable."

"I toured Mt. Olive Senior Cottages. It was an apartment complex. The place was pretty good. The apartments were spacious. It was easy to get around inside, and the bathrooms were well-equipped. They had a clubhouse."

"My brother moved into The Bradford. The place is really nice and very clean. They have either a 1-bedroom apartment or a 2-bedroom house with a garage. You have your own apartment, so you make your own food. They are all friendly and everybody wants to get out and meet all the other neighbors. It's just a really nice community. They have a clubhouse and they have different activities there. They just remodeled their clubhouse and it is very elaborate and very clean. On Sundays, they have a Bible study. And then on Mondays, they have a community dinner where everybody brings a dish. They also have game days."

"We have a facility for my mother called Southern Plaza Retirement and the deposit has been put down in the independent care unit. They're getting a unit ready for occupancy this coming June. The facility was well kept and well organized. The staff was very knowledgeable and very caring. If one needed an additional level of care like assisted living or memory care, they had all three services. It was located in the Town of Bethany, which is a small town. It was within a block or two of the church that my mother attends. The pricing was competitive with other similar services and other facilities. It had covered parking and it wasn't far from my mother's sister and it's not far also from where we live here in Norman. Those were the major points. They have one- and two-bedroom units. The one-bedroom unit was satisfactory for her. They provided dining, so they had food preparation and housekeeping and an array of social activities that she could partake in. They have qualified staff if a medical need would arise. It ministered to her natural needs, emotional needs, social needs, and even spiritual needs. They have ministers that come in and minister if she would elect to attend. They are a top-notch quality facility. Considering the amenities, the quality of construction, and the condition of that, they do a top job. The complex spans a block. It just depends upon which entrance you take to come into the facility. It's also run by the Nazarene College, so the people that are managing it have a spiritual orientation. They understand that a person isn't just a warm body roaming the halls. They have a heart and they have an inner person which also needs ministry. They have that dimension because they're ministry-oriented. It's not just commercially oriented. They're not just trying to make a profit, although they have to make a profit. They have memory, assisted and independent, and they have different administrators for each level. We not only took a tour with Lisa in the independent living, but we took a tour also with Debbie in the assisted living because at that time, it appeared that mom might be moving in with her husband."