Independent Living Communities in Norman, OK

"Stacy, Carolyn, Donnie, Randi and all the rest of the staff are great and caring people."

"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."

"The Carlstone was a very nice facility. It's a three-story building. We liked it. They had a library and a gym. It was probably our second favorite that we liked. It's a relatively new facility. It's only about 3 or 4 years old. The staff was very friendly and informative. They have a restricted entrance. You don't have a key to get in, but you have to know the code to get into the facility, so security is better here than in the other places that we went. They prefer to accept smaller dogs. One of the nice things about Carlstone is that there's a hospital two blocks away, so it's really close. They have a beauty parlor, a barbershop, and a mail room."

"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 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. "

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"We went to look at Belmont Cove. They've got an open house. They're cottages, and we like that. But it's about 50 miles, and that's a bit further than where we want to go. It's a very nice facility. The houses are all connected. They only have one garage there. They're all two bedrooms. It's a new facility. If it were closer, we would go here. It's a very large, spread-out facility, and they're expanding all the time. It's the most pet-friendly of the facilities we went to. There's a small backyard with a porch, and behind it, there's a dog run that's probably a couple hundred yards. Their houses are not furnished. They have granite countertops. There are two bedrooms and one bath. For a two-bedroom unit, it's a pretty good size. It's a rental house, but the whole complex is designed for seniors. They're in the process of building a pool for the complex. There's a community center associated with it."

"Several years ago we found a place called Savannah House of Yukon, and more recently we were just looking around to see what else was available. It’s a nice place and we have been here for two years. The place is convenient for shopping and travel. The people were very nice, all over 65 or 62, everyone mostly is retired. The surroundings were residential, the apartment is very nice -- two bedrooms and two baths. The people seemed to be very nice, there are some activities, but there is no activity director. "

"It is a time when your children are grown and the loss of a spouse puts your future in a whirlwind. It is a time when you wonder what you will do, where will you go, and where will you live. Will it be somewhere that will help you make the most of the future years that are troubling you now? Enter, Spanish Cove. I have lived here for five years now, and I can tell you without any trouble at all that it is the best decision my children ever made for me.I took the tour and the beautiful swimming pool was my favorite thing. My apartment is right by it. It is heated and enclosed in glass. The sparkling beauty of it only partly upstages the gorgeous plants and flowers inside that flourish all year round. In the summer, the glass doors on the ceiling roll back and the beauty of a summer day engulfs its beauty. It is my Garden of Eden. But that isn't all. There are state-of-the-art exercise rooms, exercise equipment, a sewing room, a library, rooms for exercise workouts, billiard tables, coffee lounging areas, and CD library with all movies to check out. There are art classes for the creative mind, and on and on. The beautiful Central Park for chatting in front of the fire pit with its beautiful fountains just sparkles in the day and into the night.. The campus is just spectacular with all the beauty of flowers and hedges, and statues. But even more compelling is the staff and residents. The staff spends hours planning and putting into place marvelous trips for our entertainment and sometimes for our learning current events so that our minds stay sharp and aware. We travel in a gorgeous brand new coach with all the extras that make travel fun. And the people are the dearest on Earth. They absorb your sorrows as well as your joys and they help make the journey into the last season of your heart, better than all the other seasons put together. Getting to decorate your new apartment is the most fun.....I even got to bring my two cats and decorate the apartment with cat trees, etc. any way I chose. Some say my apartment looks like a little girl ten years old lives there; that's okay....I will always be ten so they are nice to me and just accept it. I have made some of the dearest friends I have ever had while living here. I wish I could explain adequately how the staff just unbelievably goes the second--and third mile--for US. If you are looking, look no further. This is THE place to be. Needless to say I love it here......... YOU will, too. "