The Best Independent Living Communities in Washington County, OR

"What a Great community! Very homey and warm. Residents are smiling and going about their business with friends. Staff is Friendly and very helpful. The community is clean and inviting. I plan on visiting more often!"

"Bonaventure of Tigard was wonderful. I liked that all the rooms were big and all of them were different from each other. And also, they were beautiful. I like everything about it except that it's way too expensive. The staff members were wonderful. Everything was fabulous."

"I toured Calaroga Terrace, and I knew immediately it was not the right place for me. The person who took me around was the most vivacious and the most positive person. Debbie was wonderful. I think she was the marketing manager or the sales manager. She really was a dynamite person, but the place wasn't right for me. The sizes of the rooms were OK, but they did not have stoves. While I am 83, I still love to cook. They provide three meals a day, seven days a week. The place is older. It's a renovated hotel, but it looks tired. I wouldn't fit in there. It's the only high-rise that I toured. I noticed that there were birds that were using the windows on the ninth floor, and I wondered how often the windows got cleaned. Inside, the cleanliness was fine though. They had two libraries, a lounge on each floor, and a craft room. They had the typical amenities that almost all of these had."

"I chose Elms Retirement Living Center for my mom. Upon walking in, I felt like they were welcoming us and not judging. It's privately owned, so it doesn't have that corporate feel. For them, everybody is an individual and unique, so they assess and listen to what you have to say. Their food is awesome, too. Everyone is amazing, especially the worker guys. My mom likes hanging pictures and they do all of that for you because they want the responsibility, and they're very, very patient and wonderful. They have a pretty chock-full calendar every month that they publish. They have soda nights or ice cream nights. They have art classes, religious classes, and music appreciation. They have a lot of indoor activities. The only thing I can say about their external activities is you can't go on them if you have a walker or even a fold-up walker. Mom has a 1-bedroom apartment and it comes with a refrigerator, a 4-burner stovetop, and a little pantry off the kitchen. It has built-in shelves as well as a long hanging area rack. Every room has a balcony. They're redoing the balconies right now, and they're doing it in such a manner that it doesn't disrupt daily life for anybody. They have an air conditioning unit and everything else is free. They have cable TV, but if you want Internet, you do have to get your own Internet."

"Mom is at MorningStar at Laurelhurst. It is very clean. Most of the caregivers are very caring and loving. They enjoy what they do and care for the residents. There were a few issues at the beginning, but things are better now. No place is perfect. I was given a couple of opportunities to have a meal there, and the food is always very fresh because the memory care patients are always served first. It's nutritious and they have a really good chef. There's a good variety. There are a lot of coloring activities (they have adult coloring books). They also play music and then have movies after dinner. They have other activities that I noticed on the board, like going for a walk and trivia things, but Mom's not interested in any of that stuff. She's very picky. She's always just sitting there, totally bored."

"We toured Portera at the Grove, and the rooms were larger than anything else we looked at. The staff there was wonderful, and there weren't any problems. They took us around and showed us everything. They were just setting up the activities back again because this Covid thing knocked everybody off. They did have different activities like quilting, and stuff like that. They used to have bowling, and now I think they're getting back into that."

"The Courtyard at Mt.Tabor was very nice. I liked it because there was a lot of space. There were two memory care facilities there. I loved them both because there was a lot of room. Activity directors were there and working. It seemed like everybody was enjoying themselves, and they were happy, which was important to me. They looked like they were content and smiling, so they were comfortable. What I liked about this one are the colors, which were green. It looked very nice and was well-kept. I liked the way it was laid out so that the memory care patients couldn't get lost because they just went around a circle. I like the rooms. I like everything about it. Their staff was very attentive. They were all very friendly and had smiles on their faces. They seemed to be doing their job and liking it."

"We looked at Solista Newberg by Cogir and that's probably the best one. We like the rooms, and the people seemed to enjoy living there. It seemed like it was well-maintained. The staff who gave the tour was helpful."

"The thing that I noticed first off at Brookdale Newberg was how beautiful the dining room was. I imagine that the residents feel like they're eating in a five-star restaurant. There's white tablecloths and there was a two story set of windows with a beautiful view of the courtyard. It was just very elegant. They had ice cream socials, games, and a jukebox. There was a little 50s diner upstairs, and one of the residents, an elderly gentleman, was the disc jockey, and he was up there getting ready for the afternoon's entertainment. So, that was fun to see. It's a beautiful facility."

"I like Solista Milwaukie by Cogir the best. I liked it because I liked the environment, I liked the people, and it was the most affordable one if I had to move right now. It's independent living, and then if you need additional care, they have a company that they hire people to come in. I love the location, the environment, the people, the affordability, and the things they offer as part of living there. It is relatively close to McLoughlin Boulevard and other places that I could walk to and shop at if I were able to. It offers a bus to get to whatever things you need to, including medical appointments. Meals are included; they are not extra like at some places. I did not eat there. It wasn't mealtime at that time, but they welcomed me to come back any time. They've sent me emails inviting me to events, but I don't have a car, and I'm not close enough to attend any of those. I saw the dining area, though, and I loved the overall size of it. It wasn't huge, and it wasn't tiny. I just had nothing I didn't like about this place."

"Brookdale Wilsonville was nice. When you walk in, it's very open and friendly. The staff there was really good. I liked the rooms better, just the layout and the design of them. Everyone was super friendly when you first walked in. The people that were living there were very friendly. They had a garden area, which was a little farther away and that's the only thing. For most residents, it's a little jaunt across the parking lot to get to it, but other than that, it was good. They had a nice dining room, a good TV/movie space, a lot of people out doing games and playing cards and stuff in a lot of the areas, so it was nice. They had a nice fireplace, a piano, a library, and a reading room."

"I am at Cherrywood Village and I am very happy here. They keep the place spotless. The facilities are kept up very nicely. They're adding elevators right now so that we have two elevators in each one of our high-rise buildings. We practice the Fish Philosophy, which is taking care of each other. So, the staff takes care of us and we take care of them. I have a one-bedroom and it has plenty of room. Even the studio apartments are adequate. We get three meals a day and they are very good. We have a rotation every five weeks. So, the menus that we have are different for the five-week period. We're back to having excursions now every Wednesday. That includes going to the theater, to the grocery shopping two days a week, or to medical appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays (with free transportation). We have a concierge, a theater, a beauty shop, and nail care. There's something going on all the time. There's bingo nights, all kinds of card playing all the time, and a book club."

"I like Somerset Lodge. Everybody that I talked to said it's like family. They invited me to lunch, and lunch was good. The people were wonderful. Everybody was wonderful. The person that took me around was great. She spent a lot of time with me. It's a beautiful location. They have big green areas for walking. It is very high on my list, but I'm not sure if I can afford it in a year. Maybe it will be a little too expensive for me. The food was very good. I was sitting with three very nice ladies. This lady who took me around gave me lots of time, and she was a star. They have just decorated for Christmas. The residents decorated it and they did an unbelievable job."

"We went to Glenmoore Gracious Retirement Living. They have two-bedroom, two-bathroom units, but none are available at this time. They had a very nice dining room. The building and its surroundings were very nice. We had lunch there, which was pretty good. The staff seemed pretty good, too."