Independent Living Communities in Anderson, SC

"Haywood Estates seemed like a very nice place in a nice neighborhood with a pleasant atmosphere. There was a reading room. Some people were coming in to play music as we were leaving. The staff seemed knowledgeable and open. It was a nice visit. "

"We toured here. They're clean and all, but if you're in a wheelchair, it's kind of hard to move around in there because they got ramps. The room was clean, but you got a problem with space. The person who accommodated me was very nice. They got a workout room and a library. The ramp is what turned me off there."

"The facility really needs some help for the aesthetic properties. The house looks really, really old and it needed to be remodeled. The flooring was not leveled. It had 3 or 4 different floors. The carpets and the rest of the stuff smelled like disinfectants. It's very, very strong! I just didn't like it. I asked the owner if the facility always smell like this and she said, " Well, we only use it in the commodes." I just can't believe that was true. Although, I love the lady because she was very open and she gave me more information about how assisted living works than anybody that I've talked to. But, I just wish her facility had looked a lot better and the furniture was a lot better because it was horrible. The residents seemed happy and even the employees seemed happy. They said, "We know you're going to love it. Your mom will love it here." But it just really broke my heart to see the condition those people were living in. They said they were remodeling and I could tell that they were, but they need some grant money or something to really update the facility. This is also a bit far away from my house and my concern is the distance factor. My mom has asthma like I do. I know that I would not be able to go there without having an asthma attack. The staff was great, but I would suggest for them to change the wallpapers of the facility to make it look new and bright. The rooms are not well-decorated. Well, I would bring my mom home before I would even let her go there. "

"My father is at The Legacy of Anderson. We've chosen the place because he needed to stay in his own community, his church community, his church family, and his neighbors, and he can maintain everything that he's able to in South Carolina versus trying to transition all of his records to North Carolina. The staff is phenomenal. The place is beautiful and clean. There are a lot of activities there. One of the things that we looked for was whether the residents were smiling or whether they were happy, and everyone we saw greeted us. I did not see one resident there that looked like they were mad. They just looked very happy there. The amenities are phenomenal. My father participated in a sing-along on the tour and my sister is trying to get him involved in some of the things like bingo. He's only been there a little bit over a week, so we're just trying to get him used to the place. He's had a couple of people there who have come check on him to make sure he's OK. There's so much to do there. There's a gym, a fitness center, a hairdresser, speech, occupational, and physical therapy practice onsite, a movie theater, a library, and a covered screened-in porch on either end of each of the floors, so they can go and sit there on a screened-in covered deck. There are a lot of other things that we've been discovering a little bit at a time as far as the amenities are concerned. It's one of those places that if I have to go somewhere to live, I wouldn't hesitate going there because there's just so much and it's very convenient and easy to get to, right off of the main interstate. It's the best that we got out of everyone that we've talked to. Other places are just so extremely expensive and I thought that The Legacy was closer to what we needed. We wanted a studio, which is a little bit less, but a studio was not available, so we opted for a one-bedroom. I would highly recommend anyone who's considering independent living to take a look at The Legacy."

"The memory care at Clemson Downs has 2 floors, and everything is nice and clean. It has a cafeteria/meeting room with a television on both floors because the patients can only be on one floor. The rooms are nice, and you move in your own furniture. Everything is pretty good, and the staff is good. They have crafts, artwork, religious services, and movie nights. "

"Clemson Heritage Senior Living was wonderful. I loved it, but it was just so expensive. It was clean. It had everything we were looking for, but we didn't qualify for the price. It is a private facility, there's no chance of having any kind of assistance through Medicaid or anything. It was laid out pretty well. We didn't get to see any of the apartments because they were all full, but the staff did show us inside the facility that had assisted living and independent living. It was easy to get around. It wasn't cluttered. The staff was very knowledgeable, very friendly, and very personable. They seemed to care a lot about the people that were there."

"Foothills Retirement Community was my first choice if I would move my dad. It was a complete facility. I tried their food and it was delicious. With regards to the room, you could choose the one you wanted. "

"My parents will be moving into the Legacy Reserve at Fairview Park. I like that it's new. It has up-to-date features and amenities. The room is a fairly good size. It has a nice kitchen that is very complete. It has a very big walk-in closet. They have 24-hour transportation, which comes in handy when they need to go somewhere. They also have assisted living and memory care on the same campus. The staff gave me a really good tour and answered all my questions. They have a nice saltwater pool, a fitness center, and a lot of nice dining options."

"I toured Merrill Gardens at Greenville. What I liked most first of all is the affordability of it. I didn't think I could find anything downtown Greenville that was affordable. That was the only place as far as the senior living community that was affordable and very nice. It was just a great location. This is pretty new. They have a restaurant there so I went and had lunch with the marketing guy and I was really surprised at how great the food was. It's really healthy and fresh food. They have a lot of nice amenities there. They even had a rooftop area where you could go and cook out and look out over downtown Greenville, which was fantastic. They had a nice pool area, I think it was heated. It was fairly small. I think there were like 140-160 units, something like that. So I didn't consider it that big. The only thing that I did not particularly care for was it was like a high-rise kind of setup like a hotel. The one thing that bothered me and I even mentioned it to the marketing guy, I liked him a lot, but as we were walking down the hallway, he pointed out a resident and said this, so-and-so told me her name and said, she's our oldest resident here and told me her age, and I'm like he's kind of divulging information. That bothered me a little bit that he knew personal information about residents and then was telling me about it. I'm a little concerned about people knowing my privacy, so that was one issue I had that I did bring up with them. They had a move-in special that was very reasonable. I think it was first rent-free. I think everything was included, all the utilities and the three meals a day, plus the snack and internet stuff. They had a good promotion going on. I think they reduced it by $400 a month for the next year and this was a big deal to me. There's no lease, so you could do it month to month. You do sign a contract, but if you want to leave next month, I think you'd have to get a 30-day notice. Then you could go ahead and leave, but the contract essentially said we're not going to raise the rate on you for a year. So I liked that about it. He said, if you live here a year, a month or so and don't like it, you can leave. So that was different, I thought. It's very modern as far as the style of everything, the colors were just really great. I didn't feel like I was in some old folks home."

"I have known this community for years. I am not sure who is writing some of the below as they have more seasoned staff who have cared for my friends and offer medical assistance beyond what other places provide. I would place my parent or friends here without reserve. They have some of the finest activities and events that celebrate Life and Joy I have seen. The staff at Springs treat residents like family. "

"We give Cascades Verde a 5, but we like the idea of having a long term health insurance and they donÕt have that. The facility is very, very nice. The rooms are beautiful. "

"I visited The Woodlands at Furman for my mother. It was open, friendly, and attentive, and had anything and everything a patient could possibly want. It was very nice and had big, well-decorated, updated rooms. The staff was super. The food was excellent. The activities were out of this world. They make sure they do a community activity once a month, have people who come in from outside to sing, play games, do arts and crafts, and take the bus for outings. It was pretty cool. "