The Best Independent Living Communities in York County, SC

"I chose to move to The Senior Villages because my top priority was that it was close to my job, and I like how they set it up. It's not a place where people come in and do whatever they want. They have strict rules and regulations. There's no smoking inside the apartments, and if you do you are jeopardizing the apartment; you can get terminated from there. It's a nice, little community. Everybody minds their business, and they do a lot of little daily activities with the seniors who are not working. I like it a whole lot. The staff there is very professional. They own their job. They make their rounds and make sure everything is running according to protocol. If you need any assistance, you can freely go up there and they'll take their time and walk you through and explain what it is you're trying to search for. If they don't have the information they will get it for you. I respect their professionalism and how they function. They keep the facility very clean. It's like 900 square feet. You have a nice, big living room, a spacious kitchen, a big bedroom, and a bathroom. Each apartment has a patio that can hold about four or five individuals. It's a nice community, plus it's gated. You make your own meals, and everybody cooks their own food inside their own apartments. A lot of people go to food pantries to get what they need. They supply you with all the new information, they have meetings and group sessions with the church, and other things, but I don't participate in them. They have a nice gazebo, a lounge, washers and dryers, and a pool. You don't pay an electric bill, you don't pay a gas bill, and they give you free basic cable. That's excellent."

"My sister-in-law will move into Park Pointe Village. I liked the dining there, the saltwater pool, and all their activities. We have a small studio, and we're waiting for a larger room to open up. The staff was down to earth, very pleasant, and had a great sense of humor. The food was excellent, and there were lots of choices, and all the people were very friendly."

"I chose to live at Highland Park Mill Senior Center because it was close to the doctor's offices and to everything else since it was in town. The facility is a good size and the rooms were decent in size as well. They got different activities like bingo on Thursday nights. There was no dining area since it was an independent living facility. The staff were very helpful and nice to us. It would be better if they lowered the rent. But I would still recommend others to stay here. "

"We've chosen Traditions at Fort Mill. I liked their location and the size of their apartments. The staff was very professional, very helpful, and very polite. We're going into a two-bedroom apartment that's 1,400 square feet. They don't serve meals. They don't have a dining area. It's just a regular apartment for seniors over 55. It's for active people. They have a swimming pool and a bocce ball court."

"We visited Highpoint at Fort Mill. It was an open house so they had lots of food, which was good. It's a beautiful facility, very pretty. The apartments are very nice, but there's no outdoor space. We asked about walking on trails, and they said there's only a walking club and they walk on the sidewalks around the place. To be fair, it's only a year old. They're building across the street, probably stores and stuff like that, so the people who live there will be able to get out and shop on foot, and maybe they will have some outdoor spaces in the future. There was a tiny little two-chair thing out the front but it overlooks the parking lot. It just wasn't anything you wanted to do. I wouldn't be adverse to going back there and seeing it again, because the facilities and the apartments have this open feeling. The apartments were beautiful, very light and bright and I liked that. We saw independent living but they have graduated care if you need it. If you don't, you can spend the rest of your days in independent living. They also have cottages there which I think are not as pretty as the apartments, but I think there's hope for that in the future. I wouldn't go there now, but I would go back because it was pretty and bright. There was an outdoor patio where they had happy hours every night. They did not have a lot of activities yet. They have two movies a day, and the movie theater is beautiful. They had some exercise classes every morning, but I was looking for craft groups, book clubs, and discussion groups. I was looking for a community. That's very important as you get older. They had so much food. We only tasted a little bit but whatever we had was delicious. It looked wonderful and the people there looked happy. You pay one month's rent which is very reasonable. It's like an apartment that you pay month to month, which means if they don't fulfill their end of the bargain, you can just leave."

"There was nothing I didn't like. Everything was great. It had a very nice movie theater, and the facility was just recently built. The staff who assisted me with the tour was very informative, very helpful, and accommodating."

"We were more interested in Sun City; they had just about everything. They have a golf course, indoor tennis, a big indoor gym, a big indoor swimming pool, and an outside pool as well. They have lakes where you can canoe or kayak, and they have bowling on the green. It was only 10 minutes from my daughter’s house. "

"At Balmore at Ballantyne, you pay for your own electricity, but the water and trash are included with your rent. They have amenities like a community room and they have a fitness area. Other than that, you're pretty much on your own and in your apartment. I like that it's in my price range. The building is secure. I will get a card or something to scan. They have laundry facilities in the building. It's also close to a grocery store. So, I look forward to living there. The conversation I had with the staff was great. They sent me the application online. We filled it out that night and went the next day. I took that, plus everything else that I needed with me. I got on the list and once I'm approved, I got a unit. The unit I am getting is nice. It's not huge, but it's big enough for one person. It's brand new."

"Chambers Point at Ayrsley is a very friendly community and they have a very nice property manager. The process of moving my mom in was easy and it's very affordable. Their staff is wonderful. It is also very clean. The upkeep is wonderful and the grounds are beautiful. They have activities for the seniors, and they vary every week or every two weeks. They had a bingo night and painting. So, they are a really good community."

"Brightmore has a wide range of different units, and they don't require a large deposit. The minimum age is 62 years old, and you have to be independent. They do have assisted living, nursing care, and memory care if you want to progress in that direction. The rooms and apartments are very nice. I went to the tour, and I've seen the ones in the category of the size I'm interested in. They are all very nice, and the kitchens are fully equipped. They have restaurants, and they provide you one meal a day. It is very nice because they have three different dining rooms. They have a dining room, an elegant dining room in case you want to bring in guest, and then a coffee shop. They have everything like a swimming pool, exercise machines, and a library. "

"The Bungalows at Indian Land was not in a high rise. It's one floor and it has a garage. It's a rental and not a buy in. So, it's just what we would need. The apartments were very nice. It's two bedrooms and two baths. They're large and they have plantation shutters. They have a restaurant that you can go to if you want, but you have to pay for that. The place was very clean. I liked it a lot. It's neat, tidy, and we could take our dogs."

"I liked The Cypress of Charlotte. It was a little more modern and the lady kind of explained all the activities better. They had an indoor pool. She also explained the meal plan and how that works and we liked the fact that it was a place that you purchased versus a rental. The facility was great. The unit that we saw was small, but they had some larger places (once they became available) that we thought would be good. Everything looked nice. It was a little newer. The lady was very friendly and seemed knowledgeable about the properties. She'd been there for several years. The other staff that we interacted with as we were doing the tour were nice."

"We went to Waltonwood Providence. It is about 3-year-old new. Everything is really nice, new, clean, and pretty. It is impressionable. The rooms are very nice and are basically about the same size. They also offer lots of activities for the residents. They have beauty parlor, painting, art classes, and wine tasting. They have a place to go if you want to attend a church activity on Sundays and they also have a library."

"Barclay at Southpark was outstanding. It was just too expensive for us, and it's just a rental. The monthly fee was out of our range. I saw everything. The facility was wonderful. They had several restaurants, a pool, a workout room, and an arts-and-crafts room. Everything was excellent. They had residents in the independent living facility, but not in continuing care yet."