The Best Independent Living Communities in Dallas County, TX

"I have moved into Whiterock Court. I felt totally at home the minute I walked through the door. Everyone has been more than kind and gracious, and I feel like we're one big family. We're all here for more or less the same reasons. We have family, but we want to have a place of our own. I have no complaints about anything. It has turned out to be very good. I have my own apartment and three meals a day, which turns out to be very good food. There are plenty of activities and transportation if you need it anywhere. It's a beautiful setting. I just couldn't be happier. I think I made one of the best choices I've ever made. The apartment that I have is a studio, which is just more or less one big room. It has a very big window overlooking some beautiful trees. I'm on the third floor. There's an alcove that the bed kind of fits in, so it's almost like a separate room. And of course, you have your own bathroom. They're indoor rooms, and you have a balcony on the outside. There are one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments available also. I can't say much about them because I have a studio, and I'm very happy with it. I also have a pet too, which is allowable here. I'm able to keep her, and that works out very well. They have a lot of activities every single day like bingo and dominoes. They play beanbag baseball. They have a very nice library, a salon onsite, physical therapy, and an exercise room. There's a grand piano here and someone comes in and plays the piano occasionally. They have activities where they go to restaurants or shows. You get a community calendar for a whole month and it's full. "

"I visited the independent living side of The Landon at Lake Highlands, and it just had a very positive energy. I saw several residents, and they were engaging. They showed me an available room, and it was in line with what my mom needed."

"I will move into The Reserve at North Dallas. I liked it because it was very clean and nice, and there were a lot of people who worked there in the hallway. The room was very nice. We looked at the room, and a friend of mine came with me. The lady who helped us was excellent. Her name's Brittany. She answered all our questions, and she wasn't pushy. They have a refrigerator and a stove. They have a full kitchen, and they also have washers and dryers. They drove across town to come to pick me up because I was wheelchair-bound, and I didn't have a way to get over there. So, they used their vehicle and came over across town, picked me up, and took me over to the place. Then, I took a tour, and they brought me home. The food was good, but they accidentally brought me one of the wrong things."

"So far, right now, the Emerson on Harvest Hill has the top spot. I like the place and it's not that far from my daughter. It's only ten minutes from where my daughter lives. The people were very friendly. I'm allergic to cottonwood trees severely, and they have plenty of cottonwood flying around, but I like the people and everything. The only situation is the area that it is in. The apartments there are small for the furniture and stuff that I have. I like the manager. I like all the activities they got. I think my husband would have more activities and stuff there that he likes to do. He likes to play dominoes, and he enjoys talking to his neighbors. Now he doesn't go sit out on the balcony anymore. He stays in his room and the only time he goes out is when he goes to the store for his daughter to come and get him and take him somewhere. He doesn't even go out to eat anymore unless it's for a party or something, and he doesn't go to the movies, so I'm trying to get him more active around people. The person who took me around there was excellent. She was really friendly, and we enjoyed talking to her. She was very knowledgeable. They had a small refrigerator in the apartments. They have games and a movie room where they show movies like a theater room. They show different movies every night. And if you want to have a little get-together with the family, you can always reserve the room just for you and your family and watch a movie. They also have activities where they have little trips, and transportation to the stores, to doctor's appointments, or wherever they need to go. They have a bus that would take you where you need to go, drop you off, and then come back and pick you up. They have gazebos and they have a park for dogs. They have more than one area for that. They have a game room where they play cards. They have several different activities to keep them busy."

"It is a pretty nice place. They seemed friendly and attentive. It's clean. The room they showed me was the least expensive. It's a small room, but it looked like a nice place. It was quiet. It was good. They have a large dining area."

"I chose The El Dorado for myself because of the location. I liked how it's laid out. The atmosphere suits me quite well. The rooms are very nicely sized. The studios are big. I felt like I belonged there. The dining area is very much like an upscale restaurant."

"I've only been here at The Wellington at Arapaho for about six months. They have a lot of nice people and they're very attentive. Whenever you ask for something, you get it. A couple of times, I do not feel well, they knock on the door and bring me something to eat. I've been fortunate I haven't had to avail myself of a lot of their services, but I know they're there because I pressed the button one time when I fell and I had somebody in there within seconds. They certainly keep the facilities clean. I presume that you have to go down always to eat, although a couple of times I didn't feel well, and they had the meal delivered to me. Every Wednesday, I know that they have gone out to some restaurants and to the casino. They always decorate for all the holidays. It's a nice place to be. The staff is very obliging, like the one who cleans my apartment, and when I've gone to church and I came in late, they've always given me a meal. The people are very nice. The food is good and they give you desserts at lunch and at dinner. They've got bingo every day, church service on Sunday afternoon, and exercise classes three days a week."

"Preston S. and staff were wonderful and caring with my parents. Moving was very difficult, especially for my mother. Preston and staff came in, took care of minor details that needed to be addressed in apartment, finished helping mom unpack and hang up clothes, hooked up TV to cable, and more. Brookdale Club Hill went above and beyond to help my parents move so much easier! What a wonderful place and many thanks to all! "

"My first choice for my mom was The Waterford at Mesquite, but their personal care was too expensive for me. It was very convenient for me because it was just right down the street. I can walk down there. It's new and kind of set up like a hotel. Their apartments were laid out more for special needs or extended need clients. Everything could have worked out except that the personal care cost was just way out of my budget. "

"Lakeview at Josey Ranch was a beautiful facility. They have an excellent food, a pool, and a lot of activities. They just don't have assisted living and memory care, and I didn't want to go into a facility where if I needed skilled living, I would have to completely move to another facility that I'm not familiar with. I love the fireplaces that they have in the hallway though, and the nice overstuffed chairs that you could sit on and maybe read. They give residents a GPS or something when they want to go for a walk around the paths that are outside. That way if something were to happen, they would know right where they are; I thought that was good. The staff was wonderful and very informative while taking you around to several different types of apartments, and they're the only ones I know that had a three-bedroom apartment in addition to one and two-bedrooms. They had several people from the staff who came and talked about what services they offer, and they all have beauty shops and barber shops and things like that. The staff really did a good job."

"Briarview is excellent; however, there is absolutely no smoking anywhere on the property. Nevertheless, it is very nicely laid out. The staff members are very friendly. We also liked the apartment. Everything was good; however, they didn't have that outgoing tell-us-what-you-need-and-we'll-handle-it thing that we needed to hear. For someone else, it may be OK. I think it is a great place."

"The staff is very nice and helpful. There are lots of events and things to do. The church service on Sundays is very nice"

"My dad has moved into Atria Canyon Creek already. They have food and all the things an independent person would wanna look for, driving within 10 miles, cleaning service, all bills paid except the internet, and there's a full kitchen, that was important. The place was nice inside, they repainted everything in the whole apartment, and they change the carpet for you when you move in, so you feel comfortable. So far, so good."

"Emerson at Rosemeade Park was awesome. It used to be the Corinthians, and we had looked at it before for my father-in-law, and so I really liked it. People had dogs, and my cousin likes dogs, and the room we're looking at opened out to a courtyard. They had buses that would take my cousin to Walmart. Once a week, they'd go out to dinner. They provided the three meals, and it was close to where I live. It was seven to ten minutes max to get there on a busy day. The facility was great. We saw a lady that was 103. The people looked happy. They took my cousin out to meet some people that were out smoking to get acquainted and they were by far not your older, older people that were in wheelchairs or anything like that. We also saw a group later on as we were getting ready to leave, one of them could have been my grandmother or mother, and she was praying and four others were singing hymns. We really liked the atmosphere there. They were having a luau and we were invited to come, but my cousin wasn't interested because it was just really hot. They had activities. They would have doctors come. It was beautiful on the inside. The person during the tour was terrific. She had a sense of humor. I liked the room we saw because it was on the bottom floor and it had a patio where you could put two chairs or something, and all of the people let their dogs run. My cousin was happy about that, but her memory just wouldn't do it. Independent living is all there is. There's no move-up place to go. They would have to leave or have extra care brought in. Their dining plan wasn't real strict. You could go in anytime you wanted. It was served like restaurant style. They'd give you a menu and you would choose from it. They had a salad bar always. They had a library, a TV room, and an area where they did chair basketball. They had an activity room. They offered a lot, like they would have something weekly or monthly. They had media rooms that had movie nights and stuff like that. I really liked it. They didn't have the beauty shop or anything like that, but that's easily fixed."