8 Independent Living Communities in Indian River County, Florida

William

I moved in this week. It's laid out beautifully, and the staff are good, so I'm very happy. It's a modern facility, and it's medium sized. It was very good and very nice. The staff has been very helpful. They have TV rooms, a game room, and everything you need.

Barbara

The Regency Park lowered my mother's rent, so she wouldn't leave, that's why we're still there. They serve great meals. It is a 5-course meal and that's the only meal they serve; the other ones are out-of-pocket. The people who work there are friendly and serviceable. Her bedroom is a bit small, but the bathroom is huge, and there's a double balcony that's screened in. It's a great layout. They have all the activities, water aerobics, bingo, they have a movie theater, and they have a lot of games.

AK

It's not our intent to move into The Brennity at Vero Beach right now. We were there several hours. We saw three villas and one apartment. At this point in time, our position is that we would be moving to a villa, and as we aged and become less physically capable, we would consider an apartment. The villas we saw were three different sizes, each had a garage, and some had like a Florida room, a patio outside on the back; they were all relatively close to each other, the yard was small. They were all within walking distance of the main eating area. We saw that they had recreation facilities, but because of the COVID-19 virus, we couldn't see 100% of everything. We could only see those places that were vacated. It's a gated community, which we liked. The pricing was reasonable. At this time, they offered us a discount if we were to accept to move in now. It was expensive, but it was affordable. We can afford it, but it's not cheap. The meal plans were OK. I think there were two meals a day, breakfast and another main meal; you can have it either at lunch time or dinner, a five-course meal. You have your own kitchen and refrigerator, so you can throw something together for another meal. They had onsite medical staff, which was important to us. One of the other places we went to did not have onsite medical staff. So, we liked the idea that there was somebody there that could check in on you. They could call in an emergency team if needed, or you could walk to them and get some nurse type advice. The staff members were excellent. There was one person that facilitated our time there as soon as we parked, and took us by golf cart to various locations, answered all our questions, and gave us a lot of information. At the end of the tour, they gave us a sit down, handed us brochures, went over everything we had talked about, and reviewed the pricing with us. So we walked out of there with everything we needed. We would start with independent living and then you can move if necessary onto assisted living, but we would start with independent living. The facility was very good. A meal wasn't offered, but we would have accepted that hospitality, but at the moment, because of the COVID-19, they were very strict. Only people that have been isolated, or who'd gone through quarantine period can stay there and have a meal; others, that have not, have to have a takeout, so you take a bag, they prepare it for you, and they take it back to your house. They are very strict for the sake of the community because of this COVID-19, so having a meal was not an option frankly. The facility was very good and it was very nice. It's not like there was anything lacking, but it was not top of the notch luxury. It was very nice, it was acceptable to me, not as nice as the house we live in, but very nice.

AK

I visited Regency Park Vero Beach. They describe themselves as cruise ship type accommodations, that was nice. They had one area that was for assisted living, and the other that was independent living. The views outside the windows were not as nice, mostly parking lot style views. The property was nice and well maintained. I think they just had a huge multi-million dollar renovation last year. The villas you have to pay a capital fee. We just looked at the regular rooms, which were two-bedrooms and three-bedrooms. We're looking for like a two-bedroom with a den, so it's almost like we have to have three bedrooms. They were nice. You pay a move in fee and that includes fixing the floor and updating the kitchen and so on. So we would pay a $10,000 entry fee and get everything we wanted in the kitchen and all the floors the way we want it. We looked at what they had, but because of the COVID-19, we could not see the amenities. We saw gymnasiums, yoga room, the indoor and outdoor pools, but they didn't want people that had not been quarantined going to these areas. They were careful. They were trying to protect their residents. The staff was very informative, helpful, kind, and polite. Included in your fee is about $500 of meals. The meals maybe cost $15 a day, so you could have one meal a day; however, if you want more meals you just have to pay more.

Just so you know

Lots to offer, but beware the unexpected Hurricane Surcharge! Single residents who evacuated were surprised after Dorian by a $500. charge, couples $750. Corp. rep told angry residents it was \"not negotiable, was for over-budget pre-storm prep costs, shutters, planters, etc.\". Since when are renters responsible for owner\'s exterior building maintenance?... watch out, there could be more than one hurricane a year. This is gouging the elderly.