I'm living in Charlestown by Erickson Senior Living. It's a little bit too big, but they do very well with it. They have the assisted living area as well as the independent and then they have the extra care. They have interesting programs. They have a lot of things that keep you well and happy. I'm quite satisfied here. My daughter is nearby, so that helps, too. I have a one-bedroom-one-bathroom. Some have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. I have a large walk-in closet and the living area is very comfortable. The kitchen is quite sufficient with a refrigerator and an electric stove. The staff are very helpful. I get 30 meals a month, and I choose to have an evening meal for 30 days. That's what I pay for. The facilities are very good. We have a lot of activities.

My overall impression of Charlestown is that it was weighted heavily on the senior side. I saw a lot of people with walkers. I'm in my early seventies, and I had the impression that most people were in their mid to late eighties into their early nineties. The people were friendly. I was in one of the rooms and it was very nice. It had a lovely view. I did not eat a meal there. I was not invited by the person who toured me, but I was offered by my friends to join them, but I didn't have time. The grounds were fine. You are living there in a busy area with very busy freeways all around. But you're in the greater Washington, D.C. area, and that's to be expected. The location would give you access to a lot of cultures just because of its placement. You have exposure to theater, opera, or anything that you wanted. I know they have a church on the property, it's an older building. They do have a gym, and they do have activities. They have a hairdresser and certain things along that line. They have grounds there where you can see everything from the highway, all the buildings, and everything, and that you are not surrounded by a lot of trees or landscaping and things like that. For me, I gave it a rating of two, because I didn't feel that it had enough people in my age bracket and enough activities geared toward staying fit at my age and with my background that I would be interested in. I almost had the feeling that I wanted to escape because everyone around me was so elderly. I had no problem with the elderly, I just felt that it was way too premature for me to move in that type of situation. I only met one person, and I believe he was the director. He was very nice, very welcoming, and extremely helpful.

I went to Charlestown by Erickson Senior Living. They kept it very, very clean. It's a little more aggressive in its marketing. The staff is very good. I had snacks, and it was well prepared. The dining area was airy, spacious, and well appointed.

We're moving into Charlestown by Erickson Senior Living in Catonsville. I like the fact that it was close to my daughters and son-in-law and grandkids. I like the area and the people I met. I have met several residents that seemed very nice and enjoyable. Speaking with other people in the area who have had either friends or relatives living there, not one person has anything negative to say about it. It fit our budget. I think there are five different dining rooms. Our apartment will have two bedrooms, and two baths. It's up on the third floor. It's got a beautiful view of a nice little courtyard. It has a fantastic swimming area and a gym. It has intermediate care, memory care, and a Parkinson's area, which is very important. It has a lot of amenities and a lot of groups. It seems like it has a lot of activities, a lot of ways to meet people, and a lot of self-service. It has buses all over. It checked off almost all the boxes we had. We talked to the physical therapist, and she was very willing to help and told us the different programs they have. The social worker called and told us again about the different programs like they have Rock Steady boxing, which is for Parkinson's. They have a support group for Parkinson's and Parkinson's caregivers. We met some of the dining staff and they were very, very helpful and very interested in what you had to say about their food. They had someone help us design our apartment, what furniture we had, where it would fit, and how it would fit. The sales staff was very, very cooperative. We were able to give them the financials and they showed us what we could afford, not just what we wanted. I use a walker, so they considered that. There are 11 or 12 different buildings, but they're all connected via climate-controlled walkways. If I live in like building 7, but I want to go to the restaurant building, you never have to go outside. You get a designated parking space. Everybody from the sales office to the moving people has been very, very cooperative and very, very helpful. We had two meals there and I thought it was very good. It was a very varied menu. It's monthly that you can look at it and it just changes with the seasons. It's beautiful and very well maintained.

I was very impressed with Charlestown by Erickson Senior Living. I absolutely love the place. I love the fact that they had an indoor pool. I love the fact that they have a variety of activities. I love the fact that they had a variety of restaurants there. I love the setup of the apartments that they had. I love the fact that they had a room there that you could use for meetings and conferences. They had the little store type of place where you could go shopping. They had the bank. They had the beauty salon there for the hairdresser and barber shop. I love the fact that they had help there for exercising in the fitness center. I love the fact that they had the physical therapy set up there. I loved Charlestown. The only negative for me at the time was selling the house and coming up with a large deposit that I needed there.

Charlestown Senior Living Community was very nice, but it was just too expensive. They're asking for a substantial deposit and all that kind of stuff, so it was just too much for us. They have a gym, a pool, and a medical doctor on staff. They have a dining hall, and they provide one or two meals to the residents.

Would have like to know how Management planned to raise prices and reduce services as they have been doing!

I rate Charlestown Senior Living Community very highly, and I may go back there sometime. I liked it very much, it's a little expensive, it had a lot of activities for people to engage in, and it seemed to be very well run. They had a lot of different food places, they had a lot of people there, and it was fairly large.

Charlestown was lovely. We were given a personal tour by the salesperson of the facility and were very impressed. Lunch was excellent. I would move there. It was a community that had a church, a hospital, and a continuing care or graduated care system. It's almost 1,500 units. It had seven restaurants within the community, multiple recreation facilities, and buses to shopping on a regular basis.

I visited Charlestown, and it’s enormous. I ate dinner there and the food is good. However, I would prefer bigger rooms. They have a swimming pool, physical therapy room, and a garden.

Charlestown is nice and has the entire continuum of care. We're just having a problem with the diet. They provide a diabetic diet, but they don't seem to care about the sodium intake of seniors. My mother has a nice two-bedroom apartment. She's having help come in, and we're cooking her meals for her. There are a multitude of activities if she cares to participate. The maintenance crew is very nice. They have a library, game room, model train room, and a fitness center with personal trainers. It's like going back to college for seniors without the pressure of studying. They provide one meal a day, but frequently it's not low enough in sodium so we supplement. They have a nature trail.

Charlestown was excellent, my husband fell in love with the place. We visited the independent. They were working on the new assisted living building, and we had not toured assisted. It was too big and too expensive for me. It's not the monthly fee, but it's the entrance fee. It's entirely too big and I didn't like that, you can get lost and you would probably not feel the closeness. I think it is entirely too big for what we want, it was just too much for us. The dining area was absolutely gorgeous and the food was delicious. The person that showed us around was pretty knowledgeable. There was a resident that also went with us to answer any questions we may have. We were also able to tour her apartment, which was beautiful. They have all kinds of programs, but it's too big.

Charlestown has everything you could possibly want. They handle everything: they handle your move; they send people in to pack for you. I go there to eat every now and then. The food is excellent. They have 7 dining rooms. You get an apartment. They have many models to choose from. It's independent living, but they have assisted living and a nursing facility there in the same community on the same grounds. If I should need it later on, I can go into assisted living or the nursing facility.

My parents moved to Charlestown about two months ago after we searched the Baltimore area extensively for the right place. This was a difficult move for my parents because they were selling their home in FL and traveling quite a distance. We chose this area because they are now closer to family members and they had spent much of their lives in the Baltimore area. Charlestown staff members helped in making this move as comfortable as possible. They were very responsive to our needs and especially concerned with helping my parents adjust to their new community. They have provided wonderful support to them (and continue to do so) which has helped make this stressful transition much less stressful and actually very pleasant now that they are getting settled. The other residents are very friendly and helpful as well. Having a medical staff and physical therapy right on site has been a big plus. They are both involved in activities which is a big change for my father who had become somewhat reclusive living in FL. I thank Charlestown staff and residents for recognizing his needs and working to get him involved. My mother is naturally outgoing, but was struggling with the adjustment, but is now very involved in the many activities offered.