We toured Matthews Glen yesterday. Outstanding. It was very impressive. if you're active, there are all kinds of things to do, all kinds of clubs. It has expanded and they're doing even more expansion. So one half of the campus is a little older, but the other parts of the campus are brand new, and they're gorgeous. The apartments look like something out of Southern Living magazine. They're just very attractive and very well done. This is also one with the bigger ticket buying, where you're paying for your health care when you come into the community. But they have three different tiers of pricing there. One is if you want to get some of that money back for your heirs, you can do that if you don't want any of it back you can. And they also have a program for people with long-term care insurance that has a much significantly lower buy-in price. So that is also attractive. It's a great place. There is a much wider selection of floor plans there as well. They have several pools. There's an indoor pool, there are outdoor heated pools. There are chlorinated pools and saltwater pools. They have physical fitness staff there in the rooms to help you develop a program. The staff, a young man, but importantly, he seemed to know everybody that lived in the place, which I think is fantastic. I think they had something like 800 residents in that one, something to that effect. But he was just saying hi, on a first name basis. The staff was tremendously helpful and friendly.

In 2018, I spent several months visiting retirement communities. In all, I visited 17 communities in 4 states, and researched another dozen. I chose this community, and moved in June, 2019. Now - 34 months later - I am glad I did. Those 34 months have been extraordinarily difficult for our country: the pandemic, extreme weather, rise in crime, political divisions. But here I have felt safe and cared for. Here I have friendly neighbors and attentive staff, lots to do and friends to do it all with. No regrets!

The food has deteriorated to very poor most of the time, heavy on carbs. No outdoor amenities - although promised - except for a plastic shuffleboard strip on a concrete patio overlooking the parking lot. We were locked up during covid with a sign slapped on our front door if we left campus. It took an attorney’s letter to set us free. We must make a reservation for dinner or call ahead to order takeout. One problem - no one answers the phone. And frequently my call has not been returned - despite paying for meal service. This happened three times in the last ten days. Management is incompetent. They hide in their offices and issue long letters stuffed in cubbies. I like my apartment, but that’s it. The community building is too small, no meeting rooms for committees, games, socializing. A therapy pool, not a swimming pool. Their insipid tag line - where loving kindness lives - is a joke. I do not recommend Matthews Glen.

We visited Plantation Estates. They had very nice facilities, were very clean, with a very friendly staff. The rooms were very nice and well taken care of. The amenities would have been sufficient for what my mom needed. The overall staff interactions were very good.

If I had it to do over again I would not move to Plantation Estates. I bought into the independent living, active lifestyle both on and off campus marketing. Until Covid 19, I did not realize their contract allows them to disavow any verbal commitments and change or make in new rules they deem necessary, And they can do it anytime in the future. I have lost my self directed independent living that I dreamed of. I would not recommend buying into any Acts community or any continuing care community without an attorney to advise you as to what rights you are signing away.