My brother has moved into Cottingham Retirement Community a couple of weeks ago and we have just moved the rest of his furniture in today. So far, we're happy with it. It's just a beautiful facility. It's very comfortable, very safe, and clean. The service seems to be very, very good. They have all kinds of activities. They have housekeeping once a week that will come in and clean. It's all part of what you pay for your rent, so it's very inclusive. He's very happy, and we feel that he's in a safe place. The only thing I could say that's negative is that my brother is a vegetarian, and they don't have many vegetarian entrees, and so he is not very happy about that. Otherwise, everyone seems to like the food. He will eat the side dishes if something is just meat, so that's negative. They're very reasonably priced. They have arts and crafts, there's a club that goes out for lunch once a week, they have transportation to the doctor's appointments and shopping twice daily, they have a library, and they have a piano. There's something for everyone. They even have a DVD library. They could borrow movies for free. They have movie nights in the evenings. They have all kinds of activities.

I put a downpayment at Cottingham Retirement Community. It is only about three miles away, and it is close to everything like stores, my bank, and the post office. I was able to go there to see and measure the room that I am going to be in. It is a studio apartment. It is a community of independent living, assisted living, and nursing home. There are a lot of people there. They have a lot of activities. They have bus rides to stores and various places around Cincinnati. It is a small community which is why I want to live there. The place is clean and maybe a little outdated. The buildings have probably been there for 20 to 45 years, but they seemed to be in good shape. There are elevators, which is one of the things important to me. It is a five story building and at my age, I don't want to be hauling groceries across the steps. There are three or four entrances and a main entrance. It is a little bit expensive. I am paying $1,600 for a studio, but almost everything is paid for. You have electricity, water, and storage. A woman comes in once a week to clean, and dinner is free every night. Telephone and cable TV are free. The staff who assisted me was very nice, very helpful, and very cooperative. She set aside time so I can come in and measure the room, so that I can make a drawing and I know where I would put my stuff and still have space. She is an extremely sweet lady: very informative, very cooperative, and very pleasant. I only saw a one bedroom and a studio; both looked fine. The one bedroom seemed kind of spacious and the studio was not quite as spacious, but there is enough space for everything I need. The staff gave me an eight inch pizza, but it was one of the best pizzas I ever had.

I didn't like Cottingham Retirement Community. It felt old and I didn't think it was very cheery. The rooms were dated, too.