My parents moved into the independent living portion of a for-profit CCRC in about 2006. My mom passed away in 2016 but my Dad still lives in the same unit. This CCRC is part of a chain and I think they have maybe a dozen locations spread out across the western US.
The one they're in is on the higher end of things price-wise, but is really very good on the what-you-get-compared-to-what-you-pay. It has independent homes, duplexes, independent living apartments, assisted living, and memory care.
They did the minimum-downstroke-maximum-rent choice mainly because we didn't want to rely on them to return a $250K deposit in a timely fashion or play games with it. Financially it was pretty much a wash comparing the rent difference to what that $250K would do in the market. This choice also made it easier for them to move to a different facility if they didn't like this one, although that turned out not to be necessary.
Rent goes up yearly by 4%-5% like clockwork every January. The residents grumble but people rarely move out due to the price increases.
The food is really good - they have a full service onsite restaurant and bar. Food is fresh and cooked to order with lots of choices that they rotate and vary over time. Also appropriately healthy food, and they'll make dietary adjustments for residents I think. They used to have a daily soup and salad bar and Sunday buffet, but those went away with the virus.
Lots of life enrichment, although that has also suffered with the virus. But in normal times, it included movies, bridge, pool, cards, puzzles, games, and outings to theaters, musical events, shopping, restaurants, baseball games, air shows, art museums, etc. They go to the jazz festival in Sun Valley every year.
Onsite they also have a hair salon, movie theater, par-3 pitch-and-putt golf course, walking path, pond, and fitness center (which is lightly used I think).
They'll shuttle you to doctor's appointments and the airport. They have a regular weekly schedule to the nearby grocery stores. There's a pharmacy and hospital within 500 yards of the front door.
You can get home health and home help in independent living. But if you start to become a danger then the staff will put pressure on the resident and family to move to assisted living - I assume this is due to liability concerns on the part of the CCRC. My Mom was borderline needing assisted living but went on hospice and passed away quickly enough to where it didn't make sense. My Dad was close to needing to move for a while but is doing better now.
My Dad is one of the longest term residents there, and the entire staff knows him and treats him very well - friendly, professional, helpful.
They're locked down right now like Fort Knox, but with everyone old and many with risk factors, it would be bad marketing to have a virus outbreak where a large percentage of your residents get sick and die. So it's understandable.
It's a fabulous place, and other than the high price tag and understanding that you're living in a place that is owned by a for-profit company, there's really not much to complain about.
