When Barbara and I were looking for a retirement residence, we did a lot of comparison shopping and carefully analyzed our choices. At first we thought we would move to a retirement residence in Baltimore, so that I could walk to work at Johns Hopkins. But after doing exhaustive research comparing costs and amenities of various retirement communities, we chose Vantage House. Now I ride into Baltimore with a friend two days a week so that I can continue my work with the gifted children.

We found that some retirement residences were simply too big and the marketing pitch was too commercial. We liked the small, intimate nature of Vantage House and the friendly people here. In addition, it was a real financial bargain compared to the other retirement residences we saw. One place had a 90% refundable entry fee but the total refund was not guaranteed and if one spouse needed to move to the Health Center, it cost an extra $2000.00 per month. At Vantage House, the 90% refundable entrance fee is guaranteed and, if one spouse has to move to the Health Center, there is no increase in the monthly fee. And because the Health Center is in the same building as Independent Living, if one of us developed a disability, we could still be together.

Barbara and I visited Vantage House several times, meeting many of the residents for lunch and comparing the dining service, apartments and Health Center here to that in other retirement communities. Now that we’ve moved to Vantage House, I’m delighted with our choice. In our home there were many costs associated with upkeep, taxes, etc. and Barbara had the burden of doing laundry and making dinner. Now we let Vantage House prepare out meals. We usually have our dinner with friends in the dining room. The staff does a remarkable job with the food, and we love having the buffet and salad bar available every evening with the option of being served by the wait staff if we like.

I usually work out in the fitness center every other day, on the treadmill and with the strength training equipment. I’ve always been interested in exercising and eating right, but I never thought I’d be increasing the size of my biceps at age 81.

Columbia is a beautiful area. There are two large lakes close enough to walk around whenever we want. There is scheduled transportation to shopping every day and inexpensive transportation to the symphony available, so that I don’t have to drive as much. We’ve been able to keep our subscriptions to the theater and symphony and we continue to see our friends in Baltimore.

Living at Vantage House has really improved the quality of our lives.

Sincerely,

Julian C. Stanley