I finally get to retire
By Rebecca Quinn, Director of Sales and Marketing, Fountain View Village, Scottsdale LIVING WELL Magazine
Bill and I met during the war. I was in the USO and he was a sergeant in the Army. It was love at first sight. We had a whirlwind romance and before he shipped out he proposed. I, of course, said “yes” and we agreed that when he came home on leave we would be married.
Shortly after our wedding, the war ended and Bill came home. We decided that he would stay in the Army and we traveled the world together. Our only child, Bill Jr. was born in Germany on the base. We were transferred 12 times in the course of Bill’s duty, and finally ended up in Fort Huachuca. That is when we fell in love with Arizona and decided that we would retire here. Bill specialized in communications and transitioned to the private sector quite easily. Bill Jr. was living in the Phoenix area.
After Bill’s second retirement, we decided to travel for a while. We made it our goal to visit all 50 states; we didn’t have too many to go. After we had our fill of traveling, we still had Alaska to visit, but decided it was time to stop, at least at that time. We talked with Bill Jr. and concluded that it was time to truly retire, sell our house and move into a retirement community. I was tired of trying to decide what to make for dinner, it was getting harder to keep up with the house and yard work, and I felt that after 66 years it was my turn. We looked at several different retirement communities. We looked at two that had an upfront “buy- in” (upwards of $250,000) and a pretty steep monthly rent in addition to the initial investment. Although we were not “hurting for money,” we weren’t sure that we wanted to give them an interest free loan––that’s what the small print called it––and run the risk of losing it all if they declared bankruptcy (we had heard of another community in Arizona where that had happened) or have them keep our money for up to two years after we passed away.
We did, however, like the idea of a community that had all the levels of care in case we needed them. The other part of the buy-in we didn’t care for was the medical and financial background checks that were required to move in. We did some more research and found a few communities that had all the levels of care we might need, but on a rental basis. They had medical or financial background checks or large upfront costs. We found one in Scottsdale that was nice, but didn’t like the location. Then we hit the jackpot and found Fountain View Village. It was located in the heart of Fountain Hills just up the street from the famous Fountain Hills Fountain. We visited with Rebecca and she told us about all the amenities that were included in each part of the community.
The independent living section of the community was just what we were looking for. We would have a continental style breakfast available every morning, and a chef-inspired dinner every night. We were delighted to meet Chef Matt, the executive chef and he told us about the offerings they had every day: homemade soup, salad bar, and our choice of three entrees and four vegetable accompaniments. We also would be served a dessert of the day, made from scratch by the pastry chef, Jeff. He also makes homemade bread, rolls, and pastries daily. I was in Heaven…no more cooking unless I wanted to! Then Rebecca told us we would have housekeeping every other week and I was sold. We found a beautiful two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with a den and dining area. It faces into the courtyard with the swimming pool and desert landscaping we can enjoy without having to tend to it. We can see the mountains in the distance, and watch from our patio as the sun kisses them each morning. We love all the activities and the fitness classes are great. We are getting ready to visit those last two states with our son in a couple weeks. We are going with the peace of mind that when we return everything will be as we left it. We could have stayed in our home longer, but why would we want to? We have everything we need and are able to enjoy the days instead of worry about the chores ahead of us.
This story is based on a compilation of residents’ stories that Rebecca has heard. For more information on Fountain View Village, please contact us at 1-866-880-7028. We would love to show you why our residents call Fountain View Village home.
