I've now resided at 15 Craigside, a retirement community, for 11 years. - I lived in an adjacent tower (the brown one in the back) for 32 years, and saw my present building coming up.
- A few years after it opened, one Saturday morning, I dropped by to investigate my neighbor.
- They gave me a tour, and at one point mentioned that an apartment that had long been reserved and never moved into had suddenly been made available.
- There are two tall towers on the sea side of 15 Craigside.
- That tiny building in-between is 15 Craigside.
- However, the apartment shown to me was in between them, the conformation of those buildings was such that they couldn't see my apartment.
- Most important to me, I could view the Pacific Ocean.
- There are graveyards on the mountain side, which I can't see from my apartment.
- Most determining of all, if at the beginning, there was a sign-up list to reserve an apartment, this is the one I would have selected.
- So I gave them a $20,000 check and moved in six months later, May 2014.
- My initial thought, though, was that I would get depressed in an environment of "old" people. Turns out that just opposite effect occurred.
- I was so relatively young at 74 that it made me feel superior and confident.
- The average age of residents was around 84.
- More recently, there has been a surge of new residents, and I would guess that the average age is now in the lower 80s.
- But I'm now 85, and one of the older ones. I still feel okay.
- There are a couple of 100+-year olds still living in their original apartments,
- Floor two is a hospital floor with many in stages of dementia.
- There is a barber shop in the basement, and we got talking about people who forget honoring appointments. I asked her how many residents here had dementia. She said at least 75%. Of course she was joking, but Alzheimer's starts in minor ways and only gets worse, so most of us are in some stage of memory loss and worse.
- Also, a high percentage wear hearing aids. I do, but almost never use them because I don't feel comfortable with anything in my ear.
- I should indicate that at one time there was an initial $400,000 fee to move into a regular apartment, with a monthly charge of $5,500.
- But that was more than a decade ago. While the move-in amount surely must be a little higher, I haven't recently checked how much more. But the monthly fee has gone up to around $6,500.
- But once they accept you as a resident, they can't kick you out, even if you run out of money. Of course, they don't let you in unless the management feels confident that you will have enough for your full stay. There are some requirements, such as not just giving your money to your children. At least one person I know has been cautioned to not go again to Las Vegas.
- We get three meals/day, assorted snacks, coffee/etc. There is a dining room for the residents with buffet dining. However, I mostly take out food for enhancement in my kitchen.
- I've been to numerous Michelin 3-star restaurants around the world. A dozen cruises. After our final one a few months ago, and this was an Oceania, which supposedly serve the best cuisine. However, I came to conclusion that, if given a choice, I would rather have the food at 15 Craigside over any cruise ship or anywhere else. The difference is that we regularly get what is called "local" food with which I grew up. I'll get tired of what we are served.
- Weekly apartment cleaning with towels and bed linen changed. They re-make the bed.
- A dozen activities/day: exercise, strength, balance, Tai-chi, etc.
- Films and entertainment, several times per week, like the Royal Hawaiian Band and karaoke singing or bingo.
- Shuttle service to lots of places.
- There are also bus stops close by.
- Facility has cameras all over the place with guards, other security people and a reception desk to check everyone entering the premises.
- With that, some photos and videos of life at 15 Craigside.
We celebrate just about everything, with snacks and drinks. Octoberfest.
Even though any meal not eaten here is money wasted, we do go out every so often. Teishoku in the Kam Shopping Center.
Typhoon Matmo made landfall over southern Guangdong Province, China as a Category 2. Hundreds of thousands were evacuated.
Something is happening to those Pacific typhoons near Japan this season. They form, strengthen to at least Category 4 strength, seem to aim towards the country, then make a dramatic right turn and skirt to the east without causing any damage. This will also be the tracking path for what will become a Category 4 Typhoon Halong.
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