St. Andrews Village

Full disclosure, I’m 68, active, and am living in St. Andrews Retirement Village. I knew the moment I toured the cottages that I had to live the rest of my life in this community. The Independent Living Cottages are spacious, and quite frankly, well designed, as are the Independent Living Apartments in the “Inn”. I have more storage here than I had in my recently sold house. That aside, what spoke to me was not only the location, beautiful Boothbay Harbor, but the sense of community, the sense of being home. My husband is a nature photographer, and our cottage abuts Penny Lake preserve, with accessible trails through which he walks taking pictures. The town of Boothbay Harbor is a close knit community of concerned citizens, who know and support each other. This sense of “community” is evident in our little community at St. Andrews Village, too. We were welcomed immediately and taken under the wing of not only the staff, but the residents as well. As one would expect from a first class retirement community, the amenities, activities and food are wonderful. The staff goes out of their way to make sure you have everything you need, both on a day to day basis, but weekly and monthly as well, with a well packed calendar. We have done more surprising things here than when we lived in New Jersey. I have seen concerts at the Opera House, I have participated in a Textile show, we have gone to a minor league baseball game, we have walked into Boothbay Harbor, we have sailed, and my husband is now on tv in a recurring commercial for Dow Furniture! All this in our first 6 months at St. Andrews. On a serious note, our baby boomer generation is getting older. I needed to find a place to feel safe, taken care of, and where I know that if I need help as I age, I can get it here. With options including Assistant Living, Long Term Care, Rehab services, and a Memory Unit, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. As so many senior citizens wait until the last minute to think of their options, I wanted to take control early on. I wanted to choose where I would be spending my golden years. Besides, downsizing and selling our house at 68 was a big deal, I really truly can’t imagine what that would be like if I were in my 80’s! Next up for us is canoeing the ponds, inlets and rivers. Hopefully we can get our Wheaten Terrier to stay inside the canoe. Oh, yes, St. Andrews is Pet Friendly too!!

I had the opportunity to meet the wonderful people at St. Andrews Village, and I cannot recommend them enough! The campus of independent cottages and apartments, assisted living apartments, memory care and long term care is beautiful and the people are very caring.