Most people will tell you that by the time you are in your 80’s, your desire for change has all but left you. You are perhaps “set in your ways” and maybe a bit inflexible.
Not so for Carol Eckley, a 32-year resident of Rancho Bernardo, who decided to shake up her life in a grand way after her husband passed away in 2018. Eckley wanted to get a fresh start in a smaller home where she didn’t have to play handyman all the time, and she wasn’t by herself day in and day out. After an exhaustive search, she found her dream home at Silvergate Rancho Bernardo, the area’s newest luxury retirement community opening this July.
“I never thought I would leave my house…I thought I would be here until I myself passed away,” said Eckley, who plans to leave behind 3 bedrooms, two baths and a great deal of yardwork in exchange for chef-prepared meals, a new community of friends and more activities and hobbies. “I have been living all alone since my husband died. I’m really looking forward to the companionship and having other people around me at Silvergate. It’s a more healthy way to live.”
With an 11-acre campus to call home, Eckley plans to spend more time outdoors and taking advantage of all of the amenities she will have access to at Silvergate, including the daily chauffeured transportation, on-site theater, the art studio, the quiet lounges scattered around the community, lovely walking paths and the beautiful restaurant venues.
“I’ve thought about this carefully for a long time because it’s a big change at my age,” said Eckley. “I’m partially handicapped and if I have a fall, I’ll have help right there and available. If there’s a change to my health, Silvergate’s not going to shuffle me off to some other place. I can stay right there in my own apartment, and they’ll come to me with care. That’s really important to me.”
Plans for Eckley’s move are coming together despite the challenges presented by the current state-mandated stay-at-home order. Her time in the last month has been spent purging old possessions and downsizing to furniture that will more aptly fit her new 1 bedroom apartment home.
“This process has been exciting for me,” said Eckley who has been concentrat- ing her efforts while quarantined on visually furnishing her new space with its north county mountain views. “I’ve been giving away a lot of my possessions, because I won’t need them anymore. I love to give to people…so I’m happy to find new homes for the things I’ve treasured for so many years.”
To make the move as seamless as possible for Eckley, Silvergate Rancho Bernardo brings in a no-cost move management service, which is available to all future residents, that will help her sort, pre-measure, design a floorplan layout and unpack and set-up her belongings before she even walks in the door.
With all that’s going on in the world today, Eckley says she feels safer and more protected living at Silvergate than she does staying in her long-time home.
Now more than 95% pre-leased, those interested in exploring the retire- ment living options at this new construction senior living community can call Pam Rundle, Marketing Director, at 858-683-9938 or online at SilvergateRR.com. Reservations for the final apartment homes are now underway.
Silvergate Rancho Bernardo has also begun taking advance reservations for its Memory Care Suites. The community has a select offering of 48 private accommodations for seniors in need of specialized care related to dementia, memory loss, Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments.
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