Unique Retirement Communities: Escapees CARE

Lest anyone think the move to a retirement community means a move to a boring, institutional setting, more and more retirement communities are coming onto the scene designed to be “just right” for specific seniors. In this installment of our series on unique retirement communities, we look at the Texas community developed entirely for those who don’t like settling into one place.

That sounds a bit counterintuitive. Why would anyone think it makes sense to base a community around being a place for those who like staying on the move to settle? But oddly enough, the Escapee CARE Center works.

Who it’s For

There’s a certain contingent of retirees who see the end of full-time work as an opportunity to get out and see the world full time. For retired seniors who bought an RV to live and explore the world in and don’t want to give it up when they start to need more care, Escapees CARE provides them the opportunity to continue living in their home-with-wheels, while receiving the kind of care that’s commonly provided in assisted living communities.

About Escapees CARE

CARE stands for Continued Assistance for Retired Escapees. It’s located in Livingston, TX and is designed specifically to allow people to stay in their RV homes for as long as they’d like, while still receiving any extra care and help they need. The community has a lot to offer. They:

• Provide three meals a day
• Have professionals on staff that schedule medical appointments for residents and provide transportation there and back
• Have a nurse on duty during the day
• Offer laundry services
• Offer help cleaning out your RV
• And provide help handling propane, holding tanks, and awnings for your RV

Perhaps most importantly, they bring together a community of likeminded individuals. The other residents are also “escapees” who embraced the roaming RV life at retirement. Residents have an immediate connection to one another and regularly come together to play card games and board games.

The cost of living at Escapees CARE is quite a bit less than the cost of an assisted living facility, so residents are able to hang on to their RV and receive the care they need affordably. If residents are healthy enough to continue traveling, or decide to get back to it after recuperating, they can keep their spot at CARE with a monthly fee while they’re away.

Extras

The facility puts on a number of events and activities for residents. Every week, residents can enjoy live music jams, root beer floats, and an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. Each month, they can count on trips to the movies and nearby plays, cruises, and birthday parties. Dogs up to 50 pounds are allowed for pet owners who want to keep their furry family members close. One of the key components of Escapees CARE is that it is very much a community – one in which the members often become friends and provide a social community for each other.

Think You May Be Interested?

If you’re an escapee and want to see if CARE may be a good fit for you, you can get in touch with them for an application.

Kristen Hicks

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.