Blog

Tacoma Senior Living Tour

By Christine Hall

Compare the possibilities at five Tacoma senior communities on March 22^nd from 9:45am to 3pm

Back by popular demand…the Tacoma Senior Living Tour!  To date, this event has toured approximately 1,200 seniors looking to explore living in a senior community.

Are you thinking about moving into a retirement community but just don’t know where to start looking or even what questions to ask?  You might be asking yourself, “Where the heck do I begin?” If so, then the Tacoma Senior Living Community Tour might be just the thing for you.

“We’ve hosted this tour many times over the past nine years, and all to multiple van capacity,” says Christine Hall, Franke Tobey Jones Sr. Director of Marketing and event creator.  “It has been so rewarding to host this event.  At the end of each tour, participants consistently tell us, ‘We are so happy that we came today!  It really was informative, and it answered a lot of our questions regarding retirement living.’  I feel like this is such a great community service for seniors, most of whom just remember what their grandma’s ‘nursing home’ looked and smelled like.  Retirement living and assisted living these days is so much different.  It’s truly eye-opening for most everyone on the tour to see how wonderful senior living is in 2023!”

“We’ve found that most of the seniors on this tour are just starting the process of looking around and seeing what communities are in the area and what they have to offer,” says Linda Lee, Community Relations Director at Merrill Gardens, Tacoma and one of the event’s organizers.  “The tour provides a wide array of information.  Participants can compare prices at each community, tour a few apartments, taste the food at each community, walk through some of the grounds and get a good sense of how each of them compare.  It is very helpful for seniors to see, taste and smell each community first-hand.  They walk away at the end of the day with a totally different perspective than what they started with at the beginning of the day.”

The Five-Community Tour will be hosted on Wednesday, March 22^nd from 9:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  The participating communities include:  Cogir at the Narrows (formally Narrows Glen), eliseo (formerly Tacoma Lutheran Retirement Community), Franke Tobey Jones, Merrill Gardens and Weatherly Inn.  “Together, we want to make sure you are well informed about the options for Senior Living Communities in the North Tacoma area, says Ms. Lee.  “We want to help seniors find the very best community that will fit their wants, needs, desires, location and budget.”  The vans fill up so fast, if you have taken this tour before, we ask you to please not RSVP so that seniors that have not taken the tour get a chance to do so.

On March 22^nd join group tours with your future neighbors to get a “snapshot” of as many of the five communities as you desire.  The vans fill up very fast, so please RSVP to reserve a seat on one of the community vans.  Or, if you’d like to drive yourself, please still RSVP so the organizers will have a good head count for food, brochures, and so on. Compare the possibilities at each community. To be on one of the vans you must RSVP by March 17^th by calling Carole at 253-320-4216.

The program of the day is as follows:

9:45am

• Start at one of the five communities.
• Hear a short presentation about Senior Living Communities and about today’s activities.
• Tour that community. 

11am to 3pm

• Get aboard the community van or drive in your own car and go to the next community.
• Each van will have a representative from that community on the van to answer questions.
• Each van will stop at all five locations, or drive yourself and visit the communities you choose.
• Tour ends. We’ll get you back to your starting community!

“At the end of each of the previous five tours the participants are hugging us and thanking us and so appreciative of all the information,” says Ms. Hall.  “It’s really gratifying knowing that we are providing seniors with information and options that will help them make a decision about moving to a senior living community.”

For more information or to RSVP please call Carole at 253-320-4216 by Friday, March 17^th to reserve your place on the Tour and/or van. Transportation services are limited so RSVP today!