At Otterbein, every resident’s journey to our independent living communities is different. Hear from real residents about why they chose to live here and what the process was like for them in our My Journey to Otterbein series.
Today’s featured resident is Peg M. She and her husband moved into Otterbein Lebanon from New York about four years ago. Watch the video below or read the transcript for the full story.
Choosing Otterbein: Making the Move
We came to Otterbein under our own decision - our children didn’t have anything to do with it - and that was the best thing to do. We wanted to come. We both had health issues, but not major ones, and we felt that if we didn’t get here we wouldn’t be able to enjoy Otterbein. And that was a key factor in coming to Otterbein early enough.
We came from New York and had a daughter in this area. We had looked at Otterbein once before and decided to keep looking, but we came down to a wedding and our daughter said, you have to see the new building. So we saw where we are now, and it was just what we wanted, and it was wonderful. We really like it.
We had looked at another place, and they didn’t have nearly as many activities as they offer here. We’re still active and we like to be into activities - so that was major. I think the major thing is the Warren County Music Club is here, and we get these wonderful concerts all the time. We wouldn’t’ve had those at home. And also the creative arts - they offer a lot to people and to us.
See our independent living options at Otterbein Lebanon >>
Activities and Events at Otterbein
It’s the friendship with people - the closeness. We try to be social if they have birthdays and that sort of thing. We have games, we play bridge - we ‘re social beings, I guess.
We think we made the right decision. We know there are times down the line when it might not be so good, but we’re going to enjoy every minute while we can.
We joined a bridge group right away, we go to dances that they have - all of the social things, and there are a lot of bus trips that we go on.
When the bus goes, we’re there. We go to art museums, which we like a lot, and go to the malls, which we like a lot. I’m a shopper, so we like to do that. We go to plays - a lot of plays. Basically, those things are not too different from what we did before.
There’s a guest house on the first floor that has two bedrooms, and one has twin beds. Our son and his wife, and our two grown grandsons come at Thanksgiving time every year, so we rent that for them. So we’ve developed a whole routine around that.
It’s good living. Come when you can enjoy it. We weren’t so young - we’ve been here four years but we were in our 80s when we came, but still able to enjoy.
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