Judy Mayotte has been living independently at Skyline Retirement in downtown Seattle for six years. Judy joins Suzanne to talk about how she decided to move into a Life Care Community.

What led her to move here? Judy explains, "I had come back from living a number of years in South Africa, and I bought a condo. Because I lost my leg in the war zone in Southern Sudan a number of years ago, I knew that probably at some point I would need some kind of care. So I bought one that had three bedrooms so that I could have a caregiver. And then I realized it's really going to be lonely if I'm the only one here, because when you live in a condo, everybody's going out. And I thought I'd be home alone, and that made me think, why don't I look at some of these life care places? And I moved back to Seattle. I had taught at Seattle University for a period of time. and fell in love with the city and the state. And so I wanted to live here.

"My husband died almost 50 years ago, I've been alone for a long time and worked overseas. And I decided that I wanted to come to a place like Skyline, because mainly I wanted community. For many people moving into a place where a lot of people live together, that can be really difficult if they've lived in their home for 45 or 50 years. They've accumulated everything, they have memories there ,they raised their children there, they have their garden, they have so much, but also they need more care. And I think the transition for someone that has lived long in a place is more difficult than it is for a nomad like me."

"There are so many fitness opportunities for us, as far as classes are concerned. There's the school, gym, exercise classes, stimulating talks, musical programs. I want to emphasize that a place like Skyline, we have built such a fine community here, it is an inclusive community rather than exclusive community of people. You have all these people with incredible life experiences that you're eating dinner with, you're sharing a movie with, or having in for a cocktail before dinner. And you can be with people as much as you want to be, or you can be alone as much as you want to be. Keep active and keep your mind active, and we have plenty of opportunities to do that here. 

"We have the Skyline Residents Association, and then under that umbrella are a number of committees. There's the dining committee, caring committee, fitness committee, the spiritual committee, whatever. And people really have an opportunity to engage in those committees and really get to know other members."

Learn more:
* Skyline: https://skylineseattle.org/
* More senior living podcasts: https://answersforelders.com/category/discover-senior-living/

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