Katherine V.
My spouse and I have been residents of Living Out for a year, from when it first opened. This is what we've learned.
Visually and pragmatically, the building continues to be a daily pleasure. Spacious, thoughtfully and artfully designed with beautiful, varied art down all the corridors. In our unit we have top of the line appliances, a luxurious bathroom, a heating and cooling system far superior to any house we've ever owned.
We value and use all the amenities. The gym, the theater with its living room seating and special programming, the game room with its wide array of activities, the outside seating everywhere and especially around the huge pool, the spas, the barbecues, the bocce court, the golf green. The restaurant with its celebrity chefs has proven to be one of the best in Palm Springs. Tailwaggers pet services is so conveniently right on the property, a true resource for cats and dogs. A concierge answers any and every need.
Expensive? Living Out is a time of life, aspirational development, a dream for LGBT+ elders, and we sold our house and drew on savings over a lifetime to live here. We had no idea how much actual weight of responsibility would be lifted. House worries and maintenance costs, that hole in our wallet perpetually draining funds, gone. No more property tax, house insurance, utility bills, cable bills. All of that covered here, including weekly housekeeping, and an expansive breakfast.
The medical clinic has closed for the summer, part of the usual summer exodus here, but we have a retired MD living in the building who's given us the gift of being on-call, and an Urgent Care clinic just a block down the street. There's construction adjacent--but it's everywhere in Palm Springs, it's a magnet town, folks. The building's had its own post-construction issues--it's brand new, the glitches are being taken care of with considerable care and concern for the residents. For us, we two previous homeowners, such issues are not a surprise.
The ownership and the staff here are extraordinary, we cannot praise them enough. They are just superb. Responsive, hands-on aware, they care about and value this place as much as we do.
Most of all, above all else, the real reason we're here has only deepened over the past year. The priceless value of community, community, community. Most of us residents are from a generation that grew up in isolation, rejected in every possible way. We've been, for most of our lives, Other. Here we get to be ourselves. We are familial, a community, the majority. Every day I look around me and I see lesbian sisters, gay brothers, trans family. Every day I treasure the ease, the comfort, the camaraderie, the joy of being with the pioneering generation, residents with amazing life stories and shared history.
Living Out has been created especially for us, and my spouse and I deeply value this gift, this love song to our community. We are proud and grateful to be here. read more