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A Life Worth Living at Oak Crest Village

© Shannon Lester

Did you ever wonder what it's like to live in a retirement community? For residents living at Oak Crest Village Retirement Community in Baltimore, MD, it's more than a place to live; it's their home.

Oak Crest Village is far from your average retirement community. With a campus stretching across eighty-five acres, it offers a wide variety of activities for residents to participate in. For one walking through the third floor of Village Square, one of Oak Crest's many community buildings, you are greeted by the sight of residents walking through the halls. Some are playing the piano, while others sit down to talk in the Banners Cafe.

Living conditions at Oak Crest Village are unique and vary. In order to live at Oak Crest Village, you must meet certain qualifications. You must be at least sixty years old. The average age of those living there is seventy-eight, but there are no exceptions. Someone under the age of sixty is not allowed to move in.

The average cost of living at Oak Crest Village varies. They offer one to two bedroom apartments as well as studio apartments. Per year, it costs from $80,000 to $350,000 to live there. The average monthly cost averages around $1,200. The $100,000 flat fee to move in is refundable.

In the Banners Cafe, residents and staff gather together and talk. Resident, Lucy Montanerelli, runs the Village Store at Oak Crest. "It's wonderful. These residents are wonderful. It's just like home. I love it here," she smiles.

Estella Sullivan who works in administration also likes working at Oak Crest. She likes helping residents and staff members. She spends time on the telephone, works with data entry, and welcomes residents and employees. Sullivan also works with executive directors, Eric Close and Michael McCormik and executive directory secretary, Denise Irwin.

The residents of Oak Crest Village are all different and have talents and interests that Oak Crest helps them enjoy. Louise Cole, resident of two and a half years, likes living at Oak Crest Village because the people she lives with are pleasant, and it provides her with activities to enjoy. She takes part in a number of activities offered at Oak Crest Village. She likes the security of the establishment.

Cole says that the student workers in the dining rooms come to talk with them during meals. "The one thing that I think is really great is that I see the camaraderie and the communication between them," says Cole.

The copyright of the article A Life Worth Living at Oak Crest Village in Brain Injuries is owned by Shannon Lester. Permission to republish A Life Worth Living at Oak Crest Village in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.