By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

For one couple, learning about Maris Grove was just as pleasant an experience as it has been living there.

“It really is a fun journey,” resident Sol Mayer says of his experience investigating Maris Grove before he decided to move in. “Learning about Maris Grove is about as easy as can be and there is no pressure.”

Testing the waters
Sol Mayer and his wife Rose Anne lived in a 55-plus community in Pennsylvania. They loved their life. They were happy with their home but wanted something more. “It was the ‘what ifs’ that we were worried about,” he explains. “You never know.”

So to test the waters, the couple visited a few full-service communities in Pennsylvania but never found one that suited them. “We liked where we were, but we wanted a community that could handle anything,” Sol Mayer says. “I wanted Rose Anne to live in a great place should anything happen to me.”

Road trip!
Then one day the couple heard by word of mouth that an Erickson community was coming to Glen Mills.

“It was right in our hometown,” Sol Mayer says. Soon he contacted the sales office for an Information Kit. After reading the literature and having many of their questions answered, the couple set up an appointment with Retirement Counselor Julieann Brant.

But, at that time the community wasn’t open yet. So the couple met with Brant and took a trip to Maris Grove’s sister community, Ann’s Choice, in Warminster.

“We wanted to get a feeling for what the community would look like,” Sol Mayer says. And the trip was a good one. They liked it so much that they decided to join the Priority List at Maris Grove.

“That trip was what made up our minds,” he says. “Everyone was so friendly and nice; it seemed like a place where people really cared for each other.”

Making the next step
After seeing an Erickson community in action, the couple put down their $1,000 fully refundable deposit. “We weren’t ready to move in right away,” Sol Mayer says.