We recently spoke with Kathy, a resident of The Baldwin and vice president of the Resident Council, to learn how she and her wife chose to live at The Baldwin, what their experience has been like, and what advice she has for others who may be considering a similar move.
BB: It’s great to have the opportunity to talk with you, Kathy. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your wife.
Kathy: I’m retired, but most of my career was in finance. I started out in general accounting then moved into business consulting and business analysis at a large, multi-national firm where I supported the global finance function. I was fortunate to meet a lot of people from many different parts of the world; it was never dull.
My wife, Pat, is also retired. She worked in engineering and computer science, and started her career at the EPA doing geographical mapping of groundwater movement. Then she switched to information technology (IT), building a GIS software platform. When she retired, she was the director of IT at a private school.
I had spent my whole life in Massachusetts, and we were living in Framingham, when we decided to move to The Baldwin.
BB: That’s a great segue. How did you decide to move to The Baldwin?
Kathy: Pat’s mom lived in a [Life Plan Community] in California, and we felt like it added ten years to her life. We started looking for a community for ourselves before the pandemic struck, anticipating that anywhere we went would have a five- to seven-year waitlist.
We looked at lots of other places in several states, but when we put it all down on paper, our decision was The Baldwin. It’s not a small decision, but one of the things that attracted us and was very comforting was Edgewood’s track record. They’re very well-run financially and they’ve been around a long time. You actually get to meet Marlene [CEO] and Jane [CFO] and all the leaders. So, we signed up in 2021 and moved here in January 2024.
BB: Some people might wonder why you moved in when you did. What’s your perspective on that?
Kathy: Rumor has it I’m the youngest resident at The Baldwin, so we moved in before we needed to. But we knew this was the type of community we wanted to be in, and we didn’t see any advantage to waiting.
We took care of our parents and watched them take care of their parents. We don’t have children, but we are close to our adult nieces and nephews. Part of the reason for moving to a Life Plan Community is so your children — or nieces and nephews or friends — can just come to visit; you’re not asking them to come over to clean the gutters or change the lightbulbs or fix the towel bar. I’m pretty handy, but there’s a limit to what we should be doing as we get older. We wanted to be somewhere that chores are not what we’re handing down. Living here, The Baldwin takes care of all the tasks, and we can just enjoy each other’s company.
We also travel a fair amount and take several trips a year, all around the world. Living here, we can travel for a month and not have to worry about our home.
BB: What do you enjoy the most about living at The Baldwin?
Kathy: We love the community and we love the residents. There aren’t enough words to be said about seeing people every day and the value of the social interaction. There are so many interesting people here to talk to and to learn more from. You can be by yourself whenever you want but you’re never alone.
The residents here are so friendly and we’re all committed to being a welcoming community and not “recreating middle school.” We’re very open to the idea that we will always be welcoming new people. When you consider moving to an existing community, you might worry about things like cliques and fitting in, but we’re very conscious not to create that situation here. It’s a very open and flexible culture. I think that’s one of the greatest attributes of The Baldwin.
Also, not having to cook takes an enormous area of stress out of our lives.
BB: Do you find that you’re more or less active now that you live at The Baldwin?
Kathy: I don’t know how I ever worked. This retirement thing is no joke! I almost feel like I do too much. I know I could do less, but I’m not really wired that way. I don’t like to sit still.
Pat and I are both active on various committees. I’m the vice president of the Resident Council and Pat is on the Buildings & Grounds committee. I enjoy working with others to help build the community and we have that opportunity here.
We also enjoy the pool, the fitness center, and lots of group exercise classes. We like to walk and, especially now that it’s cold and there are 2.5 feet of snow on the ground, we can walk inside. We play bridge and mahjong. I’m not really into the writing or art groups, but we have those, too. I think there’s something for everyone.
We also enjoy going to Boston to see shows. We have season tickets to Broadway in Boston and summer season tickets for the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine.
BB: What are some of the things you’re working on with the Resident Council?
Kathy: We’re working on finding more ways for The Baldwin to be involved in the greater Londonderry community. Last year we partnered with a local church to donate Christmas gifts. We’re also doing a food drive for the St. Jude Parish Food Pantry here in Londonderry. Several people are planning to have an annual art & craft fair here because we have so many talented residents. We may sponsor a blood drive. We’re not sure of everything we’ll be doing yet, but we want our community to be integrated into the Londonderry community.
BB: What would you say to anyone who is considering moving to The Baldwin?
Kathy: For those of us who have been in the situation of caring for family members who stayed in their homes, it’s an easy choice. Do you want to be dependent on being able to get a bed in a nursing home when you absolutely have no other choice or do you want to be proactive and move to a community like this where you have a plan in place? Do you want to worry about getting on a stepstool to change a lightbulb, falling off, breaking your hip and then the downhill cycle starts or do you want to live where all those chores are taken care of for you?
Recently, Pat and I were on a cruise and met some people who were thinking about whether they would want to move to a CCRC. They were worried about rules and a lack of freedom. We told them it’s like the best of summer camp and being on a cruise put together. If you need something, there’s someone here to help you. You can get meals. You can get medical care. You can get someone to drive you to appointments. The Baldwin provides the best combination of independent living coupled with a safety net. There are a lot of services here that we may never use, or we may use all of them.
I think the science is pretty clear on the detrimental effects of social isolation and some of the other risks you take when staying in your home, like hiring strangers to come fix things. Here, there are people you know whose profession is to help you.
BB: Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
Kathy: I think the people who do well at a community like The Baldwin are people who are self-aware enough to realize that, as we get older, there will be things we won’t be able to do or shouldn’t be doing. It’s a mind-shift to acknowledge that you will need help at some point. We want to know that we’re ready and we have a plan. We’re very happy at The Baldwin. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.
To learn more about Community Life at The Baldwin or to schedule a personal tour, call 603.699.0100 or use our contact form.