Colorado Couple Crosses Country to Embrace a New Life at Brooksby Village

Linda Niven and her husband David Patterson happily spent most of their adult lives in Colorado. But by January 2021, they were ready for a change.

"It was time to do something different and go someplace else - while we were still young enough to do it and enjoy it," Linda says.

Initially, the couple thought of renting an apartment or buying a condo, but then they realized they wanted the benefits of a continuing care retirement community.

Thanks to the sales teams at two Erickson Senior Living communities - Wind Crest, in Highlands Ranch, Colo., and Brooksby Village in Peabody, Mass. - they were able to envision themselves living a vibrant lifestyle and then make it a reality.

Coast to coast

“We both really love the East Coast and wanted to be close to a big city,” says Linda. And both already had ties to the East Coast. David grew up in Medford, Mass., while Linda grew up in Iowa and Colorado and went to school in New York.

David suggested moving to Boston, and even though Linda wasn’t familiar with the New England area, she was game.

“I figured it was going to be an adventure!” she recalls. “And we started looking.”

They came across Brooksby Village during their research and decided to request a brochure from the sales office. From the active, maintenance-free lifestyle to all the amenities, Linda and David were sold on the community.

Realizing that they wouldn’t be able to come out and tour the community due to the travel restrictions onset by the pandemic, Linda says, she called asking to find out more.

To the couple’s surprise, that wasn’t an obstacle. Laurie Phillips, a personal moving consultant at Brooksby Village, connected Linda and David with Beth Brandenburg, a personal moving consultant at Wind Crest.

Making connections

“Linda and David are really sweet, gracious people,” Brandenburg says. “I offered them a visit to Wind Crest so they could see a Jackson apartment home - the same floor plan they reserved at Brooksby - in person.”

Brandenburg adds, “I wanted them to get a feel for the space and get comfortable. I also took them to lunch in our bistro. Food is an important part of why people move to an Erickson Senior Living community!”

Brandenburg also helped them organize a furniture plan and arrange for a senior move manager to pack and oversee the removal of items they no longer wanted.

“Beth [Brandenburg] was fabulous on the Colorado side of things - helping them decide what furniture to bring to their new apartment home. We just provided the floor plan and she took it from there.” Phillips says. “They absolutely loved her and everything about Wind Crest. So much so that they continued with their Brooksby Village apartment home sight unseen!”

The couple also talked with Phillips over the phone to have their questions about Brooksby answered.

Meeting new neighbors

“Oftentimes, our out-of-state folks struggle with not having frequent visits to the community or interacting with residents. They find themselves feeling less ‘connected,’” Phillips notes.

So, she introduced Linda and David to Brooksby residents Eli and Carol Bortman.

“The two couples share a love for academia and fitness, and they both have small dogs. They were able to meet virtually before moving,” Phillips adds.

Just a few months later, Linda and David moved into their new two-bedroom, two-bathroom Jackson apartment home in Brooksby’s Towne Centre neighborhood of Thorndike Gardens.

“We like it very much,” Linda says. “There are so many amenities in Town Centre. It’s just a matter of taking the elevator and walking down the hall. That’s it!”

An easy transition

The couple is delighted with their beautiful, new home. They take frequent trips to Boston, enjoying their return to the East Coast.

“Around Peabody, there are all these small towns with such a rich culture and history. We have been doing day trips and overnight trips,” Linda says.

But they also love spending time closer to home. “It’s so lovely here - everything within the community is walkable,” Linda says.

It didn’t take long for Linda and David to establish a group of friends, due to their participation in a variety of on-campus activities - including the current events group, climate change group, diversity committee, and the Live and Learn group, where residents make presentations on their fields of expertise.

“I can’t believe we actually pulled this off!” Linda adds. “We feel very fortunate that things worked out the way they did. Moving here was different than what we expected, but in many ways, more than we expected.”

“They made it pretty easy,” David adds. “And it was a 2,000-mile move!”

To learn more about affordable, independent senior living at Brooksby Village, request your free brochure to get the scoop on amenities, floor plans, and so much more.