The senior living conversation often involves talking about costs and medical needs. For families in Athens, TX, there’s another part that weighs heavily on a lot of people who have enjoyed its community spirit for years. Many feel they don’t want to move from Athens to Tyler, despite the fact that it has more senior living options and more medical services. And few adult children feel good about helping a parent move away from their home.
This desire to stay makes a lot of sense, but locally-based communities do exist in Athens, and they can provide what many older adults need without forcing them to give up the community they enjoy. For families who have spent their lives in Henderson County, Arabella of Athens Senior Living offers independent living, assisted living, and memory care services that can fill a wide range of needs, all within the same community they know.
Why Many Choose to Move from Athens to Tyler
As East Texas’s regional hub, Tyler has real advantages. It offers more senior living addresses and medical specialists, larger hospitals, and more options for retirement communities. In many ways, Tyler is a more established and industrial location, nearer to many of the specialized services that seniors need. Helping seniors move from Athens to Tyler often involves weighing these services against the community they enjoy, which can be a difficult conversation to have.
Tyler has a lot to offer, but it also lacks something that the residents of Athens value very highly, though it can be difficult to explain. It’s more like a feeling than a specific feature, a sense of community spirit. It’s a neighborly culture that doesn’t exist in too many places anymore. Athens is a warm city, defined by its people, as Frank Ray and Ola Mae would undoubtedly argue.
Residents Love the Spirit Athens Brings
No, Frank and Ola aren’t senior citizens in Athens, TX, though they do reside there. They’re also not a comedy duo in a Sunday comic strip. They’re two plastic porch geese that may not seem important to some, but for many of Athens’ oldest residents, they have become staples of everyday life.
They “live” at Arabella of Athens, where residents dress them up for weekly events and special occasions. Not a holiday goes by that Frank and Ola aren’t sporting a new getup, a pair of sunglasses, a towel, or a new hat. Executive Director Pam Holcomb bought the geese for the community for a little fun, naming them after her grandparents. She never expected them to become honorary Athens citizens.
“Frank Ray and Ola Mae started as a small idea, but residents have made them part of nearly everything we do,” she said. “Seeing my grandparents’ names live on this way still gets me every time.”
Athens keeps its traditions close. Known as the Black-Eyed Pea Capital of the World, the town has drawn neighbors downtown for the Black-Eyed Pea Jamboree every July since 1971. Saturday mornings belong to the farmers market and the fishing pier at Lake Athens. And on some porches, a certain pair of mischievous geese can be seen in a tri-corner hat or fluffy bonnet, depending on the time of year.
These are the everyday ties to the community that are hard to replace after moving away to Tyler or anywhere else. It’s important to say that no place is “better” than another. Many people are happy in Tyler and take advantage of the many services available there. Maybe the best way to say the real difference is this. In Athens, Frank and Ola are treasured, silly citizens in a community that still believes in potlucks and pretending. Anywhere else, they’d be plastic geese.
Senior Living That Helps Athens Residents Stay in Athens
For Athens families who don’t need to be closer to specialized medical services in Tyler, and who don’t want to choose between their quality of life and the town they care about, Arabella of Athens may offer the choice they’ve been looking for. The community bundles independent living, assisted living, and memory care together on one campus so residents have a full range of options. After the initial move to the community, they can stay in Athens, even as their needs change, so your family never has to have the “Athens to Tyler conversation” again.
Arabella of Athens guides its residents’ daily experiences with the services they need, as well as the community flair they enjoy. Its experienced staff provides a range of services, including certified dementia care in its memory care community, known as The Cottage. To bridge the gap between community life and specialized medical services, Arabella of Athens teams up with UT Health East Texas to provide on-site therapy services for residents who need them.
Cost is a real consideration in Athens, where many seniors live on fixed incomes. Our team provides each resident’s services as a single monthly package, so residents and their families can always plan ahead and crunch the numbers before making a decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tyler offers more options for retirement communities and larger hospitals. Yet, Athens now has full senior living options of its own. Families weighing the costs and benefits of moving from Athens to Tyler can keep their parent in their hometown while still being within driving distance of specialists in Tyler, when needed.
Arabella of Athens provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care on one campus, so residents can move between levels of care without leaving Athens.
Tyler sits about 35 miles west of Athens, roughly a 45-minute drive, which keeps regional hospitals and specialists within reach for Athens families.
Community outings help residents keep their ties to the Black-Eyed Pea Jamboree, the farmers market, and Lake Athens so that familiar routines can continue as always.
Find Senior Living That Embraces Community Life
Many families don’t want to help a loved one move from Athens to Tyler, simply because they don’t want to force them to make the choice. The difference is not about which town is better but about what you or your senior parent cares about most. Tyler brings the scale of a more established city center, complete with larger hospitals and more community choices. On the other hand, Athens brings familiar places and community events, as well as the hometown feel that isn’t easy to find these days (just ask Frank and Ola).
With a locally based and fully equipped community like Arabella of Athens, residents can make the decision based on what they truly want, rather than the care they need.
Learn More About Senior Living in Athens
The choice of moving from Athens to Tyler should be based on preference rather than simply need. Arabella of Athens provides multiple levels of care so that seniors and their families can stay nearby, if they prefer, without sacrificing care. Schedule a personalized visit and see how families keep their loved ones close to the town they love.
