Mom can't live alone anymore. Now what?
I help Boston-area families find assisted living or memory care that fits: the right level of care, a price you know before you tour, and a place close enough for Sunday visits.
You're doing the right thing. Let me make it easier.
Maybe she fell. Maybe she's forgetting her pills, or the house has gotten too big, or the discharge planner at the hospital said she can't go home alone. Whatever brought you here, you're now the one making the calls, and it feels like a second job. I'll take the research off your plate and give you a straight answer on what's out there and what it costs.
- A short list of 2 or 3 communities that fit your parent, with openings right now
- The real monthly cost, care fees included, before you set foot in a tour
- One person to call or text, from the first conversation through move-in day
Tell me about your mom or dad
About a minute. I read every one myself and call you back the same day, usually within a few hours.
"Nobody should have to make this decision alone, from a stack of brochures, at the worst possible moment."
— Andrew Jacobson
What I do, in three steps
Most families spend three or four weeks calling communities, sitting through sales tours, and still can't get a price on paper. Here's how we skip that.
We talk about your parent
A 15-minute call. What changed, what she needs help with day to day, where the family lives, what's realistic financially. Plain talk. I'll also tell you which questions you don't need to answer yet.
I find the fit
There are more than 200 licensed assisted living residences in Greater Boston. I narrow them to two or three that fit her care needs, your budget and your driving distance, and I check which ones have an opening this month.
We tour, you decide, she moves in
I set up the tours and come along if you want me there. I'll tell you what to ask about care fees and staffing. If a place isn't right for her, I'll say so. After move-in, my number still works.
"I started this after watching families I know call facility after facility and never get a number on paper."
Hi, I'm Andrew. Boston Senior Living Advisory is my answer to a process that leaves good families exhausted: the sales tours, the brochures that all say "vibrant," the price that only comes out after you've fallen in love with the place.
Before I recommend a community, I ask the questions families don't know to ask. How long has the staff been there? Are the nurses and the kitchen employees or contractors? What do residents say they love? Which care needs can the community honestly not handle? Then I match your parent to a place that fits, and I stay on the phone with you until she's settled.
My help is free for families. Communities pay me a referral fee when someone I introduce moves in, the same way they pay for advertising. It changes nothing about your rent, and I'll always tell you which communities I work with.
Call or text 970-489-5061 · andrew@bostonseniorlivingadvisory.com
Six things I check before I'd send your mom anywhere
Every brochure says "compassionate" and "vibrant." These are the things that tell you whether a place is actually good.
What assisted living costs around Boston, in real numbers
Families tell me the hardest part is that nobody will say a price out loud. Here are the published 2026 averages. Your parent's rate depends on the town, the apartment and how much help she needs, and I'll get you the actual number before you tour.
How do people pay for it? Usually some mix of savings, selling the house, long-term care insurance, and for veterans and their spouses, the VA Aid and Attendance benefit. I'm not a financial advisor. I will help you think it through and point you to people who are.
Communities families ask me about most
A starting point. Filter by the kind of care and the part of town, then ask me for this month's pricing and availability at any of them, or at a place you don't see here.
About this directory: Communities are listed for information only. Care types come from the communities' public listings. Price tiers are estimates from publicly listed starting rates ($$ under $7,000/mo · $$$ $7,000–$9,000 · $$$$ $9,000 and up) and should be confirmed directly. A listing here does not mean an endorsement, and some communities listed have no referral relationship with Boston Senior Living Advisory. I'll always tell you which do.
Questions families ask me first
Is this really free? What's the catch?
It's free for families, and there's no obligation. Like most senior living placement services in the U.S., I'm paid a referral fee by the community if your parent moves in. Communities budget for this the same way they budget for advertising. Your rent is the same whether or not I'm involved, and I'll tell you if a community ever tries to make it otherwise.
How is this different from the big national websites?
When you fill out a form on one of those sites, your phone number goes to a call center and then to a dozen communities, and the sales calls start within the hour. Here, your number goes to me. I work only in Greater Boston, you talk to one person every time, and I introduce you only to communities you've said yes to.
What's the difference between assisted living, memory care and a nursing home?
Assisted living is an apartment plus help with daily life: meals, medication reminders, bathing, dressing, rides to the doctor. Memory care is a secured, specially staffed part of a community for people living with Alzheimer's or another dementia, usually with a higher staff ratio and a locked door to prevent wandering. A nursing home (skilled nursing) is for people who need round-the-clock medical care from nurses. Many Boston-area communities offer assisted living and memory care under one roof, which makes a later move gentler. I focus on the first two.
Mom says she's fine and won't talk about it. What do I do?
You're in good company; this is the most common thing families tell me. Most parents come around after one tour of a place that doesn't look like a hospital, especially when the visit is framed as "just looking" and a friend or grandchild comes along. I can help you pick the first place to visit and suggest how to bring it up. Calling me is a conversation with you, and nothing happens with your mom until you're ready.
We promised her we'd never put her in a home. Are we breaking that promise?
The promise almost everyone made was about the nursing homes of thirty years ago. Assisted living today is her own apartment, her own furniture, meals with people her age, and someone nearby if she falls at 2 a.m. Families tell me afterward that the guilt they felt was mostly about the picture in their head, and that their parent is less lonely than she was at home. You're getting her help. That's the promise you're keeping.
She's being discharged from rehab next week. Can this happen that fast?
Yes. When there's a discharge date, I work to it. Call or text me, tell me the date and what the rehab team says she needs, and I'll have two or three places with openings for you within a day, including ones that can do the nurse's assessment at the rehab. The discharge planner can also send me the paperwork directly.
Do you help with MassHealth, nursing homes or home care?
I focus on private-pay assisted living and memory care in Greater Boston, because that's what I know well. If what your parent needs is skilled nursing, MassHealth-funded care, or someone coming to the house, I'll tell you that plainly and point you to the right people.
Which towns do you cover?
Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Newton, Wellesley, Weston, Needham, Lexington, Arlington, Watertown, Winchester, Burlington, Dedham, Norwood, Quincy, Braintree, Hingham and the surrounding MetroWest, North Shore and South Shore towns. If your parent is in a town I haven't listed, ask.
Ready when you are. No pressure.
One conversation is usually enough to know what's realistic. Nothing is shared with any community until you say so.