Ventana Residents Rank Their Favorites

From museums to restaurants, Ventana by Buckner residents 65+ have ranked some of the area’s best options to show what they love about living in Dallas.

Ventana’s inaugural Senior Select Survey, conducted last year with 225 independent living residents and promoted by the community earlier this year, showcases nearby businesses while demonstrating what some older adults enjoy.

“We just wanted to have a fun way to show how seniors, you know, spent their time and money,” director of lifestyle programming Holly Yates said. “Even though they’re retired, they’re still very active in the community and support our local businesses that we really enjoy.”

Many residents prefer to stay active. Judy Townsly, for example, volunteers at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum and is a member of the Dallas Museum of Art and other museums.

Her top picks for entertainment include attractions like the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.

“I guess I like to think that we need to take advantage of (it), and we don’t,” she said. “So many times, we live in a city and strive to do things elsewhere and forget all the marvelous things that we have in our own city to take advantage of.”

Ventana often offers opportunities for residents to attend games and musicals together.

“Out of the residents here, there are a lot of really passionate sports fans,” resident Norman Olsen said. “You see people wearing Oklahoma shirts, Georgia shirts, Texas shirts all the time.”

Residents ranked the Dallas Cowboys as number one out of area pro teams.

Mike Kent, another resident, suggested inviting survey takers to include comments on their preferences in each category.

“Why did the majority of people like going to Hillstone? Because the ribs are great,” he explained.

Resident Pat King enjoys taking surveys and reading the results.

“Having a survey, to me, brings up a few ideas of places that we might not think about overall,” she said.

Richard King appreciated that Ventana wanted to know what the residents enjoyed.

“It’s nice that somebody takes the time to do that,” he said. “And, especially to send someone out to talk to us, that in itself is very thoughtful.”