HOUSTON—David Blaker, 90, loves classical music just as much as he loves his apartment at the Buckingham Assisted Living Center.

“It’s like living in a very nice hotel with very good food,” Blaker said.

But the food and the service that comes along with it is only part of the attraction.

The center offers assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing care. And most of their residents, who are in their 80’s and 90’s, are getting resort style amenities.

Cathy Lightfoot says she is proud of what is offered at the center.

The apartments have plenty of room, closets and extras in each bathroom. Wheelchairs can easily roll into the shower.

Even the hallways provide residents with hand railings so they can hold onto while they make their way through the comfy building.

Residents say that even as you look down the hall, the assisted living center doesn’t look like a hospital, it looks like a home.

Blaker offered some advice for those who want to enjoy the amenities of a place like Buckingham when they too reach their golden years.

“Take out insurance and save your money. That’s something that kids these days aren’t doing; they’re just spending every penny they get a hand on,” he said.

Most places like this one don’t take Medicaid. You have to use your own savings instead. Another option is to use long term care insurance which is available through the Senior Citizens Bureau.

“The sooner the better. The older you are, the more it costs. So the longer you wait, the more you will pay for it,” Asheva Phillip, with the Senior Citizens Bureau, said.

For some, the alternative may be a nursing home.

“Lets be honest; no one wants to be in a nursing home if they don’t have to be,” administrator Andrew Pisarik said.

But it has become necessary, especially if a patient needs 24-hour nursing care and services that can’t be provided at home.

That’s why staff members at Park Manor Westchase say they are doing their best to change the bad rap of nursing homes.

They do more rehab at their nursing home than long-term housing.

Meanwhile Helen Corcoran, 70, is literally trying to get back on her feet after months in the hospital.

“If I can get up and walk some day, I’m gonna be living same as I did before, you know, in my own home. We’ll see what happens,” Corcoran said.

But at least Corcoran has a home to go back to.

Recently, when a new complex for low income seniors opened in southwest Houston, 200 people lined up for 66 units.

“As a senior citizen, I feel like nobody really cares,” one senior said.

But those involved in housing the elderly say we should all care because with more people living longer lives, the future is in our hands.