Family questions
Plain English answers to the five things we hear most.
Costs vary widely by community and care level. As a rough starting point in Virginia: independent living typically runs roughly $2,500–$4,500 per month, assisted living roughly $4,500–$7,500, and memory care roughly $6,000–$9,500. Those ranges aren’t quotes — each community sets its own pricing based on apartment size, care needs, and services. Use the pricing range shown on each listing for a closer estimate, and request a tour to get an exact quote for your situation. PadPadOS is free for families to use — we don’t take referral fees from communities.
Every listing on PadPadOS is a licensed Virginia senior living community. Inspections, staffing levels, and care plans are things the state regulates, and you can verify a community’s license directly with the Virginia Department of Social Services.
Before committing, visit in person. Message the community on /messages to ask direct questions, then book a tour through your profile to see the building, meet the staff, and review their safety protocols with your own eyes.
Open the swipe deck, set your metro area, care type, and budget, and browse one community at a time. Swipe right to save, swipe left to skip. The order of cards is preference-based — communities that match your city, care needs, and budget show up first.
There’s no pay-to-play ranking: a community can’t buy a better position. Your saved list lives at /profile/matches and stays with you across sessions.
You submit a tour request from a listing, and the community is notified right away. They can propose specific dates and times for you to choose from; you confirm in-app, and we send a reminder the day before.
Throughout the process you can message the community directly — to ask follow-up questions, share care notes, or adjust details. Nothing happens over a black box.
You only share what you choose to share. Browsing the directory is anonymous — communities don’t see who’s looking at their page. A community only learns your contact info after you message them or request a tour.
We never sell your data to third parties, advertisers, or brokers. Full details are in our Privacy Policy and Terms.