Local Ties Senior Advisors · Tom McCahan · Call or text (971) 610-0047 · localtiespdx.com
Help finding a place to move, for you or your family member.
Finding the right senior living community with someone who's seen it first.
Whether it's independent living, assisted living, memory care, or an adult foster home, I see every place in person before I recommend it, and I can tell you what each one is actually like.
Free to your family — the community you choose pays me
Five steps to finding the community that fits you best.
We talk
A free call or an in-person meeting. We talk through care needs, budget, where you want to be, and timing.
I narrow it
I find the communities that fit you best, check each one's state record, and dig into every one of them.
Virtual tour
I come to you with a full profile on each community and why it fits your situation. We walk through them on screen, with virtual tours and photos, and pick which ones to visit in person.
In-person tour
We go together. I know the questions to ask, where to look, and the things most people miss on a tour.
Move in, settled
I stay through the move-in, connect you with move managers or whoever else you need, and check in after to make sure it's the right fit.
When you have days, not weeks, I tour for you, and we decide together from video and my notes. Leaving the hospital or rehab? →
Every place on your list, laid out for your family.
- A snapshot of each place. What I saw on the tour, what it costs, care and staffing, and the state record.
- Checked against what you told me. Each thing that matters to your family member gets a yes, partly or no, and what I found.
- The 3D tour and photos. Walk through it on screen before anyone drives out. See a sample 3D tour →
A real sheet, filled in with a made-up community and family. Tap a page to read it full size. The real ones name names.
Homes and communities I've toured in person.
These are the homes and communities I've walked through myself. I add more as I tour them, so this map keeps growing. Pick a pin to see more, then ask me about it.
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Don't see your area? Tell me where you're looking, and I'll go see the places there for you. I can move fast when you need me to.
Discharge date already set?
Call or text today. I can move fast. I'll help you sort out the next few days and find a place that can take your family member.
When you have days, not weeks, I can tour for you, and we decide together from video and my notes.
How I work, and how I get paid.
I see every place before I recommend it
Before a community goes on your list, I've toured it, talked to the people who work there, and read its complaint history in the state record.
If it's a place I haven't seen yet, I'll go see it. I can get out there quickly, or we can tour it together. Either way, it gets checked out before you decide.
How the money works
The community pays me when someone moves in and stays for a certain amount of time. That's how this is free to you.
To keep me honest: I'll always tell you which places pay me and which don't, before we tour anything.
What I check on every building.
All of it goes into a profile for each community, written for your situation: why this one fits your family member, and where it doesn't. That's what we look through together before we tour anything.
Including adult foster homes, which most of the big sites skip.
- Adult foster homes
- Assisted living
- Memory care
- Residential care
- Independent living and 55+
Adult foster homes are real houses with five or fewer residents, and for a lot of families they're the best option in Oregon on both care and cost. The big national referral sites barely cover them. I go see them.
Assisted living vs. residential care
In Oregon they're two licenses under the same care rules. The difference is the building, not the level of care. Assisted living means a private apartment with its own bathroom and kitchenette. Residential care can be a shared room in an older building, and it usually costs less. The staff and the care can be identical.
What's an adult foster home?
A real house, licensed by the state, with five or fewer residents and a caregiver who's there around the clock. For a lot of Oregon families it's the best option on both care and cost. The national referral sites barely cover them. I go see them. One wrinkle: in Multnomah County, the county does its own licensing, so I check both records.
When is it memory care?
Memory care isn't a separate kind of building. It's an endorsement added to an assisted living or residential care license for a secured unit with trained staff. It's for someone with dementia who wanders or needs more structure than an open building can give. If your family member is forgetful but safe, it may be too much too soon, and I'll say so.
What about independent living or 55+?
Not licensed, and no care staff. It's an apartment with a dining room and neighbors the same age. Good for someone who's fine on their own and wants less house. If there's any hands-on help needed, it's the wrong door, and the lease can't fix that.
Looking at options isn't giving up. Sometimes it means you get to be their husband, wife, son or daughter again, not just their caregiver.
What a month costs, before anyone pays me a thing.
My placement help is free. The care isn't. These are typical private-pay prices in the Portland area, so you know what you're walking into.
| Type of care | Typical month | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Adult foster home | about $7,000most $5,500–$8,500 | Up to five people in a real house, with caregivers there day and night |
| Assisted living | about $6,900most $5,000–$8,000 | Your own apartment, with help with daily care and medications |
| Memory care | about $8,650most $7,000–$9,500 | A secure setting for dementia, with staff trained for it |
Does that seem like a lot?
It is. But it isn't just rent and care. That one number covers what it costs to run a whole household: meals, utilities, cleaning, laundry, the yard, the upkeep, and the help. Most of the bills your family member pays today go away. Ask each place what's included, because it isn't the same everywhere.
Private pay, Portland metro, last reviewed October 2026. Total monthly cost with care included. An adult foster home figure is a private room at the home's first care level. My estimate from the 2024 state survey by Portland State University for the Oregon Department of Human Services, brought up to date with current industry price data and the rates I've been quoted on my own tours. Medicaid rates are set by the state. How paying for care works → · More guides →
Questions I get a lot.
Is senior placement really free?
Yes. When someone moves into a community I work with, that community pays me a referral fee. You never get a bill from me for placement.
Do you only recommend communities that pay you?
No. I tell you which communities pay me and which don't before we tour anything. If the right place for your family doesn't pay me, that's still where I'll point you.
Can you help if my family member will be on Medicaid?
Yes. Medicaid changes which places are open to you. A lot of communities say they take Medicaid but really mean after a couple of years of private pay first, so I ask every one of them the straight question and keep track of the answers. For the application itself, your local Aging and People with Disabilities office or Area Agency on Aging helps for free, and I'll point you to the right one. Where I come in is finding the places that will really take Medicaid and can meet the care needs. Call me and we'll talk through where things stand.
Can we move in together?
Often, yes, even when one of you needs more help than the other. Some places do this well and some don't. I'll tell you which ones, and what it costs when two people share an apartment or a room.
I live out of town. How do I stay in the loop?
Join the tours by video, from wherever you are. I send a written update after every visit, so everyone in the family is reading the same thing. Paperwork can be signed online, and if you hire me for care planning, invoices come by email.
What's a virtual tour?
Here's a sample 3D tour of an adult foster home I've toured. Where a community already has one, I use theirs. Where it doesn't and they allow it, I bring a 3D camera and put together a full walkthrough myself, like a real estate virtual tour but for care communities. Either way, you can walk through the shortlist from your living room and only drive out to the ones worth seeing in person. It helps most when getting around is hard, when the kids are out of town and want to see what you're seeing, or when your family member is moving here from somewhere else and can't tour in person yet.
If a move is happening, call me.
The call is free and about 20 minutes. We'll cover care needs, budget, timing, and what I'd do first.