Moving Right Along: Niche Retirement Communities
If you're thinking of downsizing or relocating, or haven't a clue where you want to live as you grow older, you're in the right place! With the rapid rise of niche retirement communities, Baby Boomers and their parents now have terrific options depending on their interests and lifestyle.
Want to study in a stimulating college environment, or cook communal meals? Prefer to be pampered in a five star-resort atmosphere with a concierge who arranges theatre tickets? How about living with other aging actors, writers, musicians, artists or wannabees (in, of course, Burbank, California)? Or with hippies or retired RVers? There are even "virtual retirement communities" where you stay in your house and are privy to social events, transportation to physicians and vetted handyman and delivery services.
"There have never been so many options because older people are choosing to be proactive," says Charles Durrett, a California architect in the forefront of senior co-housing.
Adds Andrea Cohen, a Boston-based national healthcare and senior housing expert: "The new generation of Baby Boomers and seniors want to take control over their futures by creating their own solutions and resources."
These new "retirement communities" reflect today's healthy and engaged older population: many residents work full-time, part-time or volunteer. Consider these cool communities:
Live Near (Or On) A College Campus
Imagine going back to college without the pressure of grades, dorm mates blasting music all night and (sigh!) co-ed bathrooms. Instead, you've got a quiet, cushy condo down the road in a community of older, like-minded learners.
There are 50 university-based retirement communities (UBRCs), and another 25 in the works. "They may well represent the fastest growing niche in senior housing in the next 20 years," UBRC housing specialist Andrew Carle says. "Today's retirees want three things in a community—activity, intellectual stimulation and an intergenerational mix. That describes a college campus."
That's why so many Baby Boomers have settled on or near schools like Dartmouth, Oberlin, Cornell, University of Michigan, Denison, Washington and Lee, Notre Dame, Penn State, UCLA, Duke and the University of Florida. URBCs cost $200,000-$500,000, with monthly fees of $2,200-$4,800, and usually have assisted living and long-term care on-site.
Check out the Kendal Corporation at http://www.kendal.org/living/CommunitiesInCollegeTowns.aspx or http://www.retirement-living.com/blog/articles/2008/12/01/over-55-communities-near-college-campuses-are-on-the-increase
Opt for Semi-Communal "Co-Housing"
In senior co-housing, residents plan their own community, work with architects and decide the rules. (You can join any time in the building process). Like the close and caring neighborhoods of earlier decades, members want to be there for one another, in sickness and in health. They live in fully-equipped apartments, condos or homes built around a common house that has a communal kitchen, dining room, perhaps a theatre, crafts space and guest rooms—whatever the community decides it wants.
Most residents share one or two dinners a week. ElderSpirit in Virginia, Glacier Circle in California and Silver Sage in Colorado have launched, with a senior housing project in Green Valley, California, under construction, and another 20 in the pipeline. Depending on the project, condos range from $100,000-$800,000; ElderSpirit rentals are $315-$500/month. (ElderSpirit also sells inexpensive homes in the $100,000s.)
Find out about senior co-housing at http://www.mccamant-durrett.com/project-type.cfm?cat=senior, http://elderspirit.net/, and http://www.silversagevillage.com/
Go the Resort Route
On the other hand, these senior living resort communities couldn't be more high-end, with granite countertops, full-service spas and other hotel-style amenities. (The Stratford in Broomfield, Colorado provides a chauffeured car.) Many take the form of high-rises in urban areas (Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Seattle, Boston and San Francisco), and can cost in the millions for entry, with monthly fees of $4,000-$7,500.
Classic Residence by Hyatt does luxury senior communities in 11 states, including one next to Stanford University (where residents take courses). Varenna at Fountaingrove in Sonoma County's wine country has Mediterranean-style buildings, valet parking, a dog park and comfortable cottages and apartments.
To learn more, http://www.aegisliving.com/solutions/senior_living.php and http://www.hyattclassic.com/
Stay Put in Your "Virtual Retirement Community"
Launched in 2002, Beacon Hill Village in Boston was the first of its kind. Today, there are seven more, from Washington, D.C., to Palo Alto, California, with 80 being planned. Why? You get to stay in your house and neighborhood, receive free or discounted services (referrals to home-based nurses, house repairs, meal preparation—whatever you need), while socializing at lunches, exercise classes and trips to cultural events. Members pay an annual fee ($600-$900/individual, $850-$1200/couple).
For more information visit http://www.beaconhillvillage.org/. Beacon Hill Village sells a "how to" manual to set up your own virtual retirement community http://www.beaconhillvillage.org/building.html.
With so many options, from college environments to co-housing and resorts, the time is now to start searching for your idea retirement location. Need help making your retirement location decision? Check out the SecurePath by Transamerica Retirement Location Quiz.
