Economic Development Futures Journal

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

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Economic Development Should Give Greater Attention to Retirement Issues

Adventurous retirement is what I seek! How about you? No gated community isolated from the world for me.

Read this: "Once upon a time, retirement meant one thing: uprooting yourself to a warm locale where crime was low and doctors were abundant, and then living happily ever after playing bridge and bacci ball.

But over the years, those well-worn roads to the homogenized retirement communities in Florida and Arizona have sprouted several less traveled by-trails. "A lot of boomers are striking out in unique paths," says author David Savageau, who is finishing up his sixth edition of "Retirement Places Rated." "They don't want terry cloth or line dancing or early bird specials."

Source: Fortune/CNN Money

Recommendation: Economic developers should help people in their communities to better come to terms with retirement issues. We are too silent on these issues, focusing instead on getting people to work more and harder in life.

posted by Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. at Tuesday, June 27, 2006

2 Comments:

  • do you think retirement aged people will primarily seek out, if available and affordable communities of people ina similar life stage?

    Or do you think many ppl would be interested in being apart of a multi-aged community.

    and if people can't afford the posh retirements communities (say those by Del Web) what options can economic developers consider?

    --RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com

    By Blogger RC, at 5:07 PM  

  • RC,

    Good questions.

    All good questions. Being near family is a major factor now with retirees. As a population we are living longer and we are seeing people move off to a place they like for 10 years or so and then come back to their original home--sadly to say to be near family for care in their final years.

    I think retirees want a more active lifestyle. Some continue to gravitate to the 55+ communities and others seek a more mixed environment. All in what you want. Money is a much bigger driver as well.

    Don

    By Blogger Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D., at 2:39 AM  

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