One of my book club friends recently bought in a 55 plus community. She is pretty youthful and still working at a university. For her it was a financial decision. The 55 plus community was affordable. She had sold her regular condo and moved for a few years to another 55 plus community in a different part of the state. When she decided to return she could only afford the 55 community.
My sister-in-law recently bought a place in Sun City Palm Desert. She will rent it out but she liked all the amenities the community has. She felt even at 68 she felt like there were many peers who she connected with. Her and her partner are active but also very social. They liked the social aspect. They plan it as a 2nd home that they will also rent out.
The age segregation of some of these huge CCRCās positioned out of the way, so to speak, does concern me. It almost feels like warehousing in order to keep the truly elderly out of sight.
I lived in Little Italy for 15 years and I remember the old woman on my street who sat in the sun on a stoop, and we all said hello as we passed. Part of the community (and family).
I think one of the reasons you see some of them separate from the community is that to build a newer development you need land. Preferably land that is cheap. When we drive to visit one of our kids we pass on the highway a good number of signs for new housing developments. Some advertising as 55 plus others single family or townhomes or some communities with a mix of types of dwellings. What they all have in common is the need for a vehicle. At least in most areas there isnāt room within the downtown corridors for larger scale new housing.
Something like that might work for me if there was a house plan small enoughā¦both for cost but also, I just donāt need more space than Iād have in a smallish apartment, but I do like the idea of my own casita and my own small green space outside the door and community activities to join in on.
Oddly, NYC actually does have its appeal, IF affordableā¦.and kinda close to a park? I do love the Highline but idk to what advanced age I could walk the stairs to access it. I was intrigued by an article in the NYT about a woman who moved to a modest apartment in Manhattan (from some beautiful bucolic suburban place) when she could no longer drive, or just felt too isolatedā¦Iād say late 70s if memory serves, and is now mid-90s, going strong and living entirely independently. She walks and busses every day, volunteers at a museum something like twice per week, goes to cultural events, finds free or reduced-price things to do, uses a library card, carries her own groceries from nearby markets and delis, etc. She has a son on the west coast that she talks with just about every day. I donāt know, the noise level and hard pavements might be too much but, thereās something about NYC and feeling youāre in the pulse of humanity every day. At home, I resent things like noisy mowers and weed-wackers and construction toolsā¦I want peace and quiet and nature but New Yorkā¦.well, itās a different sort of happy thereā¦
Iām pretty sure my daughter will live there for at least a couple of years while when she finally finishes school, but sheās not convinced she would make a life there. Iāll likely hunker down where I am for a few years to see where her life is heading before making any big moves!
My husband and I downsized and moved into a 55+ apartment. Although our building is age restricted, the other buildings in the same new development are not. I like that although my neighbors are older, I can still interact with people of all ages within the neighborhood. To me it is the best of both worlds. Also, the town is very walkable. I walk to the library, my yoga classes, the post office, the train station, etc.