@ChoatieMom , We’re in. But a West Coast version. That’s it - I want a retirement college as part of the Claremont consortium.
@ChoatieMom, I remember years ago being infatuated with the area around Dartmouth.
Don’t forget the laundry service, the well-equipped gyms, hockey rinks, swimming pool, and art center @ChoatieMom!
@ChoatieMom …LOVE it! So…all you experienced residential developers out there, can this be turned into a business plan? A way for colleges to grow (or remain steady as the next generation numbers decline). Maybe it could be possible in about 15-20 years? I’ve heard of combined day-care / senior center concepts. A combined college / senior community concept? There are also many examples of open college classes for seniors, so if some specialized housing can be developed in or near college campuses, and classes can be offered or shared, even if for a nominal fee, both generations can win. Exercise facilities open for seniors during early hours when the typical college student is still sleeping? Heck…nursing students could even get guided hands-on experience in our later years?
And trying to hook up with anyone with a pulse. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE4M6gW4u1Y
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/emanuel-sex-and-the-single-senior.html
At least unwanted pregnancies are not a problem. Although apparently STDs are, seniors don’t use protection for some reason.
I wouldn’t call it “hooking up with anyone with a pulse”
Can’t there be dignity and love over 75?
^ If you believe the news, these retirement communities are basically a giant sex romp.
And the women outnumber the men something like 10-1. >:)
I like the idea of a senior citizen college. All the LAC’s going out of buisiness could sell… but we’d have to ax the lofted beds. And I want memory foam.
Oh great, a sex romp for the dudes! Lovely. The rest of the ladies get to join the book club 
No thank you, I’ll keep my guy alive as long as I can. Better he outlive me, I think.
I think you guys want this:
Lasell Village, an award winning senior housing community, invites you to think of retirement in a whole new way – with an emphasis on active, intellectually enriched living.
But…forget the lifelong learning, how about the mountains? Athletic pursuits? Travel? Do we have to be old and sedentary?
The demographic that wants to retire to margaritaville is probably not the same demographic that visits CC.
I know a lot of seniors who love to go to Florida and drink, play golf and fish and party with like minded people. Great people but they are not people who would ever come here. Maybe I’m making a generalization but I don’t think so.
I don’t like when there are these articles that there are all these senior citizen STD’s. It seems stupid to me and a generalization that all seniors are wild and hooking up. There are people of all ages hooking up, why are people so surprised that old people do also? Geez!
I like IHOP over Cracker Barrel myself.
And the U of Fla has had Oak Hammock retirement community for years http://www.oakhammock.org/
But no need to mock the Jimmy Buffett idea. It may be great for a lot of people. Agree that one shouldn’t judge if they haven’t seen it. JMO
My experience with senior living facilities (which so far has been limited thankfully to a limited time with a parent and another with a grandparent) is that there isn’t much learning or activity going on. And its not for a lack of opportunity. Facilities I have seen have libraries, walking tracks, athletic/exercise facilities, well appointed social areas, etc. One of the facilities was one of the top rated ones in the region. Issue was a lack of interest in those activities or no ability to participate in them. My plan is to avoid anything with the words “senior living” associated with it as long as possible.
“My experience with senior living facilities (which so far has been limited thankfully to a limited time with a parent and another with a grandparent) is that there isn’t much learning or activity going on. And its not for a lack of opportunity. Facilities I have seen have libraries, walking tracks, athletic/exercise facilities, well appointed social areas, etc. One of the facilities was one of the top rated ones in the region. Issue was a lack of interest in those activities or no ability to participate in them. My plan is to avoid anything with the words “senior living” associated with it as long as possible.”
Yeah you probably aren’t aware of those that are university based like that Lasel community. There, classes are actually required. Yep, required. And my mother in law lives in one that is not university based but there is active involvement in book clubs and current event discussion groups, a financial investment group etc…
My mother in law was originally a lot like you. She didn’t know that there were many different types of senior living places. But when she became unable to well manage the full flight of stairs in her Victorian home we started looking. She was pushing for a condo but we were all concerned that this wouldn’t meet all her needs long term. She was very reluctant but eventually agreed to move in to a senior living place.!" She immediately got involved with a group that goes to plays ( via charter bus) and brings in a lecturer after to discuss. She goes to financial lectures and the current events club. She has a friend group that plays maj Jong, something she had loved but stopped because it had been too hard to keep it up in winter when she didn’t like to drive. About a month or two in she called my husband and said " you were right I should have done this a year ago!"
Hmmm… To each her own. I have no interest in any group games. Listening to a lecture about a play I just watched is not my cup of tea either. I enjoy gardens, growing stuff, outdoorsy activities, nature trails, botanical gardens… I looked at the course catalog, and the only class that looked somewhat interesting was something about the famous trials of the last century. Where are the life sciences courses? I guess I am not ready to retire! 
As I get older, the things that I am required to do have been decreasing. When I reach retirement, I expect that to reduce to nothing. Any place (particularly one to which I would be paying a lot of money) that tells me I am required to do anything isn’t a place for me.
Now, there is a reason Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors. Anyone looking for that type of arrangement should have at it. But please don’t assume that someone who isn’t doesn’t know about it or otherwise understand it.
My bigger point though was from what I have seen (and conversations I have had with friends dealing with aging parents) we tend to glamorize retirement years. Its become a huge business and glamor sells. Makes people feel better about aging. Also makes kids feel better about what is happening with their parents. I feel a lot better about going about my daily life thinking my parents are engaged in a community and active than I do thinking they are sitting in chairs by themselves staring out the window. Doesn’t mean the former is closer to reality though.
The two senior living facilities I have spent any significant amount of time in are beautiful facilities. Amenities that almost make you sign yourself up. But walking the halls, little of those facilities appear to be actually used. Talking with friends with aging parents, that experience isn’t unique (one even admitted to me that the facilities made them feel better and they liked coming there as a result though admitting their parents pretty much never use them and they have rarely seen those facilities used during any visits).
And none of that is to say that there aren’t people using those facilities. I just think that for a lot of people, its not a reality (one because of costs and two because of physical and mental limitations).
The active seniors I know live in their own homes. To each his/her own.
I’m reading the recent posts on senior living and have to chime in since I’m the managing editor for a group of newspapers for older adults, and we write about (and advertise) retirement communities and alternative living options all the time.
One fairly recent concept is the “village” model, in which neighbors help others age in place through a formal network of volunteers, social and educational events, and vetted service providers. Members pay a yearly fee of several hundred dollars. Some of the villages have a paid staff member. There are a couple dozen in the Washington, DC area where I live and many more throughout the country. http://www.vtvnetwork.org/
There are also co-housing options where people have their own apartments, but there is a lot of communal space to eat together or hang out if you want. Some are seniors-only, while others are intergenerational: http://www.cohousing.org/senior_community_list
And as someone mentioned, retirement communities built in college towns or next to campuses is a growing concept and one I bet a lot of us would like. I don’t see an official link to an organization, but this page lists places: http://www.bestguide-retirementcommunities.com/Collegelinkedretirementcommunities.html.
I also think there is a huge difference in the retirement needs of someone who is 65 and 85, so it may be we’re talking about living a couple different places.
My mom died unexpectedly before my dad. He refus d to move into an ALF. After his second stroke, I moved him into one. Within weeks, he told me he felt I had moved him into a 5 * hotel. Their driver took him to dialysis 2x a week (I did the 3rd), and this man had a 20 y o daughter on dialysis. He couldn’t have been better. My dad joined the travel club, the bridge group, did PT dAily, afternoon piano/social hour, etc. he was content there, so when he needed more care, I added a daily private aide, and then 24/7 care. Most of my patients complain whenever they live in a facility, but my dad felt cared for liked.
I have younger friends, where the wife has MS. They live in a local community that offers everything from partio homes to rehab to hospice. They love that they don’t have to clean or cook, can travel and leave their apartment, and know that their health needs can always be handled.
Sometimes these retirement communities can fit the bill, especially if one is living nag also ne and children live far away.m
Rats. Our retirement fund will be down about $100k next year. Tesla installed its first roof. 
Mr is in seventh heaven. I am
praying that our house is not structurally solid to have that installed. I like my wood shakes!!! :(( They came with the house and are good for another 10 years.
OTOH, maybe I can get my cabinets refaced - if we are plunking more money into that dilapidated shack. 