Latitude Margaritaville (an assisted-living community near Hilton Head Island in South Carolina)
My brother built a home in Latitude Margaritaville, moved in, and sold eight weeks later. An age-restricted party community it is, but it definitely is NOT an assisted living community unless your assistance comes from alcohol. There are no care or medical services provided in any of the Margaritaville communities beyond 9-1-1 calls for drunken golf cart accidents.
Which U.S. Cities Are People Moving To?
Military bases, colleges, and local economies are among the factors driving domestic migration.
Gift link https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/realestate/which-us-cities-are-people-moving-to.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5FA.O9Dx.Q7nBUOgpgzSu&smid=url-share
I was surprised by the “assisted living” designation, since I wasn’t aware that any of the Margaritaville communities are anything other than communities for older people. I know enough about the whole Margaritaville scene that I understand why your brother might want to move away. Seriously, though, are a lot of Boomers into that? I mean, enough that it has become a stereotype for our age group? Most people I know left their wild-party days behind years ago.
He and his wife sold because someone made them an insane offer on their house. Late Covid, it was taking over a year-and-a-half to build, so people were knocking on doors asking if new owners wanted to sell. They are somewhat the profile for these communities but, even so, Latitude was a bit over the top, so they took the offer and used the money to buy a lake house in Michigan where their place is the party stop.
They made a wise trade, IMO.
I think people need to be very mindful of availability of medical care & services, especially as we age. Having to go long distances, especially for PT and med appts becomes increasingly onerous as we get older.
I went to lunch with a couple of friends today.
They are 79 and 82. He has macular degeneration, she is a nervous driver who does not drive on the highway
She has a neurologist 100 miles away, he’s been referred to the pain clinic 50 miles away. They have their regular doctors in our small town and recently decided to have the macular degeneration treatment switched to our small town.
At some point, it’s really hard to be aging as the specialists are out of town and driving becomes more difficult.
Agree with the above. Quality medical care within close proximity is very important for us if we decide to move. Another is airports, and we don’t need one quite as close, but that may become less important as we get older.
Problem Drinking in the U.S. Is on the Decline
The number of Americans who met criteria for alcohol use disorder decreased by several million over five years, a survey found.
gift link https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/well/drinking-alcohol-use-survey.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5FA.X9ka.92kch6a7mWkY&smid=url-share
As we get older sometimes we have 2 or more medical appts in the same day and often many in the same week. I am glad none are much further than 30 minutes in traffic to get to, otherwise it would be more onerous. Telehealth is ok for checkups when you’re doing fine but in person visits seem much better to me. My relatives who are doctors agree that in person visits are better and can help give a more accurate picture of how the patient is doing, especially as they age.
For mom, as she became increasingly frail, we did have to resort to telehealth instead of medical transport to get her evaluated by her geriatrician. Medical transport and expensive and took considerable arranging.
My research shows that employers treat more than 1 in 3 U.S. workers as disposable. That comes to just under 57 million full- or part-time workers out of the nation’s workforce of 162 million.
I am a labor economist. In my new book, “Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment,” I explain why this is happening, what forms it takes, how common it is, what the consequences are for people and for society, and what can be done about it.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91588548/u-s-employers-relying-more-more-disposable-workers-heres-why
One of the types of what the author calls marginal workers is adjunct faculty at colleges and universities. Another is staff attorneys at law firms (not on the partner track).
Yes, that’s a stretch IMO.
I definitely saw the rise in hiring temp workers over my career. Decades ago, temps were hired for a specific amount of time ( usually 3 months) to cover an employee’s leave. At the end of the time, they were sometimes hired on full time( if they were good and the employee decided not to come back or there was another position open) or they were done. By my last few years of work, the company I was with had people who were “temps” for a year or two or more.
The thing not mentioned about “ part time” is that the person who works part time basically trades the 20-25% less money for flexibility. All well and good until the department needs more help and they keep adding hours , slowly chipping away at the “ part time “ employee’s flexibility but still paying much less ( and fewer/no) benefits. I was in this situation myself and had to fight to be put in full time status so I could be paid fairly. ( FWIW I have advised my D to not go part time).
Elizabeth Smart Wants Us to See the Magnitude of Resilience
Her abduction as a child became a national story. In a new true crime podcast, Smart speaks to survivors of violent crimes about what they endured and the lifelong process of healing.
gift link https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/arts/elizabeth-smart-kidnapping-podcast-true-crime.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6FA.0ruM.tn8LvvvnKrg8&smid=url-share
This article was shared with me, and I was able to read it without a subscription. I hope that’s the case for others as well, otherwise I’ll post an excerpt.
The authors, who work for Bridgewater, make an urgent call for new AI-related taxation and regulations. I found the article interesting, although I think it’s unlikely that these changes will come to pass.
Interesting thoughts. The following is most intriguing, but I imagine it would be quite an issue for some (I don’t want to venture into politics).
Revenue raised by a token tax can further lower income taxes on humans. And it could be used to help fund a program to acquire stakes in A.I. companies to share with all citizens.
‘Everything Looked Like Me’: Adopted Childhood Friends Discover They’re Sisters
Meena Geltink and Minal Tijssen were adopted from India by families in the Netherlands and grew up less than 100 miles apart.
gift link https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/world/europe/friends-adopted-sisters-india-netherlands.html?unlocked_article_code=1.6VA.RhaR.CIrFasEtTQyV&smid=url-share