Just a comment about retirement communities. We live in one. There is SO much variety–they aren’t all depressing places with condo/apartment-like housing with a community pool and horseshoes populated by white-haired people sitting on porches. I don’t see many CCers being attracted to places like that.
We aging Boomers have prodded developers to design communities that cater to our palates, activity levels, privacy and entertaining needs, and health stages. My dad and his wife live in a stunning 55+ community of 5,000 beautiful homes ranging from 1500 sq ft with small yards to 4000 st ft palaces on the golf course. His community features a baseball diamond (those older guys can hit!), full wood shop, glass-blowing studio and ceramics shop, sewing/quilting center, really every craft, hobby, and club space you can imagine, multiple pools, spa, fitness center, barber shop, salon, many restaurants, a Safeway, several banks, and the list goes on (and on). What makes it a “retirement” community is that owners have the option to eventually “trade” their homes to ease down in to other areas of the community where housing can be smaller, independent dwellings with various in-home assistance options to those condo-like setups with full-time care and into memory care. Also, this sprawling community is across the street from one of the largest hospitals specializing in the full-range of geriatric medicine.
In our case, though we love dad’s community, we don’t care for the age restriction. So, we chose a Club Med-like resort of 2,500 homes in a different part of the valley, also on a golf course with even more amenities and activities (that does have a small age-restricted enclave for those who prefer properties sited away from the bustle), but the vibe here is still very much “active-young,” and we have many young families. In addition to independent homes of varying square footage, the community also has an area of “resort” homes, two-unit dwellings that share a wall, have no yard maintenance, but still have private patio/outdoor spaces. All are lock-n-leave for the many who travel frequently or are gone part of the year. Our community is also across the street from a large hospital (a criteria important to us).
States like AZ and FL, both bastions of retirement, probably offer some of the best of these lifestyle options, but I offer up this description of the newer trend to help dispel the pejorative image of retirement communities.