Active Adult Communities

Retirement isn't what it used to be. For decades, people would retire and remain in their house of 30 or more years, which were originally purchased with raising a family as the intended use. More recently, retirement has come to symbolize the time in one's life to change residences to accommodate their new needs. Because after all, retirement doesn't mean the end of one's life, but a beginning of a new lifestyle.

Active adult communities are increasing in popularity across the country. This is a big shift from years past where "active adult communities" were only found on properties adjacent to golf courses. Today, active adult communities offer a wide range of amenities to satisfy interests such as hiking, biking trails, canoeing, as well as indoor and outdoor tennis. And since the focus at this stage of life is mainly health, active adult communities without recreation facilities are like swimming pools without water. These facilities usually have fitness centers in them that offer swimming pools with water aerobics, as well as classes in yoga, pilates, dancing, and more.

Since recreation facilities typically also serve as a means for social interaction with other active adults, community directors provide computer classes, health and nutrition education, and a wide range of social events. Most active adult communities also provide weekly outings that venture outside the community, whether it's a trip to a local museum, a jaunt to the symphony, an evening at the ballet, or an outing to a professional sporting venue.

One of the biggest, if not the most important, concern for those at this stage of life is the financial aspect. The cost of housing is extremely evaluated, and plays a major factor in the decision making process. Most folks don't want a mortgage or have to pay high property taxes when they reach their golden years. And since the kids are no longer living at home, most people want to scale down from a multi-bedroom family residence to more quaint and cozy proportions. Since developers are well aware of their patrons' economic concerns, it is not difficult to find active adult communities with building plans ranging from individual homes within a planned development, villas, condominiums, town homes, and modular or manufactured homes.

The second biggest concern for individuals at this life stage is remaining close to children and grandchildren. Being able to continue an existing relationship with their trusted physician and healthcare facility is also very important to new retirees. And most new retirees also don't want to leave the comfort and familiarity of the area where they are currently living. Luckily, more and more active adult communities are being developed all over the country as the baby-boomer generation prepares for retirement.