The New York Times has jumped on the Boomer bandwagon with a recent article entitled "Still Working, Boomers 'Retire' to Resorts.
Our parents either retired to the homestead or moved, usually to a warmer climate, for retirement years. However, a lot of those retirees were unhappy with their lot. Those at home faced the same maintenance costs and taxes on the large house...now with empty bedrooms. Many who moved regretted the loss of their friends and neighbors. Some were never able to adjust and made a second move back.
Today, Boomers are experiencing a new option...planned residential resorts that cater to your every whim. Living space that fits your needs, without lawns to mow and gutters to clean.
In the Times article, a Grandboomer couple "strolled into the sales center at the resort in Ocean County, Greenbriar Westlake, (New Jersey) and signed the papers on a $400,000 house far smaller than the six-bedroom home they own in Manalapan, just a half-hour to the north. What they got for their money is a gated neighborhood of quiet cul-de-sacs and tightly packed homes where children are permitted to visit but not live."
You'll note the phrase "where children are permitted to visit but not live." Grandboomers like to see and spend time with the grandchildren, but, it's also nice to have some quiet time when they leave. Plus, these communities offer other amenities for Grandboomer that complete an attractive package.
This community "has an 18-hole golf course, two pools, an expansive clubhouse and, most important, maintenance-free living." Andrew Jacobs, author of the Times article continues, "In a trend sweeping the building industry, tens of thousands of older Americans are forsaking the sun-and-sand colonies of Florida, Arizona and California and choosing to stay closer to home in so-called active-adult communities that combine luxurious, suburban-style living with the amenities of a country club.
Unlike traditional communities for older adults, these enclaves eschew the word "retirement" and supply a dizzying array of distractions to keep residents busy and healthy."
While not blessed with the instant wealth of the .com generation (or poverty as the case may be), Grandboomers appear to be fairly affluent, making these planned communities a popular choice. New Jersey appears to be a leader in the construction of these areas, although, one can expect that the trend will continue throughout the northern United States from East to West Coasts.
A generation ago, housing tracts like this were places dotted with jungle gyms, station wagons, above ground pools, driveways littered with toys and sidewalks defined with chalk art. Today, without the children, the area tends to remain more pristine and orderly. Builders see this as the next housing boom.
From the Times article:
"This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Kira McCarron, vice president for marketing of Toll Brothers, a luxury-home builder that is developing two age-restricted communities in Ocean County and another two in metropolitan Detroit and Washington.
Like other builders, Toll Brothers is tapping into a bulging population of aging homeowners drawn from metropolitan New York and Philadelphia, where soaring real estate values have turned middle-class suburbanites into well-off empty nesters, experts say.
"People who paid $30,000 for a Bergen County ranch in the 1960's can sell it for $300,000 and live the life they never had when they had kids and bills," said William Becker, a consultant to the age-restricted housing industry. "Most of these people are paying cash for their new places, which is why it's such a hot business."
Unlike many in their parents' generation, aging boomers do not want to be far from family and friends, and do not want to skimp on creature comforts, builders say. They want cathedral ceilings, two-car garages, big closets and big windows overlooking the golf course.
Many are opting for basements and second floors, features unheard of in retirement communities a decade ago. And they want space to entertain and an extra bedroom for visiting grandchildren. "They don't want to make sacrifices to move out of their homes," Ms. McCarron said. "They want to retire gracefully."
DIFFERENCES
One of the principal differences between Grandboomers and our parents is that we don't want all out retirement. Most of us want to continue to work. But, we also want time for outside activities like exercise, socializing and travel. It's doubtful you'll find a shuffleboard in one of these new communities. Maintenance of lifestyle is paramount. Grandboomers aren't looking to slowdown or trade down from our current lifestyle...a defining difference from our parents.
Marketing of these communities, the Times notes, emphasize "biking, swimming and swinging 9-irons -- or the grandchildren." It continues that the "R" word...retirement...is out; as is any reference to medical facilities.
Find a place close enough to your present address and you don't even have to find new service providers. You can have the same doctor and shop at the same grocery store or at least with the same chain. If your children and grandchildren lived in reasonable driving distance before...there won't be much difference now. And importantly, from a Grandboomer point of view, the proximity keeps the family closer together.
From the Times article:
With the share of the United States population age 65 or older expected to reach nearly 20 percent by 2030, demographers and builders agree that the market is ripe for such communities. "It's a huge tidal wave, and it's no surprise that developers are responding to that market," said James W. Hughes, the dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Builders have been catering to the boom generation since the 1960's and 70's with garden apartments, then the town houses of the 80's, and in the last decade, large single-family homes packed with top-notch appliances and features. Although "people may want to scale down a bit," Dr. Hughes said, "they still want the Jacuzzi and the granite countertop."
Adult complexes are good not only for developers, but also for the town governments that approve their construction.
Municipalities that fear the extra services demanded by standard subdivisions are actively courting age- restricted projects, which produce tax revenue but create no demands on school districts. And because the streets are privately policed and maintained, there is minimal need for police, fire and snowplowing services.
THERE ARE THINGS TO CONSIDER
Participation in one of these communities is much like owning a condo. Your home may be a freestanding building, but you are part of an association and there will be a monthly dues to cover the costs of the amenities. Rules and restrictions may apply that are abrasive to you. And, there's the flip side of the no-children coin.
Some Grandboomers say the absence of the sound of children is deafening. Whether you chose to retire to one of these communities or not, it's nice to know that the boomer generation continues to have the power to dictate lifestyle changes and that we'll have plenty of alternatives if we choose a new living environment.
© 2012 Created by Myles Bristowe.
