Hey, Arizona! Here Come the Baby Boomers! (Phoenix, Tucson: travel, jobs)

[ZonyPony]

"Fifty-Five and glad to be alive" retirement communities every place you can imagine! Sun Valley in Phoenix, Green Valley in Tucson, etc, etc... - they're everywhere! They're EVERYWHERE!

Great for the economy? Absolutely! So what in the world is a "Baby Boomer? Definitions of Baby Boomers on the Web:


The approximately 78.2 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 according to the US Census Bureau (Census Bureau Home Page). ...

www.thrasherfunds.com/learn/glossary.htm

• 
  People who were born between 1946 and 1964.
• 
  www.esomar.org/index.php/glossary-b.html
• The very large generation born in the United States and Canada between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s.
  www.thenewowners.com/glossary.html
• Born between 1946 and 1964, Boomers are approximately 100 million strong. By 2015, they will represent 35% of the US population.
  www.demandmade.com/terminology.html
  
• Those born between 1946 and 1964, when birth rates rose sharply, and now a popular target group for marketers.
  www.allamericanlist.com/gmainB.asp
• The generation of people born in the post war years, between 1946 and up to 1965. This generation, by its sheer size alone, has filled jobs in the ...
  artichoke.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!ED05923E956A6843!1541.entry

Get ready, Arizona... for here they come!

[Ria Rhodes]

In case you missed it, we're already here.

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by Ria Rhodes

In case you missed it, we're already here.

Yep! They're here. They are a wonderful group of people.

They bring their patriotic ways with them as well. There are American flags, windsocks and twirlies all throughout the areas where they live. They bring their knowledge of an era which introduced TV dinners, hotrods, Harleys, and rock and roll.

They understand what a hard day's work really means. Many lasted at their one job for 20-30 plus years. Very loyal people.

Baby boomers: The generation of people born in the post war years, between 1946 and up to 1965. This generation, by its sheer size alone, has filled jobs in the early seventies and dictated most lifestyle trends. The baby boomers have started retiring now, but the generation following them (sometimes called the generation X) much weaker in numbers.

Bring on the Boomer!

[MotleyCrew]

We be here too!

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by MotleyCrew

We be here too!

Yeah!

[nitram]

Here are some interesting facts about baby boomers.
10 Million Baby Boomers Face Alzheimer's, Report Predicts - washingtonpost.com
Baby Boomers Appear to Be Less Healthy Than Parents - washingtonpost.com

[Nearborn]

I didn't know babyboomers as a generation were known for their patriotism.

[Ria Rhodes]

I say "boomer" as a time identifier more than anything, but generational labels can lead to false assumptions and stereotypes (and if I don't catch myself sometimes I fall into relying upon them too). Each generation models itself on their parents values as well as the thinking and trends of their peers (and marketing and technology influences). As we know, there is much variety of thinking within each generation. I've met boomers that fly the stars and stripes year round in their yards but who scare me in their narrow-minded thinking on many issues, and I've know fellow boomers that given half a chance will wax on nostalgically about the sixties as if no other era in human history was more significant. You have the Tom Brokaw's of the world promoting the "greatest generation" who helped the allies crush the Nazi war machine, yet this generation also upheld much prejudice and inhumane treatment toward segments of its citizens. Human history is filled with great advances and great tragedies, and no one generation deserves being called the "greatest" or the "worst". That said (without being specific), there is much about my generation that frustrates me, and these frustrations have been magnified over the years as I have lived/traveled abroad and talked to people who have less opportunities to succeed, and less material wealth, but who nonetheless often exhibit more optimism and insights into life than their (too often spoiled/self-centered) American counterparts. My hope will always be for our young people and how they will work toward a better world for all.

[ZonyPony]

Forgive me, everyone, if I presented an overly zealous view, or if I happened to gush about the boomers. However, I'm not talking about the percentage of destructive thinking rebels who never really came back into society and helped to make it better - only those which truly contributed in a positive way to this generation.
I prefer not to give any rebel faction of any generation any more print than they've already managed to take away from the whole. They've had their day in the sun.

Many boomers did take much of their parents' constructive and positive values with them, whether we see it or not. Many of the boomer rebs eventually returned to a value system much like their parents had: hard-working and having a love of country.

Being an obnoxious rebel might be quite romantic for some, but its really a distraction to others who prefered not to take that particularly low road. Forgetting the boomers for just a sec, rebelling against the norm happens in every generation. Its rather an expected thing.

I love the patriotism of the boomers which I see around me, and their positive and constructive way about them. True, many of the boomers' parents were short sighted and selfish, if not hypocrital and judgmental -and, yes, even racist in nature.

But, hey! Those were the kinds of things to rebel against. The world should not revolve around that kind of thinking anyway. I say again - here come the boomers!

[esselcue]

This Boomer has been here for 23 yers.