Flip the conventional. 55+ at home with rec amenities

[jjpike]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

Not really. Omaha is a city where single family homes rule. The typical development is a suburban neighborhood with no real amenities, with a half-dozen town homes or "villas" (basically free-standing ranch houses where all the exterior maintenance is performed by the HOA) tossed in as an afterthought. An entire community of town homes or even single family homes with a clubhouse, pool, and other such amenities is so rare here I've never actually seen one.

Now, many apartment complexes do have such amenities, and so do a few of the apartment-style multistory condos that are popping up downtown. But the OP is looking for something that's genuinely all-but-impossible to find here. We just don't have the equivalent of The Villages or Sun City here on the prairie.

Well put. Thank you!

[jertheber]

America has never been a nation known for it's innovative housing and most people here never think about retirement housing as the challenge it has become. Where, what size home, the weather, transportation, walkability, things to do, all of these facets have one overriding consideration in retirement and that would be the fact of aging beyond the point of your independence.

The notion of retirement as a kind of vacation still exists in the tons of literature used in the promotion of "active lifestyle" housing developments around the country, these places are usually priced in the upper range for their respective areas because of the reasons noted in the brochures, pools, golf courses, clubhouse W bar and grille etc.

My grandparents retired in Montana where they had spent their lives working and raising family, retirement meant the end of their jobs but nothing else really changed for them, same neighbors, same church, surrounded by family and old familiar haunts. They lived there and died there never thinking of retirement as anything more than another twist in the road.

I think there is a possibility that so many think of retirement in terms of being different to the extent that they want to live somewhere different, do different things now, be with different people now, and all of that difference, in the minds of many, include a type of luxuriating beyond what was possible when they worked. The gated grand entrances to so many of the south west "retirement communities" says it all with regard to this notion of living out our autumn years in a kind of Disney World for seniors.

I live in a golf course neighborhood in the NW that is predominantly an older demographic, not too many young families want to be in an older established area where home prices are not always family friendly and the prospect of not having many children around is a turnoff for their kids. It's over 55 by default. It's quiet here, mature landscaping, each home is situated on a large lot that affords a lot of privacy, in winter we travel to get some sun, that's the extent of our retirement housing effort.

We find that the daily motions of living give us plenty to do, I think if more people would simply adjust to retirement in place they just may discover the joys living a simple life, moving isn't always the answer, and the money can be better utilized for travel to better climes in winter. Slow down, think long and hard before making any changes in address, travel, or enjoy your surroundings as a liberated local, retirement is not about place as much as it is about time and the choices that are now available as to how you'll spend that time....

[Aredhel]

Those are good points, jertherber. I'm planning to move from my house to a condo in the very near future primarily for work-related reasons (less time spent on home repair and yard work, and I'll be able to walk to work instead of driving a half-hour one way), but I have also realized that it may be a great retirement option as well when that day comes, as it's in a very walkable part of town and ought to be pretty turn-key if I should want to play snowbird.

I don't need Disneyworld, just affordable and practical for an older person.

[Back.home.again]

Rather than a restricted to 55+ community, my husband and I have chosen a mixed development. We feel like it's the best of both worlds. We have the community center, enclosed summer/winter pool, gym, outdoor activities (we live in the foothills outside Boise) and lots of people from various backgrounds. We have a book club and Bunco group made up of mostly retired women. On our street, it is almost all people our age or older. Down the hill, there are many families with children. I see most of the people our age either in the custom homes on our street, or in the patio homes a few blocks away, so there is an option for many levels of income. I love the combination of singles, young families, teenagers and empty nesters. Why surround yourself with only people who are retired? This is way more interesting.

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by Back.home.again

Rather than a restricted to 55+ community, my husband and I have chosen a mixed development. We feel like it's the best of both worlds. We have the community center, enclosed summer/winter pool, gym, outdoor activities (we live in the foothills outside Boise) and lots of people from various backgrounds.

That's the sort of development I wish we had here in Omaha! Most of our subdivisions have no amenities at all, except possibly a small park area.

[jjpike]

Very thoughtful and insightful responses. I will take your experience and wisdom and look a little deeper, before jumping into a retirement community. I guess I don't know why I seem under pressure to decide on a traditional 55+ location. Thanks for the reality check.