Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What do people do there besides play cards and gossip? Hanging around a bunch of old people would suck too. How many times can you listen to someone prattle on about his/her medical problems or grandkids before you want to pull your hair out?
There are plenty of 55+ year old people who have the mindset of 30 years olds. They are active, travel, go hiking/boating/whatever, and have interesting lives. I get the impression that "55 communities" are more for old people who act old.
To answer your question, my over 62 community has:
Play readers group
Art classes
Exercise class
Writer's group
Game days comprised of trivia contests and indoor sports games
Occasional day trips
Movies
Live performances of various types of entertainment
Luncheons
Parties
Musical performances
Bingo
Cards
Barbeques on special occasions
Casino visits
A choir
Walking/hiking group
Distance travel is not offered at our residence but many over-55 places do.
They will also bus residents to a nearby city run senior center that offers different activities.
If people choose not to participate that's their business. But I don't believe those same people would be active no matter where they lived and at any age.
There are plenty of 55+ year old people who have the mindset of 30 years olds. They are active, travel, go hiking/boating/whatever, and have interesting lives. I get the impression that "55 communities" are more for old people who act old.
LOL, where'd you get that impression?
My community has roughly 50 clubs. Yeah, we have bridge and canasta, but times have changed and these days the busiest ones are Zumba, Trailblazers, (kayaking and hiking group), Tennis, WAB (cyclists), Pickleball, Sailing, Paddleboard Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Travel Club (mostly local day trips, but sometimes more ambitious trips too), Fishing, Marsh Hawk (a rock/blues jam club), and Softball.
ps. The link below is our Marsh Hawk jam group. I was gonna say "This ain't your grandma's rock band" but you know what, it IS grandma's rock band.
My husband and I moved to an over 55 community, I am 58 and he is 61. I retired from a government job, took two years off, and now work part-time in a job I really like, working 25 hours a week. The community and the people are very nice. What I find interesting is many of the people tell me how lucky I am that I am still working and how much they miss working. I am talking about people in their 80's and 90's. They tell me things like "never quit working". Tonight at a community BBQ a 90 year old couple, married 66 years were telling me they wish they were still working. They are bored. Another 88 year old neighbor tells me how bored she is and they tell me of all the great jobs they had and how much they miss it. They tell me "never retire!"
It is sort of like the twilight zone. When I worked at a high stress government job, all the stressed out zombies (I was one of them) were counting down to retirement, how soon could we retire and enjoy life. It was like a prison term, how many years do you have to put in until you escape? We were all obsessed with retirement planning.
Now I feel like I have a good balance, happy working part-time, money comes in handy. Having so many seniors tell me how much they miss working makes me wonder. Is this just a human thing, if you are working hard you dream of retiring, and now my elderly neighbors are bored and dream of still working.
I see 70 and 80 year old people working in grocery stores here and they all say the same thing: I’m bored.
Honestly, after just 2.5 years of retirement I too am bored. Excruciatingly so...I miss being useful.
One of the things I wish I had done differently in my younger years was to have developed a more balanced group of activities. Most of activities I enjoyed were physically demanding, hockey, construction, running, biking, dirt bikes, water skiing, backpacking. Now, at 56, my body is in protest and many of the activities I enjoyed I either no longer can do, don't do nearly as well, or they take a big physical toll on my body. Similarly I worked jobs where I was going full out most of the time. They often carried a higher than normal amount of stress which as I aged the stress took its toll as well.
I am now trying to cultivate some new activities and interests. Ideally I would like to find a 25 hour per week job like the OP that will keep me socially and intellectually engaged and still have ample free time to cultivate new interests.
I personally would not be able to live in an age-restricted community. Many are very nice and have a lot of amenities. However, I feel more comfortable living amongst a variety of age groups. It helps me feel younger.
We considered it and check out many. Ultimately opted for a gated community with no age restrictions. Nice to see kids, teens, young married, and old farts like me all mixed in.
We older folks rule the pool weekdays before school lets out!
Why do you think you can't do all of the activities you want to do and still live in a 55+ community? There is not a lock on the gate, you can leave to pursue any interest you may have. You may actually be surprised to find that many residents share your interests!
If that option is affordable you might even be able to do more of the things you like if the things you like don't include repairs to the house, mowing the grass, etc.
What do people do there besides play cards and gossip? Hanging around a bunch of old people would suck too. How many times can you listen to someone prattle on about his/her medical problems or grandkids before you want to pull your hair out?
There are plenty of 55+ year old people who have the mindset of 30 years olds. They are active, travel, go hiking/boating/whatever, and have interesting lives. I get the impression that "55 communities" are more for old people who act old.
If you are bored in an over 55 community it's your own fault.
All those activities are enjoyed by many of the people here. Some of us have health issues that preclude hiking, boating etc. I am one. To look at me you would never know because I look strong and healthy. Looks can be deceiving.
But we do travel. in 2017 we spent 10 days on a river cruise to the Netherlands and Belgium. From Amsterdam we flew to Dublin, rented a car, and spent 17 days driving around the southern half. Back to Dublin for a few days then back to Amsterdam for four more days then home.
We missed a trip to Europe in 2018 due to deaths in the family.
In between then and now we traveled to Southern California three times and we are going again this July. Then in August we fly to St. Petersburg to take another river cruise to Moscow. 12 days. Then home again. I couldn't talk my wife into spending more time somewhere in Europe this time, but maybe next year when we travel to Greece.
Christmas with friends in Salt Lake City.
We plan on a European trip every year until we can't. The odds are it will be my heath that causes us to quit. Then we will hop in our car and drive all over the United States and Canada.
And yes, we do play cards and other games with friends. We also play video games. PS3 and PS4 both. We've been video game players for over 40 years.
Some people do spend too much time (for me) talking about health and children, but I listen because it's important to them. I would be a lousy friend if I didn't.
Oh I almost forgot. We live in an over 55 community. An active over 55 community.
Nope, because I didn't exist then. But I'm doing many of the same things I did 25 years ago and have picked up new interests besides. I don't expect my interests and hobbies to change in the next 25 years. Do you think people's interests change just because their physical abilities do? I know plenty of people who are "bored" because they are no longer able to do the things that interest them.
The post I was replying to was from someone who didn't understand why these people are bored, because apparently "not being immobile and confined to one's apartment" is the same thing as "able to get out and do whatever one wants." I could round up for you a whole battalion of aging people who would laugh at that idea, and who also would say old folks' barbecues are no substitute for doing the sorts of fun activities they wish they still could do.
But, you know, if that works for you, that's fine. Just don't expect it to work for everyone.
That is why your interests will change over time. Not all of them but many will. It's called growth. No one thinks a barbecue is a substitute for an active lifestyle but when your 90 and still be able to go to that it isn't too bad.
We considered it and check out many. Ultimately opted for a gated community with no age restrictions. Nice to see kids, teens, young married, and old farts like me all mixed in.
We older folks rule the pool weekdays before school lets out!
But does the all age community want you there?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
