How to find a Boomer Retirement Community!
Young retirees known as boomers want to live in active adult retirement communities that have younger residents like Sun City Grand and PebbleCreek in the Phoenix metro area. Here’s 7 tips to find a boomer retirement community in any part of the country.
Baby boomers have been at the fore front of many lifestyle changes over the years. They are now changing the way we think about retirement communities and especially what we call them. Boomers don’t want to live in retirement communities instead they want to live in active adult, adult lifestyle, adult resort or adult living communities. The big question for many baby boomers is how do you spot a younger retirement community? Below are some tips that might just help. Put a few of these tips together and you just might find the perfect boomer retirement community for you.
1. It’s all about the retirement community name or slogan
As a Realtor who specializes in Phoenix Arizona active adult communities I work with many baby boomer buyers who voice the same theme. They don’t want to live in what they feel is the traditional retirement community. Communities called retirement communities do not fit a boomers image of themselves. They think of retirement homes, nursing homes or old people. “We are young retirees who are very active and don’t want an elderly place” explained Katie a boomer buyer from California. How a community describes or markets its self makes a big difference as to the age of retirees it attracts. Trading in the word retirement for active adult gives a whole new perspective and feel to a community. Boomers relate more to active adult, adult lifestyle or adult living as these words closely match their image of themselves. Some builders and developers have caught on and have added these words to their community name or slogan. Look for those words.
2. Highly active retirement communities
Boomers are attracted to active adult communities that offer top notch amenities where they can stay very active both physically and socially along with newer homes and recreation facilities. Those that have very active things to do like fitness classes, pilates, pickle ball, soft ball, walking and biking trials will help you gauge the age of the residents. Pickle ball considered a younger sport has become more popular than tennis in some adult communities. Look for a full time activity director or fitness director as they will most likely result in a more simulating place to live. It’s all about a healthy fun lifestyle in an active resort setting.
3. Newer communities
The communities that seem to transition the best are newer active adult communities that have state of the art facilities, younger age restrictions and lock and leave options. Most, but not all, are still building new homes with open floor plans, the latest technologies and energy efficiencies.
4. State of the art facilities and amenities
Boomers want luxurious state of the art facilities and amenities in the community including resort style pools, golf courses, workout facilities, recreations centers, club houses, restaurants, theaters and spas.
5. Lower age restrictions
Boomer active adult communities tend to have lower age restrictions to become a resident. The lowest I’ve seen to date is age 40. With lower age restrictions, some pre-retirees and semi retired boomers are buying before they are officially retired. Joe from Chicago bought a home in a Robson resort active adult community at age 40. He is renting his furnished home to snowbirds until his kids are grown and he retires. In between renters he and his family vacation there a few times a year. Other pre-retirees buy and still work while living full time in the community enjoying the resort lifestyle in an adult community. Some communities like PebbleCreek have demographics of their residence available so seek out this information if it’s available.
6. Lock and leave Condos and Villas
For many boomers the first home they buy in an adult community will be a second home that is a low maintenance condo, duplex, town house or villa. These homes are single story with one or more common walls. There are also patio homes that are single family homes with zero lot lines or very small yards. For both, landscaping and exterior maintenance are covered by second homeowners association which is in addition to the community HOA fee. This lock and leave option is popular with boomers as it allows a carefree lifestyle with more time to enjoy the community, travel or just pick up and leave to return to their main home.
7. Lifestyle master planned community with an active adult subdivision
Trilogy, a developer located in several states, does a great job of building lifestyle master planned communities. This is a resort master planned community for all stages of life including family and active adult subdivisions. For some boomers this is the perfect setting for their children and grand kids to be close by, as well as a younger population.
Now that you have some idea on how to spot a boomer retirement community it’s time to do your homework on the web and find a community or two that fits what you are looking for. Once you have done that find a Realtor who specializes in Active Adult and who can help can help guide you once they know your priorities and criteria. And, most importantly go and visit. There is no substitution for experiencing an active adult community in person to see if it fits your expectations and needs.
