This week's Bottom Line newsletter featured an interview with David Savageau, author of Retirement Places Rated: What You Need to Know to Plan the Retirement You Deserve.In his book, Savageau reports that many of today's retirees are looking for homes outside of the resort areas, preferring culture amenities, lower prices, and a sense of history and old fashioned values instead of the usual golf and beach atmosphere.
College towns are high on the list of alternatives. while a temperate climate is still a priority, areas located close to art centers, the best medical facilities, and good theatre and entertainment opportunities are winning out over walking on the beach.
In addition to college hubs, what he calls "Blue Collar Towns" are becoming attractive to retirees because of lower prices, the small-town atmosphere, and more affordable housing. Cities are creating "urban villages" around downtown areas that offer shops, restaurants, and recreation. One such urban village defines Greenville SC's downtown condos such as the Brownstones which have the unusual and neat feature of having individual parking garages with private elevators for each unit. The elevators run in the condo as well going to each of the three floors in the townhome condo and down to the parking garage.The Bookends also have designer thirteen foot ceilings and outdoor terraces with a view of downtown. Seniors do not need to walk through empty parking garages and ride in public elevators. With the Reedy River adding to the atmosphere, prospective buyers will fall in love with the old south charm, temperate climate, and low cost of living this upstate South Carolina town. Greenville SC Real Estate is quietly becoming a favored secret landing place for baby boomers.
Another retirement city that boasts a southern charm and great climate is Flower Mound, Texas. With assisted living communities like Autumn Leaves, which caters to victims and families of Alzheimers Disease, retirees are finding a way to weather the problems that age brings, and their loved ones can make the best of this devastating problem.
Flower Mound also offers golf course condos, always popular with seniors, and retirement communities such as Pinewood Hills. This landscaped and scenic neighborhood offers community amenities like a learning/business center, restaurants, arts and crafts, interest groups, planned activities, a fitness Center, and access to Public Transit. For retirement living, Flower Mound Texas real estate is an attractive alternative to expensive and traditional Las Vegas and Arizona retirement choices.
For those that do want the salt air and seagulls, consider the much less expensive Myrtle Beach, SC. With an extra low cost of living standard for a resort area, low taxes, endless restaurants and theatres, the one hundred plus golf courses make it the perfect place to escape cold northern winters and spend the "golden years" in relative luxury.
Myrtle Beach is going through a complete renovation and will increasingly target retirees with urban villages such as Market Commons, Brightwood, and Lakeside Crossing. Myrtle Beach real estate offers more bang for the buck than Florida and is quickly becoming the beach retirement choice.
The baby boomer generation has come into its own, and the southern states are going to be the happy recipients of those who crave better weather, friendlier neighbors, less crime, and a happier retirement.
