Retirement communities are no longer one-size-fits-all, and a lot of niche communities are springing up to provide choices for the millions of seniors entering retirement age, reports U.S. News: Money.
The market for niche retirement communities will continue to explode, Andrew Carle, the founding director of George Mason University’s Senior Housing Administration management program, is quoted as saying in the article.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “The days where your only choices are assisted living or a nursing home are long gone.”
Specialized retirement communities fit retirees’ needs for a variety of hobbies and cultures. The most popular are university-based retirement communities, which Carle refers to as UBRCs, which offer retirees the opportunity to attend campus events, like concerts and arts programs, as well as sit in on classes. Kendal, a retirement community near Oberlin College in Ohio, capitalizes on its relationship with the school by having string quartets perform at its facility. About 37 percent of Kendal residents are alumni or former faculty and staff of the school, according to the community’s website.
Other niche retirement communities offer a more unique experience. The national average rent for an assisted living community in 2011 was $3,477 monthly, according to a Metlife Market Survey. Here’s a look at seven that break the mold without breaking the bank, according to Carle, who says they’re equivalent in price to regular retirement communities.
U.S. News goes on to list communities geared toward artists, astronomers, aviators, health enthusiasts, hippies, equestrians, and even former mail carriers, mostly located in warmer-climate states like California and Florida.
Read the full article here.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
