Virtual Retirement Communities See Rising Membership, Interest

With people’s lifespans lengthening, retirement for many doesn’t translate to readiness for a senior living community. Instead, some are turning to virtual retirement villages, and Fox Business questions in a recent article whether they’re the “future of retirement.” 

In the case of Mary Flournoy, a 67-year-old profiled in the Fox Business article, the Philadelphian didn’t want to leave her home and was intrigued by a newly-starting East Falls virtual retirement community. 

“The organization—East Falls Village—offered many of the amenities available at a real retirement home, such as regular dinners together, cultural outings and ride services, but allowed residents to stay where they lived,” says the article. 

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Flournoy paid the $125 annual fee along with more than 150 other residents in the community. 

Virtual retirement villages—many part of the official Village network—range in size with a median 96 members in 2012, up from 72 the previous year, according to a 2012 Rutgers University study. 

“Studies have shown that a vast majority of older adults want to remain living in their homes, in their communities as they age. This is where they raised their children, where their friends are, where they know their pharmacist and doctor, and like the restaurants, stores and culture of their community. No one wants to have to leave that,” says Natalie Galucia, member services coordinator of the Village to Village Network, told Fox Business.

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Common traits of villages include offering a list of “preferred service providers” to residents; running transportation networks; and sponsoring social events, says the article. 

“One of the main goals of the Village to Village Network is so that people don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Galucia told Fox Business. “We want to share what villages have already learned with those who are getting started.” 

Read the full article.

Written by Alyssa Gerace