New Siege of Vicksburg: Baby Boomers Battle to Make it a Destination, Retirement Community

October 27 — It’s one thing to pull up stakes and move to a town that’s known as a retirement community like Asheville, Phoenix, or Naples. But it’s quite another to hitch your star to a community that has potential – but hasn’t yet made the transition from to “idyllic”. While Vicksburg has a lot going for it (see our review of Vicksburg) it has been economically depressed for a long time, with much visible poverty.

Undaunted, some pioneering baby boomers are charting an adventurous course in Vicksburg, hoping that it becomes the next hot tourist destination and baby boomer retirement community. Topretirements recently traveled to this beautiful city on the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers to check it out as a retirement community. We interviewed 2 sets of young boomers who moved here recently to find out more.

Baer House Inn)
Doug & Marjorie Cousineau moved to Vicksburg 3 years ago after their home in New Orleans was destroyed in Katrina. Doug, 46, had been a city and country manager for United Airlines and lived all over the world. Their dream was to buy a bed and breakfast in a good spot – to find one they looked in states from Washington to New Hampshire. At the urging of their realtor they came to Vicksburg and quickly fell in love with the palatial Baer House Inn, a 6800 square foot brick mansion with 12 foot ceilings, black walnut and chestnut inlaid floors, not to mention an extremely rare (and not in use!) 2 story outhouse. They converted it to a 6 bedroom B & B, the Baer House Inn, that provides an exquisite bed and bed experience. Doug explained his choice of Vicksburg as coming down to the “absolutely wonderful” people (even the town’s B & B owners encouraged him to buy here), the presence of his nearby family, and the reasonable costs. Plus, the presence of a Convention Center, riverfront casinos, and the enormous Vicksburg National Military Park were a virtual guarantee for tourists. For a fraction of what he could buy elsewhere, he was able to purchase a historic mansion that quickly turned profitable. Doug, who competes worldwide in team adventure races, credits Vicksburg’s new mayor for much of the success for the town’s turnaround. Doug believes that new initiatives like the Vicksburg Main Street Program are succeeding at bringing in new visitors and commerce.

Meanwhile down the hill towards the rivers, Troy (47) and Laura Weeks (45), have poured their life savings into creating Lorelei Books in an abandoned building on newly reclaimed Washington Street. The Lorelei, their long-standing dream fulfilled, is a beautiful book store on the first floor. With its interesting collection and frequent author signings, the store has quickly become a beacon to book lovers in the Delta. Upstairs the Weeks created an apartment that is worthy of Architecture Digest. The Weeks were attracted to Vicksburg for some of the same reasons as Doug and Marjorie – nearby family, good weather, and prices so low they just had to take the risk.

Washington Street

Laura Weeks believes that Vicksburg will successfully make the transition from depressed river town to prosperous community. First of all Vicksburg has charm and culture, offering visitors and residents plenty to do. Most importantly, unlike some towns where one person or a small group drives the renewal (like Morgan Freeman and his business partner, Bill Luckett, in Clarksville, MS), in Vicksburg there are 3 groups pulling the town’s renewal. Those include people who have moved in from outside like Doug and Marjorie, people who never moved away but are accepting to new ideas, and a very important group – people raised in Vicksburg who had successful careers elsewhere and then moved back with capital and ideas. One of the most visible revitalization projects has been on Washington Street, 3 years ago a boarded up street facing the river that today literally hums with boutiques, shops, period street lamps, and piped in jazz.

At the crossroads
The transition from depressed river town to the next Asheville NC is at an interesting point. The Warehouse, a new luxury boutique hotel on Washington Street that overlooks the rivers, is nearing completion. Yet just down the street obviously poor people are shopping at bargain stores. The new baby boomer pioneers are obviously hoping the town and the street will fill in with even more shops and home restorations, boosting property values and bringing a return on their investment. The new prosperity will bring retirement communities and housing for retiring baby boomers. It should also bring new jobs and opportunities for the poorer people. Doug, Marjorie, Troy, Laura and many others have made major financial and emotional bets that the transition will be successful – but the next few years will tell the story. From Topretirements perspective, given all that Vicksburg has to offer and all that is being done for it, we think their bets are very good ones.

New Grant Could Put College Courses in Your Retirement Community

October 22 — If you have been looking for a way to take more college courses – either offered in a nearby community college or in your active adult community – you might be interested in a new grant from the The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The $3.2 million grant was created by The Atlantic Philanthropies to create or expand programs to serve 50-plus Americans at select community colleges around the nation. The colleges, which will be selected through a competitive process, will help to identify and promote best practices in serving the “older adult learner”.

Here is the full press release on 50 plus college grant

The press release states that “…the AACC will identify 15 colleges for specific support in creating and growing initiatives to engage this group of adult learners. Based on successful efforts already
in place, 5 of the 15 colleges will serve as mentor institutions to 10 demonstration colleges that will establish outreach and engagement efforts. The AACC will seek additional partners to replicate the
successful outcomes of this effort among other colleges in the years to come.”

Many active adult communities have college courses offered within the community, while many others have special relationships with nearby colleges. At least one community, Abacoa, has a university within its bounds!

Interested? We suggest you contact your local community college and make sure that they know about the grant, and more importantly, your interest in college courses for your over 50 community. Who knows what might happen from your phone call, either now or down the road.

Links:
Check out the Library Before You Buy in a Retirement Community
For a great source of information about retirement in other college towns, check out www.collegetownlife.com

“Green” Resources for Retirement Communities

October 17 — Environmentally oriented retirement communities are beginning to earn a toehold in this country. But the pressure for green communities and for energy and environmental conservation is really coming from the people who live in retirement communities — more so than from the developers. A recent study from the Mediamark Research BoomerView study found that 40.7% of baby boomers say “Preserving the Environment” is a very important guiding principle in their lives (that is 11% higher than reported by all adults). A good example of green (sustainable) retirement communities are the cohousing projects for baby boomers that are being built in the American West.

We recently came upon 2 great environmental sustainability resources that we recommend. One is a cooperative project developed by the Whitney Center, a retirement community in Hamden CT. Their useful Environmental Handbook on Conservation for Retirement Communities is free to download.

Another great site is a fun to read blog by Carol Gulyas – GreenGeezer. Carol posts entries almost every day about building and living in green homes. She and her husband are building a “green” home near their old college town of Bloomington Indiana. Carol will be writing an article for this website in the near future – stay tuned.

Resources:
Check out this Tips and Picks article – Looking for Green Retirement Communities?
Story about Lily Valley – an exciting new community that is very green
Walkability Score – Move to a community where you can walk! Use this tool: Enter an address, find out what you can walk to from there

Baby Boomers to Builders: We Don’t Want Our Fathers’ Retirement Communities

October 15 — Ask 10 baby boomers what they are looking for in retirement communities and you are likely to come up with dozens of different answers. Baby boomers are used to marching to their own drummers, and there is no reason that their choices in retirement communities will be any different. This article draws from a number of different sources and is intended to provide a representative sample of different opinions.

Golf attracts many to active adult communities

Amenities. Here are some of the top amenities found in a survey done in 2000 by the National Association of Home Builders:

1. Hiking or Jogging Trails. More than half say these would influence purchase decision; interest goes up with income
2. Outdoor spaces. Park areas and the like are a must
3. Public transportation. Reliance on driving a car for everything is undesirable
4. Lakes. Being near a body of water such as a lake or ocean is very desirable.

Retirement Community Preferences
We reviewed some random preferences at some online sites where baby boomers discussed what they were looking for in a retirement community. These are the issues that were most often mentioned (in random order):
- Proximity of medical care. This is particularly important for people in less than optimum health. It is not yet much of a factor for baby boomers, but older people see the availability of a continuum of care at the same facility (independent to assisted to nursing care) as being very important
- Themed recreation. Some people are looking for very specific recreation opportunities – golf, marinas, flying, arts, cooperative living, astronomy, equestrian, etc.
- Gated – or not. Some people love gated communities – others loathe the idea
- Mixed generations vs. age restricted communities. Some people wouldn’t think of living with people of mixed ages, others think enough of those young people already!
- One story living and low maintenance. Builders constructing multi-level homes for baby boomers do so at their peril. Most baby boomers are ready to take it easy and have some fun.
- Health clubs are very popular
- Lots to do in the community
- Proximity to a city
- Location near family. This is perhaps the biggest determinant of where someone retires – people usually don’t want to be too far away from loved ones.
- A real downtown. Communities that have a thriving commercial center where people can walk around (and even better, walk to) are viewed very positively. The more activities – like festivals, farmer’s markets, cultural events – the better. Even in a private active adult community a viable community center is a real plus.
- Sustainability. This issue isn’t as pervasive as some others, but there are many baby boomers for whom the issue of environmental sustainability (i.e,; the green movement) is a key factor in their retirement community decision
- One (or two) home offices. 27% of baby boomers say they never intend to retire. Many will work from home
- Vacation homes. According to the National Association of Realtors, four out of 10 will convert their existing vacation home into a permanent retirement residence
- Urban vs. rural. Many want to live in an urban environment, while quite a few want rural
- Lower cost of living and warmer climate are important

Summary – How Will Baby Boomer Retirements Differ?
Obviously there are a lot of similarities between baby boomers and their parents’ generations. One big difference is in the preference for more physical activities like walking and jogging trails. Another is a strong preference for public transportation. The market is relatively new and very dynamic – the builders who can read the pulse of this big and changing market will come out on top.

Links:
Baby Boomer Housing Preferences
Hawaii is #1 State for Baby Boomer Moves

Retirement Community Shade Speads Over Sunshine State

October 8 — Competition for the dollars of the newly retired is heating up, and it seems like Florida could be the state that takes the biggest hit. The Sunshine State, always popular for its retirement communities, has seen a number of negative factors that are increasingly deflecting retirees to other states in the Sunbelt.Retirement in Luxurious Fort Lauderdale

Some of the Florida downsides include overcrowding and traffic, increasing real estate costs (64% higher than just 5 years ago), a spate of devastating hurricanes, and ever-increasing insurance costs related to those hurricanes. The current housing bust is about as bad in Florida as anywhere. Builders overbuilt, speculators overbought, and prices went too crazy. The near-panic in the market has scared away buyers and discouraged sellers. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article (“Is Florida Over“) that cites Census Bureau data, while foreign immigration to Florida remains strong, “migration from inside the country is slowing.” In fact, Atlas Van Lines moved more families out of Florida last year than it moved in.

Part of Florida’s problem is competition from other Sunbelt states trying to attract baby boomers in retirement. Apparently they have been successful in generating more and more “halfbacks”, retirees from the Northeast who move to Florida, then come half way back to the Carolinas or other Sunbelt states after realizing Florida was not for them. States like Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, West Virginia, and Kentucky have started Certified Retirement Communities programs to promote retirement for economic development. Other states like Georgia are attempting tax reforms such as exempting retirement income from taxation as a way to attract retirees.

While growth in what has always been one of the fastest growing states in the U.S. might be slowing down, Florida is still growing. One of the comments that we thought made the most sense came from Dave Schreiner, a VP at Pulte Homes’ Dell Webb communities: “Instead of everyone making the assumption that they’re going to move to Florida, now it’s more of a level playing field.”

Link:
Hawaii is Baby Boomers #1 Preferred Retirement State

Hawaii is Number 1 Preferred State Among Baby Boomers

October 1 — A new Harris Poll on state living preferences found that baby boomers (aged 43 – 61) would prefer to live in Hawaii over all other states. In this regard they differ from the rest of the U.S. population, which would choose California. Although it was not explicitly asked, it is assumed that baby boomers, given their age, are thinking about states where they would like to retire. Baby boomers’ number 2 choice would be Florida, followed by California. According to Harris, being close to the beach was important in why Hawaii and California are so popular.

Maui Luxury Retirement

Favorite city to live in of all age groups is New York City. The Big Apple was followed by San Diego, Seattle, and San Francisco. Here is a list of the top 5 states that baby boomers would prefer most to live in:

• Hawaii
• Florida
• California
• North Carolina
• Colorado

The question asked in the Harris poll was: “If you could live in any state in the country, except the state you live in now, what state would you choose to live in?”

Link:
Top 10 Most Popular Retirement Towns