Judging a Retirement Town by Its Bookstore

Authors Recommend Their Favorite Stores and Towns –

Baby boomers have begun the search for their ideal retirement communities. For many of them, the quality of the town’s bookstore is a key selection criterion.

Goldengrain, a member at Topretirements.com, put it this way: “I need bookstores, colleges, lectures, discussion (and) a good active library We feel the same way - communities without good book stores are ghost towns. This article will review some of the top retirement towns in America - based on the quality of their bookstores.

The most fun part of this article is that we were able to enlist a helpful group of top authors to write about their favorite bookstore towns. Here is the list (and feel free to post blog entries to cover the ones we’ve missed):

Cannon Beach, Oregon
“Cannon Beach is a charming little town on the picturesque Oregon coast. It’s full of art galleries and restaurants, but best of all is the quarter-century-old Cannon Beach Book Company, which calls itself - with good reason - “the perfect browser’s bookstore.” With a central location, comfortable layout, and a collection strong in classic and contemporary literature, mysteries, children’s books and regional titles, CBBC is a boon to locals and visitors alike.”
Deborah Donnelly, Author of the Wedding Planning Mysteries

Asheville, North Carolina
“If I were to retire to a town for its bookstore alone, I’d pick Asheville, N.C., and Malaprops Bookstore and Café. I always go out of my way to visit Malaprops. Its eclectic staff of writers, artists and bibliophiles are truly passionate about their stock, and their taste matches my own taste in books and I always leave with new, unexpected finds.”
Susan Cerulean, Author of Tracking Desire

Newton, Massachusetts
“Even with the glam hustle bustle of Boston just ten minutes away, you’d never have to leave this diverse and cozy but cosmopolitan suburb. Two fantastic independent bookstores (on opposite sides of the city) can provide every book you could imagine. And both have brilliant and knowledgeable staffs. Newtonville Books is a warmly inviting nook of a shop, with one room devoted to the cream of the crop of new releases and old favorites (used and new shelved together!) and another whole room devoted to kids. We can hardly pry our grandson away. New England Mobile Book Fair is huge–almost a warehouse. Here, you could get happily lost in a world of the very latest bestsellers as well as all those books you meant to buy but didn’t. We can never leave either without purchasing way too many books and making new friends. Both stores–are stellar!”
Hank Phillippi Ryan Reporter, WHDH-TV and Best-selling author of PRIME TIME and FACE TIME

Phoenix, Arizona
“The generous brick facade of the Poisoned Pen bookstore in Phoenix, at the corner of Goldwater Blvd. and First Avenue, brings mystery authors from around the world together with readers. Authors covet an invitation from proprietor Barbara Peters to hold a book signing there. In a given month, the store might host events featuring Clive Cussler, Dave Barry, Diana Gabaldon, Dana Stabenow, and J. A. Jance, plus less well known authors whose work is deserving of attention. Seven (!) mystery book clubs meet there, so it’s a great place to meet readers who share your taste in crime fiction and discuss your favorite whodunnits.”
Hallie Ephron: Author of Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel” ()

Vicksburg, Mississippi
“Down on recently restored Washington Street, facing the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers, is this jewel of a book shop. The Lorelei Bookstore, owned and run by the team of Laura and Troy Weeks, has brought books and life to this up and coming historical town. They are knowledgeable, encouraging to authors, and always have a recommendation for anybody. The store is so warm and inviting, you might not want to leave!”
Roberta Isleib, Author of “Deadly Advice” and “Preaching to the Corpse”

Kansas City area
Most people probably wouldn’t retire to the Kansas City area for our weather, but I could understand if they retired here for our bookstores! We have two of the best independents in the country. One of them is Rainy Day Books (Fairway, KS), a general bookstore that is famous in the book world, not only for its cozy building and wonderful staff, but also because it brings literally hundreds of speakers to Kansas City every year. It’s a cultural powerhouse. The other is “a href=”http://www.iloveamystery.com/”>I Love a Mystery“ (Mission KS) (), which I swear is the most charming bookstore ever. It specializes in all things mysterious, and it has an atmosphere that makes you want to settle into one of its armchairs and curl up and read a good book, of which it has plenty.
Nancy Pickard, author of “The Virgin of Small Plains”

Raleigh NC
Quail Ridge Books and Music, in Raleigh, NC, is one of the best all-purpose bookstores on the east coast. The owners, Nancy and Jim Olson, are 100% dedicated to the slogan “Think globally, buy locally.” They are heavily invested in the community and donate time and money generously to many local charities and literacy causes. Nancy was PW’s Bookseller of the Year a few years back. It’s here that you find the serious and/or quirky books you won’t find in the chains because the store gives only minimal space to the NY Times bestsellers. The staff members are extremely courteous and knowledgeable. If you like an author and have
exhausted the backlist, they can recommend someone similar that you might enjoy.
Margaret Maron, author of the Judge Deborah Knott mysteries.

Richmond, Virginia
“There’s a terrific independent here in Richmond, VA. It’s called the Fountain Bookstore and it’s located in the heart of downtown. There is a cobblestone street lining the front door, old, wood plank floors inside, and a wonderful selection of books. You can also find gifts and greeting cards there. And if you spend too long inside the shop, there are a plethora of tasty eateries nearby. Richmond also has a fantastic all-mystery, all-fantasy store called “Creatures’n Crooks”. This place has the coolest ceiling with painted stars with a plump long-haired feline beauty by the name of Hamilton.”
JB Stanley, Author of “A Deadly Dealer”

New York, New York
The Strand Bookstore is reason enough to visit New York. It has 18 miles of books piled from the floor to their very high ceilings. Every thing from review copies (there must be lots of book reviewers in NYC!) to rare and out of print books, plus every conceivable book in between. They buy collections. You can always count on an adventure in what you will find. It’s just the kind of bookstore you would hope to find in the Big Apple. -
John Brady “ Owner of Topretirements.com

Madison, Connecticut
I’m lucky to live in Madison, CT, a town that’s eminently retirement-worthy. Not only is Madison chockablock with New England coastal charm, it’s home to one of the best bookstores in the country: RJ Julia Booksellers Located on the adorable main street, RJ’s brings in a steady stream of bestselling authors from Jane Fonda to Nora Ephron to Tom Perotta. A close relationship with the outstanding Scranton Library across the street means that big-draw authors can be accommodated as well as new writers. The bookstore itself is inviting and well-stocked with the newest releases and an impressive backlist. Owner Roxanne Coady is a frequent guest on NPR’s Faith Middleton show and a true book lover.
Roberta Isleib, author of DEADLY ADVICE and PREACHING TO THE CORPSE

Carmel, Indiana
The Mystery Company” an independent bookshop located along the Monon Trail in Carmel’s Arts & Design District. Carmel is a thriving town just north of Indianapolis. Specializing in mystery and suspense, we offer free shipping on any new book order shipped to a US address. Customers know we’ll do everything possible to make it easy for you to order.-
Jim Huang

Massachusetts
The New York Times recently ran a story on the amazing concentration of thriving bookstores in the Pioneer Valley – “The Valley of the Literate”. The article includes bookstores in these towns: Odyssey Books (S. Hadley), Amherst Books (Amherst), and Broadside Bookshop (Northampton).

More Great Towns and Bookstores:
Fayetteville, Arkansas: “Nightbird Books”
Little Rock, Arkansas “Sleuths Mystery Bookstore”, and “WordsWorth Books & Co.”
Blytheville, Arkansas: “That Bookstore in Blytheville” - where John Grisham signs his best-sellers.
Fairhope, Alabama “Fairhope Books”
Sedona, Arizona: “Red Coyote”
Corte Madera, California “Book Passage” – (Hallie Ephron)
Coral Gables, Florida “Books & Books “
Delray Beach, Florida: “Murder by the Beach”
Sun Valley, Idaho
Cambridge, Massachusetts: “Porter Square”, “Kate’s Mystery Books”
Portsmouth, NH: “River Run Bookstore”
Newmarket, New Hampshire: “Crackskull’s used bookstore.
Princeton, New Jersey: “Cloak & Dagger” (Roberta Isleib)
Fearington Village, North Carolina (near Chapel Hill) “Macintyre’s” (Mignon Ballard)
Edmond Oklahoma: “Best of Books”
Portland, Oregon: 2 amazing bookstores – “Murder by the Book” and “Powell’s”
Oakmont, Pennsylvania: “Mystery Lovers Bookshop” (Oakmont is a great little town right outside Pittsburgh - Name of Bookstore corrected 11/27)
Seattle, Washington” “Seattle Mystery Books” (Pamela Samuels-Young)

More Links:
“Where Old is New: What is the mark of a good bookstore”

How Much Can I Earn and Still Receive Social Security Benefits?

November 18 — You guessed it: The most popular question asked at the Social Security Administration is “How much can I earn and still receive Social Security benefits”. Fortunately the SSA has the answers to this question and many others at www.ssa.gov.

This question is an important one because many people living in retirement communities either need to or want to work in retirement. This question pertains to what is called the earning test. If you are under normal (or full) retirement age (FRA) when you start getting your Social Security payments (for example, you start taking benefits at 62), $1 in benefits will be deducted for each $2 you earn above the annual limit. For 2008 that limit is $13,560 and for 2007, the limit is $12,960. In the year you reach your full retirement age (66 for the oldest baby boomers) $1 in benefits will be deducted for each $3 you earn above a different limit, but only counting earnings before the month you reach FRA. For 2008, this limit is $36,120; for 2007, this limit is $34,440. There is NO limit on your earnings starting with the month you reach full retirement age.

Some people seem to think that it’s not worth working under these circumstances, but most experts disagree. You will pay a fairly steep tax on your earnings, but only on those over the limit - and you are still making money anyway. Andrew Biggs, a deputy commission for Social Security, points out in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal another often overlooked benefit of working: the Agency recalculates your benefits at full retirement to make up for any benefits that might have been lost because of the earning test.

The Journal’s Guide to Social Security has many other useful facts to help you understand what is ahead. The Social Security website is one of the best government websites, it’s FAQ’s are very helpful.

Here is some helpful information about what age to start taking your social security benefits.

Housing Woes Hit Levitt’s Retirement Community Unit

November 12 — One of America’s household names in construction, Levitt Corp, announced last week that its Levitt & Sons LLC division has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The division built retirement communities for baby boomers. In making its move the company cited cited “unprecedented conditions in the home-building industry” that were “particularly sudden and steep” in Florida and the Southeast. While the sub-prime catastrophe has been really bad for builders of traditional homes, this is one of the most direct cases that show that the troubles are extending into retirement communities as well.

The Levitt retirement community division has laid off more than 200 workers, defaulted on loans, and has stopped building. Affected projects include Florida active adult communities such as the Seasons at Tradition (Port St. Lucie), the Cascades development in Sarasota, the Cascades at World Golf Village in St. Augustine. Projects in Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee have also been halted. One of the ones in South Carolina is its Murrells Inlet project, Seasons. Residents of that community are upset by the many unfinished or unbuilt homes, including a community center that is not complete.

Levitt revolutionized American construction in the unique Long Island “Levittowns” it built on Long Island for returning WW II veterans. The company estimates it has built more than 200,000 homes in the last 78 years. Among the options it is considering is the sale of its remaining assets.

Diane Rehm Show Focuses on Retirement Living Abroad

November 8 — One of our favorite radio show talk hosts, Diane Rehm, recently had a great program called “U.S. Expatriates in Mexico and Beyond”. Use this link to listen as she and her fascinating guests discuss this topic that interests so many retirees.

Diane’s November 6, 2007 show explored how reverse migration appears to be on the rise as more Americans relocate and retire abroad. She and her guests took a look at what drives their decision and what life is like once they take the leap.

Her guests included: Caren Cross, who made the documentary “Lost and Found in Mexico” about her experience in moving to San Miguel de Allende;
Debra Lattanzi Shutika, professor at George Mason University and author of the forthcoming book, “Beyond the Borderlands: Mexican Transnational Lives, New Destinations, and The Sense of Place”; and Lee Harrison, roving Latin American editor, “International Living” magazine.

The guests indicated, not unsurprisingly, that Mexico is the most popular retirement destination for U.S. expatriates. Costa Rica and Panama also attract many U.S. citizens. The exact number of Americans living abroad is difficult to determine, since our government apparently doesn’t track that statistic. About 1 million U.S. citizens are estimated to be living in Mexico. Two of the towns with the most Americans are San Miguel and Aijic (in the Lake Chapala region). One of the guests estimated that up to 16,000 Americans reside in San Miguel during our winter season.

Costa Rica View

Lee Harrison cited 3 different kinds of buyers of Central or South American real estate:
- Second home buyers who can’t afford what they want in the U.S.
- People who want to change of their lives or start a new career
- Retirees driven by economics; they either want to improve their life style on a fixed income, or they want to retire earlier

One of Harrison’s most interesting points was in response to Diane’s question about what types of retirees are happiest abroad. His reaction was that although many people start out with money as their biggest motivation, the happiest people tend to be those who embrace the new lifestyle they find abroad.

Other guests explored broad-ranging topics such as culture, how they happened to come to live abroad, finances, impact on the local environment, friends, etc. If you are contemplating retiring abroad, we recommend listening to this podcast!

For more information see these Topretirement resources:
- Buyers Guide to Buying Real Estate in Costa Rica (Part I)
- What it’s Like to Retire in Mexico

College Towns Are Islands of Stability

November 5 — Here at Topretirements.com we spend a lot of time writing about why college towns make such great retirement communities. Now there’s yet another reason to choose a college town to retire in - they are much less likely to be involved in the sub-prime mortgage mess that is wreaking havoc on so many other real estate markets.

A recent New York Times article, “College Towns Escape the Pain”, reported that college towns have among the lowest sub-prime or high cost loans of any places in the country. The people who live in college towns might be smarter, but they also have a lot of other things going for them. Stable employment, big medical centers, and a strong real estate market - in part propelled by retiring baby boomers - are also contributing to strength. The bottom line is that college towns are very strong economically and represent a solid real estate investment.

Figures from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council show that almost all of the 10 metropolitan areas with the nation’s lowest percentage of sub-prime loans in 2006 were college towns. For example,here are the lowest 5: Ithaca (NY), Iowa City (IA), Boulder (CO), Morgantown (WV) and Madison (WI). Whereas the U.S. average was 29%, Ithaca had only 11% subprime loans. Here is more information about the best college town retirements. Another site worth visiting is www.collegetownlife.com

Lily Valley Sets High Bar for Green Communities

November 3 — Imagine a community that is being developed by the Dean of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin, Victor Sidy, along with 6 apprentices at the famous school. For one thing, you can be sure the community will balance well with the environment, and is not just so-called “greenwashing” (painting a community as green when it really isn’t). For another, it will be beautiful. Sidy’s team has developed plans for Lily Valley, called the “New American Village”, which will be just north of Hattiesburg MS. The effort by Taliesin is a response for innovative architecture to help this area of Mississippi devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Lily Valley will eventually occupy some 67 acres north of Hattiesburg, MS. It combines a mix of residential, commercial, and cultural elements and amenities. The idea is to create a sustainable and walkable community where residents can walk to grocery stores, medical care and recreational facilities. Homes will have solar panels and other controls to save energy. Some buildings will have green roofs to help control runoff and reduce heating and cooling costs. Homes are being designed for people of all economic levels.

Resources:
Prairie Mod article about Lily Valley
Looking for Green Retirement Communities?