Category: Active adult communities
April 22, 2022 -- Journalists looking for a good story hit the jackpot any time they check out The Villages, the giant retirement community in north Central Florida. The community has all the elements needed to fascinate readers: high stakes politics, real estate machinations, Viagra fueled Lotharios, and the latest - voter fraud. Let's take a look at what's been happening in this community that stretches over 3 counties with some 60,000 (and growing) households.
Books, Magazines, and Movies
Starting with Andrew Blechman's Leisureville in 2009, The Villages gained a certain notoriety. Blechman's youthful vantage point might have made him a little too cynical, but he did produce a good read. His account of Mr. Midnight, a boomer aged Lothario cruising for action among the community's many single women, was highly provocative and one of the most entertaining parts of the book. He poked a lot of fun elsewhere too, although it actually might have encouraged other baby boomers to move there for the non-stop activities and socialization. Then there is The NY Times version of TV life, published in this March feature: The Disney for Boomers Puts Hedonism on Full Display.
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Published on April 21, 2022
Comments 10
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
April 20, 2022 — Highways are filling up with snowbirds headed north right now. Those trips provide the perfect excuse for exploring the many wonderful East Coast towns along the way. Here are 10 towns that we think are definitely worth a detour, either for a night in a B…
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Published on April 19, 2022
Comments 7
Category: Social Security
April 14, 2022 — As anyone who reads this Blog regularly knows, Topretirements is a big fan of waiting as long as you can before you start to collect Social Security. But that is not to say there aren’t many good reasons to take it early, or at least not…
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Published on April 13, 2022
Comments 23
Category: Adventurous retirement
April 13, 2022 — People often say that the most memorable things in our lives are our experiences, and we believe that is really true. You have worked hard to earn your retirement, so why make it really special with some once in a lifetime experiences. Here are 10 fantastic…
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Published on April 12, 2022
Comments 17
Category: Family and Retirement
April 7, 2022 – A few weeks ago I attended a concert by Ellis Delaney, a folk singer and songwriter with a lovely voice and inspiring lyrics. “You’re Royalty to Me” is one of her best songs, in my opinion. It is a tribute to her grandmother, her main source…
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Published on April 6, 2022
Comments 6
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 3, 2022 — For many people entering retirement, the holy grail is to find a state where their hard earned money won’t get taxed. When it comes to the 8 states that have no income tax, that’s easy: nothing will be taxed at the state level: not Social Security,…
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Published on April 2, 2022
Comments 16
Category: Medicare
March 26, 2022 — Signing up for Medicare presents a lot of anxiety for most people. When do you have to apply, how do you do that, what does it cost, what is covered, and what’s with all those different parts (Parts A, B, C, D, and more)? But one…
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Published on March 26, 2022
Comments 20
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
March 23, 2022 – A worrying study by the University of Michigan’s Retirement and Disability Research Center found that many workers tend to overestimate how much they will receive in Social Security retirement benefits. That is concerning because that overconfidence has a negative impact on how much people…
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Published on March 22, 2022
Comments 8
Category: Active adult communities
March 21, 2022 – A while back we heard from one of our Members, Debby, who asked about apartment living. She wondered why we don’t ever write anything for people who want to retire in an apartment. She has always lived in that type of housing, and being a single…
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Published on March 21, 2022
Comments 17
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Updated in June, 2025 (originally 2022) -- Everybody looking for a place to retire has a list of must-haves. With the arrival of summer upon us, today we explore possibilities for a hypothetical couple that has the three priorities listed in our headline - sandy beaches, lots of culture, and hassle-free biking. They also have a fourth consideration, having a nearby airport with good connections. Both people in this couple had average working careers, and now collect the average (2025) Social Security benefit of about $3,000 each month combined. Adding income from their retirement savings, they have a combined income of just over $5,000 per month.
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Published on March 14, 2022
Comments 12
