Realty Times - Real Estate News and Advice

Nearing retirement, you want to slow down a bit, but no way are you going to fully retire. In fact, you've got a few things yet to do and there's a good chance you'll reinvent yourself, restart your life, reset some goals and reestablish your dreams.

To bring it all together, you need some new scenery -- a place where you can afford to live without spending all your money on housing, a locale steeped in culture, entertainment and outdoor activities to keep up with your active lifestyle and somewhere you can enjoy a sense of community and security.

AARP has just taken the legwork out of your home work with "15 Top Dream Towns: The 15 Best Places To Reinvent Your Life", and, the nonprofit membership organization of 35 million people who are 50 and older is quick to point out, "Only two of them are in Florida."

AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired People) says half its members are working full or part time, are healthier and wealthier than previous generations and they are not ready to throw in the towel and become sedentary.

Some 18 million men and women 55 and older remain in the work force and at least seven out of 10 workers 45 and older plan to work during their retirement years, AARP says.

While earning money is the carrot for many to keep going, one third have simply found work a labor of love and a crucial element of the independence they wish to retain.

To address the needs of the growing demographic group of baby boomers redefining the retirement years, AARP looked at a host of factors in numerous cities to come up with 15 towns that are the best incubators for restarting life.

The factors include:

Job availability. Many older Americans will work beyond the traditional retirement age of 65.

Affordable housing. Many older people will move down and buy a smaller home. Rather than spend their gain on expensive housing it's a better idea to use tax-free capital gains to start a business, reeducate oneself or just use it as a nest egg spent on low-risk investments. Many of the cities in the list are at or below the national median price of $161,600.

Culture and entertainment. Boomers don't sit at home.

Outdoor recreation. Boomers don't just sit at shows.

Personal safety and property security. Today, everyone wants to feel safe.

Colleges or universities. An active mind is a healthy mind.

Good public school. Younger boomers still have teens at home.

Community. It takes a village to raise a child at heart.

Proximity to good health care. Boomers are healthier than previous older generations, but they aren't immortal.

Ease of travel. Good public transportation, reduced traffic and easy access to airports helps keep boomers mobile.

The AARP report also offers "20 Ways To Pick The City That's Best For You", but it selected 15 towns that are tops for boomers looking to revitalize their lives.

Along with housing costs for each, they are:

Loveland/Fort Collins, CO; $210,185.

Bellingham, WA; $163,000.

Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC; $147,000.

Sarasota, FL; $176,100.

Fayetteville, AR; $122,500.

Charleston, SC; $162,700.

Asheville, NC; $188,600.

San Diego, CA; $379,300.

San Antonio, TX; $110,700.

Sante FE, NM; $272,000.

Gainesville, FL; $130,800.

Iowa City, IA; $148,500.

Portsmouth, NH; $240,000.

Spokane, WA; $108,500.

Ashland, OR; $264,000.

Published: April 11, 2003

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws -- http://www.loc.gov/copyright.

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home.
The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services.
The DeadlineNews Group includes the Web site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home.
Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News.
Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake.
He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications.
In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for "Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home" (Nolo $24.99) and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.