YeaY!
No 1 really should be "Tampa Bay area" .....
Are there cities where you would not want to live in?
Like, maybe, ANY city? (My village has a popuation of 3000.)
Cal, from West Michigan
Local music, dance, and outdoor events info at http://www.freewebs.com/dancealot
Interesting. I recently looked at Indianapolis and was surprised that their crime rates are higher than Los Angeles. http://huntsvilleal.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=Indianapolis&s1=IN&c2=Los+Angeles&s2=CA
Do any of the "best place to retire" articles ever include Cohousing communities. Here are a couple of links:
http://www.cohousing.org/overview.aspxhttp://www.pwccohousing.org/
I retired early for health reasons. I live alone and don't have any friends near me. Also, I can't get around much, and just trying to drive out to senior or other activities makes me sicker for days.
OTOH, if I were to downgrade from my apartment to a room in a retirement home, I think it would be worse for me. So the idea of having my own small house plus other people right there to interact with, that would be great.
Someone also mentioned "55 plus" communities. I'm not sure what those are. Every time I search they always say "for active adults." I can't be active. But I think there are some that provide apartments, social life, plus help getting to markets. That would probably be great for me.
But it's hard to just pick up and move. I don't have the stamina to pack up, nor do I have the "friends and family" thing going for me. And I'm still pursuing some possible medical help locally, so now is not the time. But I'm trying to find what is possible.
When my folks turned 80, they moved to Clark Home, now called Clark Retirement Communities. You can now get an independent living townhouse on the grounds there. But my folks got an apartment and loved it. One room for each with a shared bathroom between. They had a garage space for the car, but eventually quit driving. The Home took a bus to the mall each week. And the city bus stopped at the door. They ate in a common dining room and if they requested, someone would make their beds. A beauty/barber shop and exercise room were in the basement.
Later, as they got more feeble, each moved to the wing where more care was provided. And eventually to the nursing wing.
I highly recommend that sort of place. If needed, the nursing people were just across the courtyard.
