Retirement living: Forget golf courses, beaches & mountains

NEW YORK -- Oct. 3, 2006 -- Retirees still want to settle in warm areas with plenty of leisure activities, but a sense of community and close proximity to grandchildren increasingly are becoming top priorities.

According to Urban Land Institute senior resident fellow John McIlwain, "Moving to a mixed-use development, a small town, or seeking an urban experience are all elements of the same thing: It's a community where you get to know each other."

Retirees interested in small-town living might want to consider Mount Airy, N.C., which boasts a Main Street with numerous stores, museums, and a theater.

Meanwhile, St. Joe Co. is targeting retirees who want to work lifestyle farms with WhiteFence Farms-Red Hills, a "new ruralism" development in Tallahassee, Fla., that offers three- to 10-acre plots for $250,000 to $750,000.

Retirees are also flocking to downtowns in cities such as Chicago; mixed-use developments like Atlantic Station in Atlanta, which offers a mix of housing, offices, retail space, hotels, parks and recreational amenities; co-housing developments such as Wild Sage in Colorado; and developments close to old railroad beds that have been converted into walking and biking trails in states like Michigan and South Carolina.

Source: Wall Street Journal (10/02/06) P. R1; Greene, Kelly

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