Retirement community
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A '''retirement community''', or '''active adult community''', is a very broad, generic term that covers many varieties of housing for retirees and seniors - especially designed or geared for people who no longer work, or restricted to those over a certain age. It differs from a [[retirement home]] which is a single building or small complex where no "common areas" for socializing exist. Many retirement communities are [[planned communities|planned]] for that purpose, and have special facilities catering to the needs and wants of retirees, including extensive amenities like [[community centre|clubhouses]], swimming pools, arts and crafts, boating, trails, [[golf course]]s, and on-site medical facilities. Others have some type of age restrictions but have few if any amenities (these generally don't fit into the "active adult" category). Still others are "Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities" (NORC), which become retirement oriented due to market forces rather than design. Another term may be used for a predominantly [[senior citizen]] community, in which residence is unrestricted by age and job affiliation.
There are really three broad categories of retirement communities:
*'''ACTIVE''' communities (all residential units, no longterm healthcare facilities)
*'''ACTIVE/SUPPORTIVE''' communities (a combination of residential and healthcare facilities - also known as "continuing care retirement communities" - CCRC)
*'''SUPPORTIVE''' communities (all longterm healthcare units, like assisted living and nursing care)
Retirement communities are often built in warm climates, and are common in [[Arizona]], [[California]], [[Florida]] and [[Texas]] but are increasingly being built in and around major cities in cold climates too.
So far 5 U.S. states have created '''Certified Retirement Community''' programs.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Certified Retirement Communities | date=April 2007 | publisher= | url =http://www.topretirements.com/communities/certified_retirement_communities.html | work =Topretirements | pages = | accessdate = 2007-06-25 | language = }}</ref> The obvious purpose of these programs is to encourage economic development - retirement, particularly baby boomer retirement - is very big
business. States seek to encourage retirement in their states; keeping existing residents and encouraging out of state residents to move to a new state. Louisiana estimates that the economic impact of a retiree household is the equivalent of 3.7 factory jobs.
The five states that have publicized their certification programs are:
- Texas<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.agr.state.tx.us/agr/program_render/0,1987,1848_6062_0_0,00.html?channelId=6062 |title=Texas Department of Agriculture - Certified Retirement Community Program |accessdate=2007-06-25 |date=2006 |work=Texas Department of Agriculture |archiveurl=http://www.agr.state.tx.us/agr/program_render/0,1987,1848_6062_0_0,00.html?channelId=6062 |archivedate=2007-06-25 }}</ref>
- Louisiana<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.crt.state.la.us/retire/communities.aspx |title=Certified Retirement Community Program (Louisiana) |accessdate=2007-06-25 |work=Louisiana Office of the Deputy Governor |archiveurl=http://www.crt.state.la.us/retire/communities.aspx |archivedate=2007-06-25 }}</ref>
- Mississippi<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.visitmississippi.org/retire/retirementcities.htm |title=Retirement in Mississippi - Certified Retirement Cities |accessdate=2007-06-25 |date=2006 |work=Visit Mississippi |publisher=State of Mississippi |archiveurl=http://www.visitmississippi.org/retire/retirementcities.htm |archivedate=2007-06-25 }}</ref>
- Kentucky<ref> {{cite web|url=http://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/os/dail/retirementcommunities.htm |title=Dept. for Aging and Independent Living Retirement Communities |accessdate=2007-06-25 |date=2006 |work=Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services |publisher=Kentucky.gov |archiveurl=http://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/os/dail/retirementcommunities.htm |archivedate=2007-06-25 }}</ref>
- West Virginia<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.retirewv.org/info_page.cfm?title=Retire%20West%20Virginia |title=Retire in West Virginia |accessdate=2007-07-05 |publisher=State of West Virginia }}</ref>(West Virginia calls its program a "Designated Retirement Community". Tennessee has a program that promotes retirement in select communities in that state; the program is called "Retire Tennessee"<ref> {{cite web|url=http://retiretennessee.org/communities.html |title=Retire Tennessee |accessdate=2007-12-21 |publisher=State of Tennessee }}</ref>.
A number of publishers have created lists of the 100 best retirement communities or "100 best places (or towns) to retire" <ref>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=100 Best Places to Retire | date=October 2007 | publisher= | url =http://www.topretirements.com/communities/100_best_places_to_retire.html | work =Topretirements | pages = | accessdate = 2007-12-10 | language = }}</ref>. For the most part these lists are helpful in terms of finding desirable communities to live in. One drawback to these lists is that these communities often become more expensive as a result of their popularity.
== Some USA retirement communities / "active adult" communities ==
{{listdev}}
:''If a community does not have its own Wikipedia article, please do not add it or links promoting it.''
=== Directory ===
DMOZ<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.dmoz.org/Society/People/Generations_and_Age_Groups/Seniors/Retirement/Housing_and_Communities/Senior_Living_Directories_and_Helps/ |title=DMOZ:Senior Living Directories |accessdate=2007-07-14 |date=July 2007 |publisher=DMOZ }}</ref> Directory of Senior Living Communities
=== Arizona ===
* [[Circle City, Arizona|Circle City]]
* [[Green Valley, Arizona|Green Valley]]
* [[Rio Verde, Arizona|Rio Verde]]
* [[Sun City, Arizona|Sun City]]
* [[Sun City Grand, Arizona|Sun City Grand]]
* [[Sun City West, Arizona|Sun City West]]
=== Arkansas ===
* [[Hot Springs Village, Arkansas|Hot Springs Village]]
=== California ===
* [[Leisure World, California|Leisure World]] in [[Seal Beach, California]]
* [[Rossmoor, Walnut Creek, California|Rossmoor]], [[Walnut Creek, California]]
=== Connecticut ===
* [[Heritage Village, Connecticut|Heritage Village]]
=== Florida ===
* [[Century Village, Florida|Century Village]]
* [[Lehigh Acres, Florida|Lehigh Acres]]
* [[Penney Farms, Florida|Penney Farms]]
* [[The_Villages, Florida|The Villages]]
=== Maryland ===
* [[Leisure World, Maryland|Leisure World]]
===New Jersey===
*[[Cedar Glen Lakes, New Jersey|Cedar Glen]] in [[Manchester Township, New Jersey|Manchester Township]]
*[[Crestwood Village, New Jersey|Crestwood Village]] in [[Manchester Township, New Jersey|Manchester Township]]
*[[Holiday City-Berkeley, New Jersey|Holiday City]] in [[Berkeley Township, New Jersey|Berkeley Township]]
*[[Leisure Village, New Jersey|Leisure Village]] in [[Lakewood Township, New Jersey|Lakewood Township]]
*[[Leisuretowne, New Jersey|Leisuretowne]] in [[Southampton Township, New Jersey|Southampton Township]]
*[[Pine Ridge at Crestwood, New Jersey|Pine Ridge]] in [[Manchester Township, New Jersey|Manchester Township]]
*[[Rossmoor, New Jersey|Rossmoor]], [[Clearbrook Park, New Jersey|Clearbrook]], [[Concordia, New Jersey|Concordia]], and [[Whittingham, New Jersey|Whittingham]] in [[Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey|Monroe Township]]
===Pennsylvania===
*[[Garden Spot Village|Garden Spot Village]]
== Some non-US retirement communities ==
===New Zealand===
[http://www.selwyncare.org.nz Selwyn Village,Auckland] run by an Anglican Church Trust. This includes self-contained houses and apartments, bed-sits, and hospital.
===United Kingdom===
In the [[United Kingdom]] retirement villages as mentioned above do not really exist. The closest is probably [[Hartrigg Oaks]] in [[York]], and other experimental projects led by the [[Joseph Rowntree Trust]].
[[Retirement home]]s are very popular as is [[sheltered housing]]. Retirement villages do exist (in name anyway) but they rarely exceed 100 residents and are generally composed of independent flats within one building.
==References==
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== See also ==
* [[Age-restricted community]]
[[Category:Retirement]]
[[Category:Planned cities]]