Brooksby	UPDATED: Wednesday, March 07, 2007
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Florida loses ground as America's retirement capital

Posted on Thursday, March 01, 2007

By Robert Doherty
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

The Sunshine State is losing its luster as America’s top retirement destination. According to a study by The American City Business Journal, today’s retirees are thinking beyond traditional hotspots like Florida and putting higher emphasis on maintaining personal connections, like family, friends, and community.

Nowhere is this trend more apparent than in the Boston area, where, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 65-plus population in Middlesex County is closing the gap on traditional retirement destinations like san Diego and Miami-Dade.

Three retirement principles
While the media has long labeled Florida, Arizona, and california as the most popular retirement destinations, only about 4.5% of people over 60 actually move across state lines, says Chuck Longino, director of the Reynolda Gerontology Program at Wake Forest university.

Longino, who studies migration trends, has discovered three trends: Regionally rooted people search for a retirement location only 30 to 50 miles away from where they have lived in order to stay close to friends, family, and patterns of life.

Proximity to a metropolitan area provides access to the amenities of a city while offering a relaxed, small-town style of life.

Regional retirement centers allow people to more easily maintain some degree of social continuity.

"People want the best of both worlds—a place without the hassles of city life, but with the lifestyles they’ve developed over the years," Longino says.

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Benefits of staying close to home
The greater Boston area combines all three of Longino’s principles, appealing to people who have lived here their whole lives, as well as those who first retired elsewhere. Joyce and Guido Cafasso used to travel to Venice, Fla. for five to six months in the winter.

"We bought a home there 13 years ago. We lived on the cape and when it would get cold we would head south," says Joyce.

"It was hard not being able to see our family when we were in Florida. Sometimes they would visit but mostly they didn’t. it’s hard to travel with little kids. That’s a part of our going to Florida that i didn’t like," adds Joyce.

Then Joyce and Guido moved to Brooksby Village last June. And now they are thinking that they will eventually sell their home in Florida. Their family is on the north shore which is one of the reasons they moved to Brooksby.

"My husband is so thrilled to be here. he can go play cards or cribbage. doesn’t have to go outside and he doesn’t need a coat. just walks down there thru the climate-controlled walkway," says Joyce.

Joyce and Guido have also begun to immerse themselves in Brooksby’s dynamic social atmosphere. "I’m a member of the Red Hat Society, and Guido likes to play poker. he uses the pool quite frequently," finishes Joyce. "We definitely made the right decision."

No need for warmer climates
Convenient access to amenities like on-site restaurants, a pool, Fitness center, bank, and a convenience store are making retirement options like Brooksby extremely popular. Winter weather, which once drove many Northerners to seek out a warmer climate, is no longer a concern when everything you need is under one roof.

Brooksby’s integrated health care system, HealthSM, provides an advantage most communities don’t have: full-time physicians and medical professionals. Erickson HealthSM physicians use Centricity, an advanced electronic medical records system. Such life-saving technology is still not available in most doctors’ offices.

Could Boston face a retirement crunch?
With Americans wanting and expecting more from their retirement, demand for options like Brooksby could soon exceed supply. over the next several years, the us Bureau predicts that the number of people of retirement age living in the will double to 72 million. That means one in every five Americans will be 65 or older.

As one of the nation’s fastest-growing retirement markets, Boston could be particularly hard hit. A maturing population could lead to a shortage of local retirement options.

With communities like Brooksby growing in popularity and drawing a greater number of people, Boston residents who wait even a few years to start researching their options may find themselves forced to retire farther from home.