Fact: More than 19,000 homeowners chose to move to an Erickson community

By Thomas Schrader
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Why would they walk away?

Why would so many people do something “in the prime of retirement” that generations past considered something only suitable for “someday in the future.”

These 19,000 are normal, people who worked hard, raised families, saved for the future on middle income salaries, and loved their houses.

And yet the trend is clear. In distinction from a generation ago, these people looked at the various retirement options with fresh eyes, weighing the positives and negatives.

Is staying in your house the best choice?
The key is looking at your options with “fresh eyes.” A recent poll suggests that many homeowners in their 70’s shield themselves from considering a lifestyle associated with the label “retirement community.” The result is that communities tailor-made for retired people at the height of their energy and initiative get lumped in with the category of Assisted Living and Nursing Care facilities which are designed for people who need help.

The new breed of homeowner— who take a modest amount of time to research and visit the alternatives, usually find how outdated those misconception are. The 19,000 people who moved from their houses to an Erickson community—a population on pace to reach 21,000 by 2008—is just one example of this new trend.

One out of two
Erickson reports roughly half of the homeowners who investigate one of their communities around the country either choose to move in or choose to take a preliminary step of placing a $1,000 refundable deposit for priority position on the priority list.

Today, if you and your neighbor visit and weigh the advantages of an Erickson community in relation to your house, one of you will likely opt for the Erickson lifestyle.

This trend shows just how far reality can be from some people’s ideas of a retirement community.