The Myth of Retiring South

By Richard Bambrick

Richard.Bambrick@gmail.com

If you think the typical American retirement dream involves moving to a tropical climate with lots of golf courses and a beach, think again. Most of us stay home, in fact, statistics say, in the same house where we spent our working lives.

AARP, in a research report “Aging, Migration and Local Communities: The Views of 60 Plus Residents and Community Leaders.” issued in October, calls the belief there is widespread migration among Americans 60-years-of-age-and-older a myth.

“Our research shows that during the past two decades, about nine out of 10, or 41.5 million Americans age 60 plus, stayed in the same home, or lived in a different residence in the same community,” the AARP, states the report.

The trend of “aging in place” is expected to change the social dynamics of many communities in the United States, according to the report.

“Increasing life spans and the aging of the baby-boom generation means that America is getting older,” the AARP reports. “In most communities, older persons will make up a larger percentage of residents. In some communities, the future is already here.”

The aspects that keep a retired citizen in a town, and the attributes community leaders believe are needed to accommodate an aging population are remarkably similar, the AARP concluded after polling senior citizens and community leaders in counties that already have a high percentage of older citizens, as determined by a U.S. Census Bureau report, “Retirement Migration in the 2000 Census.”

Ranking highest on the aspects that make a community desirable, according to the seniors polled, are:

• Good hospitals and doctors
• Low taxes
• Low crime and cost of living, in that order

Community leaders, when asked what will be most important for their aging populations, listed:

• Low crime
• Low property and state income taxes
• Opportunities for retirement employment
• Good transportation
• Good medical care

For the small percentage of retirees who decided they must move away to find a comfortable community, most opt for Florida, California or Arizona.

According to the Census Bureau, nine of the 10 counties nationwide that have the largest numbers of retirees migrating are in those states. Surprisingly, the No. 10 most popular county is Suffolk, right here on Long Island. One possibility for this is Suffolk’s considerably lower cost of living than neighboring Nassau County or nearby New York City. Retirees can stay in the region by heading east to Suffolk.