A recently retired couple, like many Americans, decided to move away from cold winters. They chose Myrtle Beach, S.C., which they had come to love during two vacations spent overlooking a beautiful stretch of sand.
The next fall, they bought a home with a view of the sandy shoreline, reveling in the milder climate, seaside strolls, numerous golf courses and live theaters.
But in May, vacationers started to hit the town–in droves. The retirees found it a problem to drive to supermarkets, the cleaners and other stores. The only services close to their home were expensive convenience stores and fast-food spots. Nearby shops selling T-shirts and souvenirs were of no interest to them and only added to the congestion. Also, the beaches, golf courses and restaurants they’d enjoyed on vacations were crammed.
So they moved again, this time to an inland location with the services they needed nearby. They still took advantage of Myrtle Beach’s amenities in the off-season but stayed away from tourist areas in the summer.
Nearly one in 10 of today’s mature Americans move to a new state after retirement–usually one with a milder climate. Hard on their heels are the 75 million Baby Boomers who are just beginning to turn 50.
Unless they use preretirement vacations to do some thorough, on-the-scenes homework, Boomers could wind up feeling just as out of place or unhappy as those couples who moved to the Myrtle Beach shoreline and the Sun Belt.
Some 18 percent of 50-year-olds recently surveyed by the Del Webb Corp., a major developer of planned communities for those 55 and older, plan to move when they shed their jobs. That’s partly because Baby Boomers are better-traveled than previous generations and likelier to have moved during their careers, says Steven House, chairman of the American Association of Retirement Communities.
Like their predecessors, many Boomers will choose to retire to places they have vacationed, studies show. They’ll be tempted by shorelines, mountain peaks or balmy breezes blowing over championship golf courses. They’ll head toward regions that intrigued them as they passed through on business trips. Some rely on where-to-retire books touting supposedly ideal locales.
The Del Webb survey found that 50-year-olds look forward to managing their time and doing the things they enjoy doing, such as travel, golf and other recreational sports. They want to take up new hobbies, such as gardening, computers, needlepoint and art, and spend more time with their spouse and family. More than two-thirds plan to continue working, either part time or in a new career, while almost 70 percent plan to do volunteer work.
The most important factors in choosing a retirement site include a mild climate and low crime rate, according to a survey of subscribers to Where to Retire magazine. Such financial factors as low housing prices, cost of living rates and low taxes count. So do health-related aspects, such as good hospitals and the availability of continuing-care retirement communities.
Those surveyed also want hospitable neighbors, friends and relatives in the area. They look for good recreational facilities, an active social and cultural environment and adult education at a local college. They also like having a major city and an airport with commercial service nearby.
