Betty Plummer still remembers the day 20 years ago when she and her husband packed up their belongings and left Muncie, Ind., in a foot of snow and headed south to Ft. Myers, Fla., to start their life of retirement in the sun and warmth.
She cried every day for the first year. But then, after adjusting to the climate and getting a part-time job as a real estate agent selling mainly to other folks who are retiring to Florida, Plummer made a new and happy life.
“Now I know it was a good move. When I go back to Indiana, everything looks dirty to me. I think everything here is so much cleaner looking, and I really do think people live longer down here,” Plummer said.
The Plummers, who live in an adults-only villa community, are among the contingent of senior citizens in the United States who have decided to move to a warmer climate after they’ve raised their families and concluded their careers.
It’s a trend that has given Broward County, Fla., the highest percentage of senior citizens–22 percent–among the 30 largest counties in the U.S., according to census figures.
Though the image of seniors retiring to the land of sunshine, sand and golf courses is a common one in the media, most seniors prefer to retire in their own homes or in another residence nearby, according to a 1996 survey by the American Association of Retired Persons. (AARP)
Real estate agents find the same thing: Those over 50 prefer to remain near the same neighborhoods where they’ve raised their families, worshipped and shopped for most of their lives.
According to the Web site for Prudential Real Estate, 47 out of 50 people between the ages of 55 and 65 remain in their homes.
Prudential’s figures also show that 2,000 Americans retire every day, with about 25 percent moving to the Sun Belt.
Take George and Marge Stanley of the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, located in Allegheny County, which ranks second behind Broward for the highest concentration of senior citizens. The Stanleys–he’s 76, she’s 73–sold their nearly 70-year-old Williamsburg colonial in September and moved into a 5-year-old townhouse about a mile away.
They decided to sell when it became difficult for them to clear their long driveway in the winter and to rake leaves and cut the grass in their yard. In addition, their laundry room was in the basement and their bathrooms were on the second floor, and climbing steps was difficult for Marge Stanley.
The physical demands of yard work and the financial demands of home maintenance are often reasons seniors sell their homes, according to the AARP survey. Difficulty in paying real estate taxes and the inability to get up and down stairs are other common reasons.
In their townhouse, the Stanleys have a powder room on the first floor, a laundry room on the second floor so they don’t have to carry clothes up and down stairs, and a patio that has no leaves to rake.
The homeowners’ association handles outside maintenance, including painting, window cleaning and snow removal.
“Now we can just let it snow and not worry about it,” said George Stanley, who retired in 1981 after working for Alcoa for 33 years.
When seniors move, they prefer to live independently, according to the AARP study, and in communities with a mixture of ages.
But the Internet has plenty of Web sites for retirement living in all prices ranges, including fancy homes built on golf courses and apartment and townhouse complexes that provide meals, housekeeping and daily activities. Some even have medical care on-site.
An Internet search provides dozens of listings across the country, complete with toll-free numbers and on-line applications. One good source is Senior Living Alternatives (http://www.senioralternatives.com/ or 800-350-0770).
Some developers are cashing in on the idea of resort-style living closer to home.
In the Chicago area, Del Webb Corp. is building a $100 million retirement community in rural Huntley, the first of its Sun City plans to be built outside of the Sun Belt. Because its research showed that people over 55 would rather remain close to home, Del Webb is betting that its concept of leisure and fun in the sun will work even in an area known for its harsh winters.
The 5,000-home development will have walking trails, an 18-hole golf course and other recreational amenities. Prices will range from the low $100,000s to the low $300,000s.
In Pittsburgh, St. Margaret Hospital has developed apartment complexes for working-class and professional retirees that include maid service, three meals a day, drivers for appointments and shopping and activities. Rents, which include all utilities and cable TV, range from $1,200 for a studio to $2,000 for a two-bedroom.
“Our typical tenant is in the late 70s, native to Pittsburgh and has a small pension and some other resources,” said Richard E. Sobehart, president of the Retirement Villages of St. Margaret.
Advertisements for the complexes show an older man lying in a hammock, sipping lemonade. The ads tell seniors they don’t have to move to Florida for “resort-style” retirement living.
Some seniors who want real resort living in a Southern climate during cold months but can’t bear to give up their hometown roots have found their solution in splitting time between North and South.
“They say that I(Interstate Highway)-95 is filled with snowbirds in the spring,” said Barbara Cusick, a real estate agent in suburban Pittsburgh, referring to the seniors who head south for the winter but return home in the spring. Cusick has sold the family homes of some of the snowbirds, who then often purchase condos in their hometowns and in the South.
Florida is the top pick among snowbirds from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana and New England, while snowbirds from Illinois westward are more likely to choose Texas or Southern California.
Patricia and Billy Joe Schwein know the snowbird route well. They split their year between Brownstown, Ind., and Ft. Myers. From Nov. 1 to May 1, the Schweins are in Florida. Then they head back to Indiana, where they own a townhouse that is just down the street from the home where they raised two sons.
“It would have been hard for us to completely pull up roots and come south,” said Patricia Schwein, 68. “We are still members of the Brownstown Christian Church.”
The Schweins have sets of friends and activities at each residence. One son lives in Ft. Myers; the other lives a few hours from their home in Indiana.
Judy Ayers of Mt. Prospect understands the lure of the Sun Belt and the strong attachment to family, friends and traditions. She and her husband, Don, who is likely to retire in October, are in the process of deciding when to sell the family home of 23 years where they raised four children.
Judy Ayers would like to move to a condo a few blocks from their current home so the couple can stay involved with their children and grandchildren. Three of their children live within a 40-minute drive. But Don Ayers talks about going South and enjoying a life of leisure.
“To me, this is always home base. I’m not sure I could ever leave Mt. Prospect. I don’t even like to think about leaving my block. I have wonderful neighbors,” said Judy Ayers.
Selling the family home can be difficult for adult children as well as the parents. When the Plummers sold their home, several of their six children were upset about the move.
“They cried. You know how it is. They came home every weekend and they were used to it. My daughter Shari thought we sold it because we were mad at her,” Betty Plummer said.
On the upside, said Plummer, a residence in Florida gives children and grandchildren a place to vacation whenever they want. Her daughter Shari Terrell, who lives in Muncie, decided she liked Florida so much, she now owns a condo in Ft. Myers,
