Retirement Living

When it comes to retirement living, there is an astounding variety of wonderful places from which to choose. Choosing the right community and home to meet your needs in your retirement is an important and challenging decision. We all have diverse definitions of "retirement living".

Do you want to:

• Remain in the home you occupied before retirement?
• Remain close to your present community, but move to a different home?
• Move to another county or state, or to a different climate?
• Move into your present vacation property?

Remember to consider not only the way you live now, but the way you d like to live if you could choose anything. For most people, retirement represents a time of their lives in which their priorities shift and they can put themselves and their needs at the top of the list.

• What s the best way to plan for my retirement?
• What resources are available for more information?

Once your work no longer determines where you live, you can concentrate on factors like geographic/climate preferences, proximity to family and friends, recreational activities, health-care needs, and budget. Your active retirement years can amount to one-quarter of your life. So make sure it s a time you ll thoroughly enjoy.

As you plan, consider factors that can influence the quality of retirement living:

Financial - Estimate the impact of taxes and claiming your benefits, the income you ll need to retire, and your resources. Determine the gap between what you will need and what you currently have. And do your best to predict how long yoour retirement resources can last.

Housing - Factor in costs, such as property taxes and utility bills. Research average sales prices. The best economic reason for leaving your present home is the potential savings you can enjoy by moving to a different one.

Climate - Review both summer and winter discomfort factors, such as high temperatures or snow and ice. Also consider psychological factors such as excessive cloudiness or fog.

Personal Safety - Research the violent crime rate and the property crime rate. Details are available from the FBI s Crime Index, as well as local police departments.

Services - What is the supply, availability, and quality of health care, public transportation, and continuing education?

Employment - Evaluate the area s potential for pursuing a part-time or full-time second career. Four promising market sectors are: finance, insurance and real estate, retail trade, and continuing education.

Leisure Living - Does the area offer the availability and quality of restaurants, cultural events, and recreational activities to meet your needs?

Start with your local library and trade associations. Also contact visitor bureaus, local chambers of commerce, and obtain local newspapers and vacation travel guides.

Consider everything, including employment and volunteer opportunities, economic outlook, and the growth of the local retirement population. Remember that people retire to places that fit the lifestyle they want to pursue in what can truly be the best years of their lives.

If you re like many people, you ve worked most of your adult life to provide for others. But when it comes to choosing a retirement property, this is a home, a lifestyle, and a doorway to new opportunities that are just for you. Let a Prudential Real Estate professional help you make a choice you ll love living with.