Ever consider retiring to a college town?

[jamessurratt]

I have read many articles that agree with you that college towns are very attractive to retirees. They have their youthful energy which appeals to the elderly that gets too "set in their ways." Now I'm not a well travelled retiree that has caused our many college towns. I can only speak for the one I'm living in which is Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa which has enrolled over 33,000 students. It has a wonderful Senior Center which is strongly supported and offers many resources for the seniors to use in accessing various services and activities. Mass transit is well used giving them access to the whole town. It has a paratransit service for the elderly and handicapped offering door to door service which is a boon for seniors who's offspring live too distant to run errands for them. The university brings students from all over the world and they, in turn, have set up shops that offer their cultures and foods in the downtown area. This makes the downtown attractive for those that want to enjoy such cultural offerings. The university offers many educational opportunities and a world class hospital with specialist doctors of most divisions of medicine covered. 

Now it is true that Iowa's Climate is humid continental with hot summers and cold winters. However that hasn't slowed down the population growth that Iowa City has seen. It is one of the very few growth areas of the state. In fact over half the state's population lives in towns and cities. I will say that because of this growth, the housing vacancy at this time is less than 1% in Iowa City. So expect higher housing costs. I believe the median home cost is $219,000. Our two sons recently sold their homes that were valued below $200,000 and they were sold in less than a week! It's a seller's market. And Construction is booming, not just in Iowa City but in all the smaller communities surrounding it. I've recently passed through a couple of them and was amazed to see the number of both houses and condos going up. 

[SuccessWithMary]

What I've found in the Carolinas within college towns is the eating establishments leave something to be desired when it comes to the seniors/healthy eating/peaceful atmosphere, etc.  Pubs are aplenty.  Beer crawls and craft beers become an advertised attraction.  Food quality is average to substandard.  The evenings can become a bit rowdy on the sidewalk cafes.  Just not appealing to this AARP member.

[cm2216799]

I just discovered several places today in the triangle  of colleges in NC.

NC is conservative, but that triangle is highly liberal which is right for me.

The place is a non-profit and sounds pretty ideal.

But of course the problem always is--can I afford it?

To an AARP rep: I was recently informed that  there are AARP employees who reply on this line, and suggest various assisted living communities.

I think that's dishonest and should be looked into.

 Isn't AARP supposed to be on our side, rather than the independent living/assisted care/memory care facilities? How do we know we won't be ripped off if we should reply to one of these AARP employees?

I think rather less of AARP now.

[AARPLynne]

With their relatively small size and big-city amenities, many of these communities might warrant a closer look. (Read more.)

Ever consider retiring to a college town?