Retirement Villages: Retirement Community With A Choice

Wikipedia describes a retirement dwelling as a multi-residence lodging facility that is planned for older people. The customary guide scenario is that  person or couple in the residence has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. And other conveniences are provided inside the building. Often times this includes services for meals, meeting, exercise, and some manner of health or hospice care. The level of care these facilities varies a lot. Lodging in retirement homes can be paid for on a rental basis, similar to an apartment, or can be purchased in perpetuity on the same basis as a condominium.

Basically, a retirement residence differs from a nursing residence primarily in the degree of medical care given. On the other hand, retirement villages and retirement communities, not like retirement homes, offer separate and autonomous homes for residents plus more.

A retirement community or retirement villages, is an  hazy, generic term that covers many varieties of housing for retirees and seniors.  They are especially designed or geared for people who no longer work,or restricted to those over a certain age. A retirement Village differs from a retirement home that is frequently a solitary building or small complex where no “common areas” for socializing exist.

A lot of retirement villages are intended for that purpose, and have distinctive facilities catering to the wishes and needs of retirees, including wide-ranging services like clubhouses, swimming pools, arts and crafts, boating, trails, golf courses, active adult retail and on-site medical facilities.

Other facilities possess no or extremely little common services. An Age-controlled community generally requires at least one household occupier to be 55 plus years of age or older (occasionally 50+ or 60+ years of age).

There are actually three extensive categories of retirement communities

1.  ACTIVE communities (the entire residential units, no long-term healthcare facilities – also known as “independent living communities”

2.  ACTIVE/SUPPORTIVE communities (a combination of residential and healthcare facilities – also known as “continuing care retirement communities” – CCRC)

3.  SUPPORTIVE communities (all long term healthcare units, like assisted living facilities or nursing homes)

Because more and more healthier and younger people are retiring these days the major focus I believe is on the active communities or independent living.

Retirement Villages are regularly built in warm climates, and are widespread in loads of countries.  

A number of publishers have built lists of the 100 best retirement communities or 100 best places (or towns) to retire. Nevertheless, these lists are not complete and frequently out-of-date.  In addition, most of these lists are focused on specific Retirement Villages in their prospective countries.  Also, allot of these retirement villages are focused towards high income earners (the elderly and the rich).

Scores of countries are experiencing the same phenomena with the elderly at the present time.  Take for example, New Zealand with almost half a million people over the age of 65 in a 2001 census.  I would envision today in 2010 there are like over a million people above the age of 65.  Add this number to worldwide consensus and you have an enormous sum of people in this age grouping.  This is mainly due to the baby boomer age and healthy lifestyles.

The progress in retirement villages as an accommodation
Standard of living and care option is unquestionably a reaction to this shifting demographic profile. The village component is without a doubt a search for an alternative to old age homes of the past.
Community and affordable lodging within elements of precautions rank substantially with people’s aspirations.

For example in the United Kingdom retirement villages are becoming more and more common.  According to a recent BBC account (Aug 2009) there are nearly 25,000 people across the UK at the moment living inside a retirement village model

Nurses, caregivers and visiting doctors are an important ingredient of a lot of village operations, while community centers, bowling greens, a swimming pool and billiard tables are a customary recreational feature.

I have done some extensive travel searching for a agreeable place for me to retire.  My main concern was regarding expenses since I have a small pension to live on.  I was first interested in the area in the vicinity of Lake Chapala located 45 km southeast of Guadalajara, Mexico.  Picture perfect weather and great culture however because of the influx of foreigners the cost to live there is approximately the equal as it is my own country.  I passed on this option.

I also thought of Arizona and Florida as I was a snow bird for a some years.  I passed on this choice because of the expenditure aspect also.

Finally, I decided on Colombia.  I traveled to Colombia to attempt my retirement there.  I tried Bogotá, Medellin and Cali.  I found that my pension went a long way there.  I treasured the country and its population, nevertheless I had difficulty learning Spanish and this made it challenging to get on with my daily errands.

Subsequently one time I was talking to man who talked about the Philippines.  He mentioned the low cost of living in the Philippines and the fact that most Philippinos spoke English.  He went on to say that the English language was on all signs, menus and legal documents.  In Colombia I had a difficult time just opening up my cable account.

Afterwards, shortly after meeting this man I made up my mind, sold all my possessions and trotted off to the Philippines.  At last, I found my home where life is comfortable and inexpensive.

Below is a sample budget of my cost of living in the Philippines:

Housing (rental of a luxury three-bedroom apartment): $250 monthly
Utilities (including, phone, Internet, and cable television): $100 montly
Maid (twice a week): $10
Cook (twice a week): $10
Groceries: $150
Water $12 a month
I rent a new Yamaha scooter for $125 a month.  Gas is around $20 a month.
A beer is around 60 cents in the store and $1 in the bar.
1 kilo Italian style tomatoes in the market 12 cents
1 kilo fresh water fish in the market $140 1 kilo
Clothing: $20 a month.  No need to wear shoes or slacks here.  Most of us wear shorts and sandals

Entertainment (two people dining out eight times a month at top restaurants or other entertainment): $200.  I take my girlfriend out to a place she likes and it costs me $4 for the two of us.  I take her to an expensive restaurant and she doesn’t like it.  My costs for dinning out is around $30 total.

Health care (four $30 visits to a physician per year for two people, divided by 12 months): $20

Will Irwin, author who is presently writing his next book ‘The Coming Real Estate Boom in the Philippines’ explains that one of the most inexpensive places to retire is the Philippines.

He goes further noting that there are a few ‘secret’ locations in the Philippines which are on the rise with new retirement villages for expats.  Mr. Irwin remarks that this is an investment opportunity overlooked by many due to the lack of media publicity.

According to Mr. Irwin  one of the best places to retire abroad has to be the Philippines for the reason that it is rising fast at this moment. For this reason opportunities are abundant for expats and investors, specially in Samar and Tablas (Romblon). This is the one of the best places to retire overseas because of the low cost of living while the surroundings are as beautifull as Boracay which has 1 million visitors per year.

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