Louisiana Retirees

Louisiana Hoping to Attract Retirees

“Perhaps Mr. Winkle was an early pioneer of “aging in place” and just grew tired waiting for an active-adult community to come to his hometown.”    …liz   

Looking over the growing list of active-adult and retirement communities throughout the United States, it isn’t difficult to notice the concentration of these communities is somewhat lopsided.  

It is understandable that those states offering a comparatively lower cost of living, a mild climate, or whose natural and scenic landscapes seem to offer abundant leisure activities might have an unequal distribution of communities catering to the 55+ crowd; but as the current scenario plays out, there are a few states that just don’t have a viable representation in the age-restricted community at all.

Oftentimes, when adding new active-adult communities to states that already have quite a few, one can’t help but become curious as to just why some states continue to have so few.  Obvious questions come to mind:  Aren’t equal portions of the people in these states also getting a little older?  And assuming yes, wouldn’t they also be interested in living in communities that celebrate seniorhood and promote an active lifestyle?  

Recently, there have been numerous surveys and articles posted addressing the interests of seniors and where they might choose to spend their post-retirement years.   Though the resulting statistics may vary, overwhelmingly, it is evident that a large majority of homeowners aged 55+ would like to live out their lives right where they are. 

There have been quite a few reasons given why people may choose not to pack up and make a major move when their jobs or their children no longer anchor them to one particular place.  No matter how attractive the destination, it is totally understandable that it might be difficult if not impossible to say goodbye to a community that they have worked in, raised a family in, worshipped in, and sometimes even grown up in.    

On the other hand, for some people making a move to another state might be no big deal at all.  Many people approaching retirement have spent the last few decades spending long hours at the office, taking frequent business trips, and making periodic business-related transfers.  Home, to some, has come to feel more like a base camp, lacking permanence; and when that base camp has served its intended purpose, it might then be considered time to pack up and choose a more ideal spot.

For others, their home and community feels more like a sanctuary; leaving would not really be an option.  These people may enjoy and afford leisure travelling, sometimes extensively; but no amount of lush, high-numbered thread count sheets or star ratings given to the most exotic or upscale of resorts could compare to the oohs and ahs silently muttered upon returning to their “Home Sweet Home.”      

Some time back there was a picture circulating on the Internet with a stretch limousine parked under an attached garage next to an old run-down house.  The caption below the picture indicated that this home owner was an Arkansas lottery winner.  The implications of this type of picture were obvious.  Picture.  Caption.  Enough said. 

What was intriguing about this picture though were the untold possibilities for a different type of story other than just an opportunity to condescendingly poke fun at what appeared on the surface to be the home of someone newly and no doubt undeservingly rich.  PhotoShop out, if you will, the old house and take a look once again at the beautiful landscape that surrounds this person’s home.  Then imagine the memories and friendships that this person had made within the community that were so precious that no amount of money or dream retreat could lure this person away.  Just maybe this was simply a classic case of someone choosing to “age in place.” 

One of the states having a low representation of retirement communities is my home state of Louisiana.  Being from that state and understanding its uniqueness, it would seem that this would be one of those states where people who have lived all of their life just may not want to leave.   

The Louisiana Retirement Development Commission has just announced that Thibodaux, a town in the southern part of Louisiana, has been selected as one of seven of Louisiana’s certified retirement communities.  Other communities warranting this designation are the cities of Crowley and Lake Charles and the parishes of St. Landry, Natchitoches, and Jefferson.  With this designation, these communities will receive a matching $10,000 grant and will be included in the state’s recently launched marketing campaigns.   

It would be nice to see Louisiana begin to offer a wider variety of retirement housing choices such as the active-adult communities being built in other states.   If smartly marketed and developed, Louisiana might just become an attractive retirement option for locals wanting to “age in place” and others looking for a mild climate, a lowered cost of living, ample recreational variety, spectacular food, and delightfully friendly people.