It Seems That Baby Boomers May Be Putting Down Roots In Their Old College Towns

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When I think about one of the times in my life was when I had the most fun was in

Higher learning on the quad

college. That was when I was old enough to know right from wrong, and brave enough, or foolish enough, whichever the case may be, to push the envelop in an effort to have a much fun as possible. Since I had so much fun back in the day, is it possible that same environment of higher learning, could be a good place to retire?

If you are among the boomers who are enjoying life living in the homes in which you raised your families, and you can afford the burden of maintaining your home, then good on you. This post may not be of interest to you.

Professor Andrew Cable, the director of the Program in Assisted Living/Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University states the Baby Boomers are generally looking for three things, which are;

  • Activity. Boomers want, and need to stay active, both mentally and physically.
  • To be stimulated intellectually.
  • To live in a community which is populated by multiple generations.

Sounds as if they are looking to settle in a college town.

What College Towns Have To Offer

Since college students need to live someplace, and most students do not have a money tree, they have to find affordable housing. Boomers can, for the same reason, find affordable housing in college towns. That is as long as they do not want to purchase a home. The cost of home ownership is just as high in college towns, as it is in any other community in the country.

College towns have the infrastructure that boomers are looking for. That is a downtown area which contains all the boomer creature comfort needs. While we are talking about infrastructure, these college towns generally have a well established public transportation system as well.

Students need places where they can kick back and enjoy life. Boomers can take advantage of these kick back places also. College towns have a good variety of restaurants, movie theaters, watering holes, and cultural activities.

Boomers, being boomers, have to be concerned about health care. Many college towns have got that problem taken care of, since their associated colleges have teaching hospitals on their campus. Of course these hospitals are staffed with highly qualified healthcare professional.

It should go without saying that living in a college community is definitely advantageous to boomers who want to continue their education. Many times boomers are allowed to audit classes. Kind of takes the pressure off of the grades issue. Depending on the boomers experience, mentoring , or tutoring, may be something boomers want to look into. In fact living in a college town may lead to a Encore Career. The important thing is that living in a college town makes keeping our brain challenged, an easy thing to accomplish.

Football in the fall

A major advantage to living in a college town, if you are interested in sports, it is convenient to watch sporting events. It goes without saying that college towns provide four seasons worth of sporting events. Besides there is a world of difference in the cost for attending a college sporting activity, as compared to cost of watching the same professional events.

With college campus towns all over the country, boomers should have no problem finding the right community to settle in. If we are turned on by winter activities we can take a look at a northern campus. If fun in the sun is what turns us on, the southern campus is what we should be looking at. We can even find a campus with a ocean front view.

How the Colleges Feel About Boomers

Generally colleges are welcoming the boomers with open arms. Unlike students, when boomers put down roots in a community, they are going to be there for a long time. Students either graduate, or quite school. In either chase they are gone, but the boomer is still there.

Colleges and developers are partnering up to build retirement communities in or adjacent to college campuses. Fact is in some cases developers are also building extended care units, so as boomers age and become more dependent on medical care, they do not have to move to get that care.

College administrators realize that many boomers are bringing with them experiences, and knowledge which are beneficial for programs they teach.

Conclusion

Colleges are institutions of higher learning. We know that. Studies indicate that continuous learning has a big positive effect on boomers.

Exercise for the brain

The more we stay mentally active. The more we exercise our brains. The more likely we can slow down the effects of dementia, cognitive decline, or depression. There you have it, retiring to a college town can make us Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise. Well I do not know about the Wealthy part.

There you go, that is all I got for now. I’ve enjoyed writing this post. If you have anything you would like to add, or if you disagree with any of my thoughts, please leave a comment below.

Thank You

Darrell

asupplementalretirementincome.com

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Recent Comments

7

Hi Darrell,
Great read.
You move back to Ogden Utah and have the kids visit !

No I'll probably never move back to Utah. All our kids and grand kids live here in Hawaii.

Got you.

That was a excellent read and it made a lot of sense the way you compared the college kids to baby boomers was great all the best

Thank you Maxiam59 for your interest in this post. If I weren't living in Hawaii where all my kids and grand kids live, I might think about returning to Ogden Utah, where I went to school.

Thank you for your comment.
Darrell

Great post-Darrell, you are so right by saying the more we stay mentally active, is the more we exercise our brains. Thank you for sharing.

Bishop

Thank you dbishop for your comment. I like to compare our brain with other muscles in our body. If we don't exercise both our brains and muscles, we will become week and out of shape both physically and mentally.

Thank you for your interest.
Darrell

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