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CNN Live Saturday

Retirement Communities Increase in Popularity

Aired September 08, 2001 - 16:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: There's a new generation of retirees coming of age, and in many cases they're younger and less likely to spend their golden years in the Sunshine State.

CNN's Brian Palmer has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Dick and Nancy Sullivan retired early, they didn't move to Florida, they stuck with their home state, New Jersey.

DICK SULLIVAN: You are closer to your family, and you're closer to these other environmental things, such as the city and the ocean, that make it a more desirable place.

NANCY SULLIVAN: There's all kinds of clubs you could join here. I mean, they've got, you know, computer clubs, bird watching, pretty much any club that anyone is willing to start, you can start.

PALMER: In other words, the Sullivans weren't going to take retirement lying down. So they moved to Westlake, an adult community designed for 50-somethings just like them.

N. SULLIVAN: If he was going to retire and we were going to survive retirement and getting along together, we needed some outside interests. Really, it's the truth.

D. SULLIVAN: A lifestyle, that's what we're moving to. We're moving to a new lifestyle.

PALMER: Nancy Sullivan is a fan of the ceramics classes. If Dick Sullivan isn't volunteering with the local AARP or Westlake's community board...

N. SULLIVAN: He'd be golfing.

D. SULLIVAN: Well, you know, it isn't like I live on the golf course, because I found that the more I play, it still doesn't necessarily make me any better.

PALMER: Communities for young retirees have been around more than a decade, but they're becoming more popular as the first wave of baby boomers edges into retirement, and New Jersey is the epicenter of an adult community construction boom.

JERRY HOWARD, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOME BUILDERS: I think that baby boomers don't see themselves as getting old. They see themselves as maturing. Many of them are fairly affluent. They want to stay in the social circles that they're accustomed to, and they just want more conveniences and things more at their fingertips.

PALMER: Convenience isn't cheap. The average home at Westlake runs about $250,000 and ownership comes with rules. Children can visit, but they can't move in. Even wind chimes are a no-no.

But for the Sullivans, the trade-off was worth it.

D. SULLIVAN: Effectively, we made a new life. It's interesting, when you live down here, nobody asks you what you do. Your whole life has been spent, and you've been defined by what you did for a living. Here, you're defined by who you are. And it's kind of a fun transition in life.

PALMER: Brian Palmer, CNN, Jackson, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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