Retirement in a Retirement Resort

My mother, (bless her heart, she's 99) lives in a retirement home just south of Sarasota, in Venice. She lived with my sister, who is 77, in her condo on the bay until last year. Then my sister became unable to care for her, so we moved her into a retirement home which offered independent living and assisted living. 

The CCRC Shannon and I just moved into is more like a resort than a retirement home. I'll tell you what I mean. 

Our new continuing care retirement community has over 300 living units for independent living. Each is a complete home. You pay up front for the apartment or club home, and then a monthly fee which covers virtually everything you could imagine. 

That fee may go up each year with inflation, but if we should ever need assisted living, or (knock on wood) skilled nursing care, the fee we pay doesn't ever change. We have no worries about healthcare or healthcare costs. 

I say it's like a resort because of all of the amenities and services that we get for our monthly fee. We can dine in one of three dining rooms. We can get meals delivered to our house, like room service. The list goes on and on, but the main thing is the community is alive and vibrant. People are learning and playing and interacting. 

I don't know about you, but in caring for my parents, and Shannon's parents, we scouted out a lot of retirement homes. We saw lots of really old people, and walkers and mobility scooters. When we visit my mother, we see people staring at televisions, with little to do. 

At our new place, there are dozens of activities to choose from daily. It's almost too much. You can read the list of daily activities on their web site, so I won't list them here. Just think resort and imagine living in a retirement resort. That's what it feels like. 

We really feel secure knowing that no matter what healthcare issues we have in the future, we never have to worry about high healthcare costs and outliving our money. 

In your retirement planning, I hope you'll consider finding a CCRC that is like a resort, and for goodness sakes, don't wait too long. Don't wait for health issues to hit you, and like my mother and sister, not be eligible for membership in a retirement resort like ours. 

Yours for a happy and healthy retirement,

Ken Johnston

P.S. To see what makes this place seem like a resort, go to their website and click a few links to see what makes a continuing care retirement community so different from a retirement home. Explore our new community. 

P.P.S. If you want to see pictures of my mother and her many birthday parties, go to our personal website: http//www.kenshan.com