In the book, Get Inspired to Retire, by David Saylor and Greg Heffington, readers can explore the many options for finding the perfect home for the retirement years. Here are several of the options, reprinted by permission from the publishers:
Share Some School Spirit: Move to a College Town
Think about making a new home amid the intelligentsia of Ann Arbor, Michigan (University of Michigan); the mountains of Boulder, Colorado (University of Colorado); the fall foliage of Hamilton, New York (Colgate University); the spirit of Auburn, Alabama (Auburn University); the quaintness of Oxford, Ohio (Miami University) or the sensory stimuli of myriad academic institutions—including your alma mater. Academia knows no bounds.
Moving to a college town can mean unlimited intellectual stimulation and access to the arts while cheering for the home team and mingling with tomorrow’s leaders.
Go for the big-city, inner-city campus life or enroll in school full-time in pursuit of a degree, advanced or otherwise.
Reality Check:
You can live the dream. No age limits; class attendance optional.
What It Takes to Get There:
Visit Web sites of specific colleges and universities, then click on information about campus life. Alternatively, pick up a catalog of universities and colleges, or visit www.CollegeBoard.com and click on College Search.
Cost: That depends on your lifestyle and choices.
Related Articles:
Going Mobile: Move to a Manufactured Home
Imagine a home as a package that you can pick up and move (albeit with some difficulty) if and when the spirit moves you. And it’s not a cramped RV!
Welcome to the world of manufactured-home or mobile-home living. This popular housing option can downsize your space, responsibility, and expenses. Retirees often cash in on the equity of their family residence in a northern clime, for instance, and then move someplace warmer and buy a much less expensive manufactured home.
Going mobile requires far less commitment than buying a site-built home, and if you discover you don’t like your new location, you can easily move elsewhere.
Reality Check:
Mobile-home living today isn’t what it used to be. If you’re not sure the lifestyle is for you, consider a vacation rental first.
What It Takes to Get There:
Manufactured Housing Institute, www.manufacturedhousing.org; HUD, www.hud.gov; Manufactured Housing Global Network, www.mfdhousing.com.
Cost: Average sales price, about $58,000.
Related articles:
For more articles from Get Inspired to Retire, see these:
- Book Review
- Thinking about Retirement
- What Do You Really Want?
- Finding your Home:
- Stay Home or Downsize
- International or Communal
- Second Home or Farm
To purchase a copy of the book, see visit the Van Kampen Bookstore.