Category: General Retirement Issues
February 19, 2013 -- What's going on in Hollywood - retirement is the hot theme of the moment. Witness white-hot Maggie Smith, who is starring in 2 current movies ("The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" and "Quartet"), not to mention "Downton Abbey". We thoroughly recommend the former, and have heard great things about the latter. But have you also seen the 40 minute film documentary about life in a retirement community, "Kingspoint"? Nominated for an Oscar, the film is self-described as a "Tale of Love, Loss, and Self-Preservation". The Huffington Post said... "It’s a magnificent film. It is the wake-up call we all need to understand the mindsets of our parents and grandparents as they contemplate the final stages of their lives.” We'll provide a review of "Kings Point" here as a warm-up to next week's article - a summary of what our members think about retirement movies in general, including their favorites.
We had heard a lot about "Kings Point" since its subject is life in a retirement community. So when it came to a nearby theater as part of the Oscar "Shorts" package, we went. Initially we weren't sure how we were going to like it.
Kings Point is an active community that was built in the 1970's. At the time retirees from the Northeast swarmed in for low cost, non-stop fun in the warm Florida sun. But as the residents have aged together, so has the community. It looks dated, as do
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Published on February 19, 2013
Comments 7
Category: General Retirement Issues
January 1, 2013 -- This website covered a lot of editorial ground last year, thanks to feedback and suggestions from our members. It's hard to pick the "best of 2012", mainly because we can think of so many different ways to select them. Our traditional way to pick is to look for the most read Blog articles. That is certainly a good measure, but the results are fairly predictable. To broaden that approach we are introducing 3 other "best article" categories here: Most Commented Upon, Best Member Contribution, and Best Series. Hope you like our selections!
Most Read Articles of 2012
Our "Best" and "Worst" articles are always the most read of the year, and that certainly makes sense. The top 4 most read articles in 2012 were:
10 Worst States to Retire
100 Best Places to Retire
100 Most Popular Active Communities
10 Best States to Retire
Best Articles by Comments Generated
A better way
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Published on January 1, 2013
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Category: General Retirement Issues
November 12, 2012 — (Note: See our followup to this article, “The X Factor in Retirement“, which recapped comments made here). Americans love their pets, there is no getting around that. According to the World Society for the Protection of Animals, the USA is the overwhelming pet capital of…
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Published on November 12, 2012
Comments 51
Category: General Retirement Issues
Sept 25, 2012 -- The NY Times does a great job of writing helpful features for its readers. This month's special Retirement section is no exception, so we are passing along links to some of the more interesting stories, which are difficult to find unless you know the exact title of the article. We hope you find them useful in planning your retirement.
Heading South, but Stopping Short of Florida. This piece profiles several couples who thought they would retire to Florida, but who decided for a variety of reasons to retire along the way. Indeed there are many parts of the mid-South where the 55-64 and over 65 population is increasing by 60% or more. You will find
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Published on September 25, 2012
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Category: General Retirement Issues
July 31, 2012 - There have been so many interesting articles about retirement lately that we just had to put together in one place for your education and pleasure. Here you go:
Luxury golf communities struggle -some owners selling out for $1
22 Strategies and suggestions to help women get a better retirement
Top 10 places to retire in England
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Published on July 30, 2012
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Category: General Retirement Issues
July 14, 2012 -- The results are in from this week's survey of Topretirements visitors and members, and they are surprising in many respects. As you will see from some of the comments made to this post, it appears that Topretirements members and readers are not your typical person when it comes to retirement. The consensus seems to be that you are better prepared, more of a planner, and more willing to pick up stakes and move. In an interesting coincidence, Pulte, a major developer of active adult communities (as well as Topretirements advertiser) released the latest of its ongoing survey of 55+ baby boomers who are still working last week. We will provide their results for contrast where applicable.
Q 1. What age will you retire?
A: Early! Just over 2/3 or our 467 respondents said they either
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Published on July 14, 2012
Comments 28
Category: General Retirement Issues
July 9, 2012 — We are dying of curiosity to find out more about what you, our members, are planning for your retirement. And we think you are interested in comparing notes with others too. So we’ve created a very short, 5 question survey with multiple choice answers. If we…
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Published on July 9, 2012
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Category: General Retirement Issues
May 24, 2012 -- Ever had that feeling that you've seen an article... but just can't put your finger on it? We know we have, and that's why we have just completed a comprehensive index of all our past featured articles. Now hundreds of our most helpful features are all in place, logically arranged in 13 categories so you can find them more easily. Some of the categories
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Published on May 24, 2012
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Category: General Retirement Issues
May 15, 2012 -- There's been a lot of news and retirement related articles that affect you as a retiree or future retiree in the past week. Here is the rundown of what we found compelling in the past week or so - think of it as Retirement 101.
Home Price Improve
The National Association of Realtors released their single family home sales data for 2012's first quarter this week. Compared to the last 5 years, it's a downright cheery report! Year over year home prices increased in about half of U.S. markets, although prices overall were off from the 4th quarter ($158,100 vs. $162,600). The huge inventories of
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Published on May 15, 2012
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Category: General Retirement Issues
May 10, 2012 -- If you have access to the NY Times, either online or in print, you should check out the May 10 edition. There are several great articles, including a profile of 3 older folks who are continuing to work past their normal retirement age - "Working Late, by Choice or Not". An 87 year old doctor, a 72 year old health care worker, and the former assistant to the Chief Executive of Verizon Wireless (no working at Dillards in the Polo department) make for
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Published on May 10, 2012
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