There will be more people over age 50 than under 15 in developed countries within the next 25 years. Many mid-size cities have noticed that they have aging populations requiring more and more services just as their younger residents who are needed to provide the tax base to support those needs are moving away.
In some communities a unique and very different approach to this issue is being taken. These cities are making their aging populations the focus of their civic strategies rather treating it as a problem. Looking at the approaches being taken by two U.S. cities will illustrate the point.
Rochester, New York has spent millions trying to attract young people to live "in the city." Monroe County is home to nine colleges and universities, including the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music and the National Training Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology, graduating thousands of young professionals every year. The city has given tax incentives to developers to restore vacant downtown factories and office buildings into upscale loft living spaces. Rochester maintains a constant flow of social and cultural events including an internationally-known jazz festival. They've encouraged the opening of trendy cafes, shops and upscale and boutique restaurants. The city is even tearing down the first enclosed mall in the United States to make room for more modern office spaces attempting, with little success, to attract small and mid-size companies to move into the center city bringing young professionals with them.
It hasn't worked. Young people and young families are leaving New York's upstate cities like Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo in droves, attracted to bigger cities in warmer climates where there are more high-tech jobs, lower taxes, and a more vibrant social life than Rochester can hope to provide.
By contrast, Sarasota Florida, where the residents of 1 of every 2 homes is at least 60 years old, an entirely different approach is being taken, according to Rich Stover, an avid golfer and Sarasota real estate agent. Sarasota has opted to focus its civic strategy by placing its aging population at the center of the strategy, rather than treating them as a problem. Sarasota focuses its initiatives and investments on providing the products and services needed and wanted by those older citizens.
A rapidly expanding field in Sarasota is health care, the kind older people need and want. Sarasota Memorial Hospital is the second largest hospital in Florida. Some 1,300 doctors are employed in the Sarasota - Bradenton area. The Tamiami Trail (US Rte 41) and other major Sarasota roadways are lined with pharmacies, clinics and other health-care related practices of all kinds, along with sites where seniors can learn about anything from computers to organic gardening -- all things seniors willingly spend their money on. These health-care related businesses bring young professionals to town to meet the needs and wishes of seniors. Its a different path to the same goal.
In addition, Sarasota is supporting and expanding civic activities, functions and organizations that give seniors something to become involved in. Sarasota is awash in not-for-profit organizations where retirees can stay active and involved. The local 66-acre Ringling Museum complex, which includes an art museum, a circus museum, and the restored Ringling's family home, the Cà d'Zan Mansion, keeps over 700 older volunteers busy. And there are many more organizations like the Ringling. Sarasota even has a website to recruit volunteers for its many organizations and activities.
There is so much going on in Sarasota to keep older people engaged, active and healthy that one local organization touts the region as a "Silicon Valley for the Aging."
What does this mean to you if you are one of the many looking for a warmer, friendly and inviting place to spend your retirement years, the Sarasota - Bradenton area should be on your list of places to see before making a choice. Before you come to town, call ahead and plan to visit a professional Sarasota real estate agent like Bob Henley Bob would be happy to show you around Sarasota, Osprey and Venice Florida touring with you attractively prices homes and condominiums that fit your needs and desires perfectly.
"Come experience Sunny Sarasota Florida and learn about the wonderful real estate values available here," says Connie Belmont, a well-known expert on senior living and Sarasota FL real estate.
2 comments:
Really glad to have read your post. What you say is truly accurate. Anyone consdiering moving to Florida should come to Sarasota and contact me or another Sarasota realtor while they are in Florida for the winter months.
Used to visit Rochester and it's a shame. It's really a nice city, but also, I fear, a dying one
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