Retiring Green

As much as we talk about the costs of retiring, it’s interesting to note that cost doesn’t simply refer to the money involved in purchasing a dream retirement.

Now that the oldest Baby Boomers are old enough to be thinking about retirement, many of them have the notion that their retirement lifestyle should be green, or environmentally sustainable. This shouldn’t be terribly surprising since they practically invented the Green Movement - don’t email, we’re not ignoring Muir and the other notables of Environmental History, we’re just making the point that Boomers are green, have been since before the first Earth Day, and have the socio-political clout to make it a priority, okay?

Sadly, this keen interest has led some homebuilders and developers to attempt to attract Boomers without really delivering a sustainable product. They cloud the issue by

using language suggesting environmental sensitivity without pointing to anything tangible in their product to support the claim. Environmentalists call the practice "Greenwashing"

Fortunately, a “green” standard has been developed for private homes. It’s called the LEED certification standards. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit, non-government entity that seeks to change the way buildings and communities are designed, built, and operated.

www.usgbc.org

The standard for private homes is in its pilot phase, but the commercial green standard has been implemented nationwide. While you’re looking at glossy brochures of 55+ Active Adult Retirement Communities, look at the communal buildings in the development you and see if those meet the LEED standards, which are in a nutshell, any community or home that

• Meets or beats the EPA’s Energy Star standards www.energystar.gov

• Achieves high standards of indoor air quality

• Uses building materials that are locally produced and or/recycled

• Incorporates water conservation and storm water management

• Achieves a minimal footprint on the land

• Keeps carbon emissions low through use of renewable energy or super-efficient building envelopes

Another good way to ensure that you’re retiring green is to look into regions or cities that are in the forefront of green practices. Redmond, Washington is a good example. Smarter Cities, a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council calls Redmond “a city to watch” because its bike friendly, has good mass transit, and the city promotes green building and native species yard care.

While you’re looking around Redmond, check out Trilogy at Redmond Ridge. Trilogy is an active adult 55+ community that’s built by Shea Homes. Trilogy homes are Shea Green Certified, which is not only environmentally sound, but will save homeowners about $1800 per year in utility costs.

If you’ve never heard of Shea Homes, rest assured that they’ve been on the forefront of Green Building Practices since long before it became trendy. In 2008, they were the first national builder to make solar power systems an included option on new homes, and

all Shea Green Certified homes are built with a combination of the most important and cost-effective standards for green residential building set by LEED.

In addition to solar power systems, features often incorporated by Shea Homes include solar attic fans, wood from sustainable forests, framing techniques that use up to 10 percent less wood (saving 5.5 trees per home), leak minimizing construction techniques (sealed ducts and penetrations), Energy Star-rated efficient appliances, 14 SEER air conditioning units, dual pane low-e windows, and motion and occupancy sensor lighting.

One poll commissioned by Harris Interactive/Trilogy by Shea Homes found that baby boomers “rank solar technology as the single most important feature of a green home, followed by energy-efficient appliances and dual pane windows.”

In September 2008, J.D. Power and Associates ranked Trilogy by Shea Homes highest in customer satisfaction among the largest active adult community new home builders in 33 U.S. markets. Trilogy's green homes exceed the International Energy Code for energy efficiency by approximately 30 percent, and they undergo 20 different tests and inspections by an independent third party to achieve their green certification.

So if you’re serious about your commitment to that Green Retirement, take a good look at Trilogy Redmond Ridge.

Finding Your Retirement Value

Active Adult Communities in California

Since a lot of the discussion about retirement centers around costs these days, lets just confront the issue head on; how do you define “Value”?

All too often the comparison between two options comes down to “price” when it should come down to value. If you happen to be one of the few people in the world for whom money is no object, you might decide simply to buy the most expensive home you could find – just because you can. If you don’t really love the location, then there’s arguably no real value to the purchase. Price wasn’t a factor, but who the heck wants to live in an area they don’t like?

Of course, for most of us, money is an object. It’s a major aspect of our decision-making. For a lot of us, taking the opposite tack is our default choice. We might choose a “more affordable” retirement home because it’s actually more affordable.

Funny thing is, you end up in the same position as the first example – totally unhappy with where you live and having wasted a lot of money. Considering that we’re discussing retirement home purchasing here, such unhappiness could seriously affect the rest of your life - or maybe that’s too dramatic.

Or IS it? First things first; if you’re going to enjoy retirement and really make it your life’s next big adventure, you have to decide where you want to be. Ideally, you’d have an idea of where to be and what to do when you’re there – but in the interest of keeping it simple, let’s start with place.

For example, you might generally want to be in California. Maybe you have an affinity for wine country. You start looking around and find the central coast, and see a really nice community called Trilogy Central Coast near Nipomo. Trilogy is a beautifully designed 55+ active adult community and like most of us, you’re pretty excited by the idea. Then you find out listings there are between somewhere over $450K to somewhere over $800K. Depending on your life experience, you might either go into sticker shock or just shrug and say, “Well, that’s California.”

And yes, that is California. But before you write it off as an option and look elsewhere, it does bear taking the time to understand the value of what you get for the money. It’s true that $450K will buy you a lot of house in most states, but are we really prepared to compare retirement lifestyles by square footage?

Look at the California Central Coast this way; where else are you going to find a thriving coastal community, surrounded by a dramatic backdrop of vineyards, beaches and hot springs? Where else puts both San Francisco and Los Angeles within a few hours drive?

Imagine being located a mere hour away from exploring the Santa Ynez wine country, or Shopping & Dining in Santa Barbara. Imagine being able to randomly pick day trips to several of the Historic California Missions or the Los Padres National Forest, the Pismo Dunes Natural Preserve, or Montana De Oro State park. Consider that every October to February you can stroll among the thousands and thousands of Monarch butterflies in the Eucalyptus grove at Pismo Beach.

The reality is that the California Central Coast is a truly unique place that is highly desirable – and by California standards it really isn’t that expensive. In addition, when you look closely at Trilogy Central Coast you also find that you’re buying an exceptional value for the price beyond the location.

Trilogy Central Coast features contemporary design, green building practices, and a community plan that focuses on wellness and community. Amenities include The Monarch Club, which won the 2009 Gold Nugget Grand Award for architecture, and the lush, green Monarch Dunes Golf Course. You end up with a dream retirement in resort style living in one of the most amazing parts of California – and those green building practices end up translating into lower monthly costs, so your dollars can be put to better use, which adds to your overall retirement value. At the very least, have a conversation with your real estate agent, or contact the nice people at Trilogy directly – know exactly what your options are by value – not just price, and put together a retirement lifestyle you’ll actually enjoy living.

Buying a retirement home in Las Vegas?

One of the challenges of deciding on where to live out life’s next big adventure is making an informed choice about buying a home in an unfamiliar area. All too often, the conversation revolves around the fun stuff; where to play golf, where to store the boat, where to walk, dine, shop, etc.

It’s easy to get so caught up in the retirement dream that the retirement reality kind of slides out of perspective. You might have vacationed in Las Vegas a few times, or every year for that matter, but does that mean you really understand the housing market enough to actually decide to live there? Are you really prepared enough to buy a whole house there?

Yes, of course, that is what real estate agents are for. But how many agents did you talk to before you started looking? Did you do any independent research of your own? It’s tough to evaluate the info that someone presents to you without some background understanding of your own, right? Most of the time, people pick an agent because “we really like [name of agent] he/she’s really nice”. Do yourself a favor – don’t do that.

Remember, the goal is to actually enjoy that active adult retirement lifestyle you’re working so hard for. Cover all of the bases and treat it like a business decision. Take, for example, you’re seriously looking into buying a home at Ardiente.

Ardiente is a 55+ active adult community with features including easy access to I-15, and the center of the strip/airport area. It’s also close to popular attractions such as Hoover Dam, Lake Mojave, Mt. Charleston, Red Rock Canyon, and Death Valley. Amenities include 30 fitness stations, six beautiful themed parks, a dog park, and a community center that feels like a country club. Nearby golf courses include Shadow Creek, Craig Ranch and Sunrise Vista. All in all, it’s a pretty amazing community of the sort that you’d think would be pretty expensive.

Nope.

Looking over some of the web sites for Las Vegas realtors, we’ve found that the Las Vegas housing market has fallen an estimated 58% since 2006. For several months up to July 2009, there was an average drop in value of right around $10,000 a month. So while those lovely homes at Ardiente may have been expensive at one time (though it’s patently not fair to tag homes as “expensive” without looking at the value of their efficiency and cost of maintenance), that community is as affected by the housing market as ant other.

This is where smart people ask, “Well, what if the value continues to decline after I buy in? Shouldn’t I wait?”

Well, prices in Las Vegas have stabilized recently. In addition, one or two Las Vegas realtor web sites have cited a Brookings Institute study that says, “the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Nevada will become, over the next decade, the next "heartland' of America. The economic and political power of this area is expected to grow greatly relative to other areas of the country. The Las Vegas area has seen short term downturns before, but historically, anyone who has bet against the vitality of this local economy has lost.

So...You're Not Much Into Golf But Want To Retire In La Quinta, Ca?

Funny thing about retiring as an active adult these days; everyone assumes you play golf and want to live in an active adult golf retirement community. If you do play the game, then it’s a correct assumption and no big deal. But what if you don’t? Some of us played more golf when we were about to go to college than we do as we about to plan a retirement. Some of us have been just been busy with careers and families, right? What if you still enjoy the occasional game, but it’s not your raison d’etre. Or, maybe you live with someone who’s slightly less involved with the game than you are.

Retirement is supposedly life’s next big adventure. So, in considering where to live out that adventure, it’s a good idea to think about what do with the time that you’re not out on the links. Or, for those obsessed with the game, it’s a good idea to think about what your significant other is going to do while you play golf every day.

Whether due to your own or your significant other’s obsession - If golf is associated with your retirement, an active adult community in La Quinta, CA will probably be a part of the conversation. According to the Robb Report, La Quinta is the “Best Place to Live for Golf” thanks to over 20 exceptional golf courses, including the famous PGA West and the nationally acclaimed Arnold Palmer Classic Course at SilverRock Resort. It’s a virtual smorgasbord of golf with an unparalleled reputation in the golf world; a siren’s call to the golf enthusiast.

But did you know that there’s more than golf to La Quinta? Were you aware that the city embraces art and culture? Ever hear about the La Quinta Arts Festival, live theatre by the La Quinta Playhouse, or the variety of public art pieces? The Old Town Village is enchanting, and features the very best in shopping and dining experiences.

Okura, which offers a fusion of Japanese and California cuisine, has a legendary sushi bar. Arnold Palmer’s (look, there’s no escaping the golf thing…) offers “Progressive American Cuisine served in a private club setting.”

If you’re retirement includes taking the time to cook for yourself, check out the Certified Farmers Market at Old Town. Offering live music from 9 AM to 12:30 PM, the Farmers Market is the best way to find the freshest, best tasting fresh fruits & vegetables. You can also get honey, nuts, cheese, plants and cut flowers, as well as fresh-baked breads from the local L'Artisan Bakery. Check out the Old Town website for details and other events such as the nightly live music shows.

As for where to take those fresh veggies back to cook, take a look at the retirement community Trilogy La Quinta. Nestled against the Santa Rosa Mountains in the Coral Mountain area of south La Quinta, it’s a 55+ active adult community that’s surrounded by all of the natural beauty that La Quinta has to offer. The resort-like setting is maintained with natural landscaping and seasonal flowers, and owners have the use of the Santa Rosa Club facilities, front yard landscaping service, and 24 Hour Guard-Gated Security. There’s even an on-site spa!

Retirees Choose Phoenix and Queen Creek for Great Golf

So, you’re an avid golfer and you’re thinking about retiring as a way to get in more time on the links – good call, but where to retire? Don’t answer right away. This is an important decision, think it through, but don’t stress over it. Gather as much info as you can. If you do it right, retirement promises to be the best time of your life.

Retirement Community Phoenix Arizona

Considering that you love golf, the ideal retirement community should probably include sunshine, and some sort of dramatic landscape as a backdrop. Access to a great golf course is mandatory, of course, but be sure to also consider life beyond the back nine. You probably want to pick an area that offers a reasonable cost of living and relatively low taxes, a variety of cultural events, access to sporting events and interesting places to visit.

And while you may not want to think about it now, considering that sooner or later even the most active adults are going to need a little extra help as we get older, you should also look for access to great health care facilities and organizations to assist you in the event you become disabled or handicapped.

Now, while you’re considering all of this, check out Phoenix AZ. I know what you’re thinking, its hot – desert hot. But seriously, take a look at the region and why Money magazine called Maricopa County “retirement central” in 2007.

Then, before you start thinking that a rapidly increasing population is a reason not to consider a region for retirement, take a look beyond Phoenix metro. Check out the Southeast Valley, and seriously look at Queen Creek, Arizona.

Queen Creek is situated in the valley below the San Tan Mountain range, southeast of Phoenix, and offers small-town life and family-friendly activities. The town features numerous ball fields and four separate 18-hole golf courses that are playable year round.

Throughout the year, the Parks and Recreation Department offers a variety of festivals and events. The Queen Creek Performing Arts Center just may be “the Best Kept Performing Arts Secret in Arizona” and Banner Ironwood Medical Center is a brand new medical center right that’s next door to Queen Creek.

So Queen Creek offers retirees places to go, things to do, nice people to meet, golf to play, and direct access to quality healthcare – but where exactly to live? As it happens, Queen Creek is where you’ll find Encanterra, a Trilogy Country Club.

According to Golf Digest, Encanterra’s golf course offers “elements reminiscent of the traditionally great private clubs” such as “large, undulating green surfaces complemented by challenging bunkers and chipping areas, open spaces off the tee that put driver in the player's hand on numerous occasions, and of course, varying hole lengths that ensure you use every club in the bag.”

Complimenting the quality of the golf course, the Mediterranean architecture and amenities of Encanterra’s clubhouse are simply stunning. The main restaurant, Bistro 1528, offers “a casual yet sophisticated feel with emphasis on delicious continental cuisine, superior service and genuinely friendly team Members” – and if you like the club, you’ll love the community. We’re pretty sure that Encanterra is Latin for Golf Heaven. As if that wasn’t attractive enough, we’re also sure you’ll be surprised at just how affordable your new retirement home at Encanterra really is – check it out.

Active Adults Retirement Arizona

Retiring in California Wine Country for Active Adults

Napa is over-rated.

That’s right, I said it, and I’m prepared to back it up.

Not that I don’t love Napa, don’t get me wrong – there are some great wines coming out of Napa Valley, and it’s pretty, and I love visiting there as much as anyone. When we lived in San Francisco, the first thing we did when we bought our new car was cruise up the coast to Napa. The wine train is awesome. That does not mean I have to retire there to prove my affinity for fine wines.

Yet, why is it that as we get older everyone I know who claims to be a wine lover waxes poetic about retiring to Napa to live among the wineries? Take a look around California for a moment. If you’re paying attention, you quickly realize that Napa is not the sum total of the wine industry in California. There are some great wines and beautiful wine countries for retirees to consider in California.

Remember those ads for some of the Napa wines that went on and on about the cool damp mornings and the hot dry afternoons? Hard to maintain my active adult lifestyle if the foggy mornings make my knees hurt, huh?

Consider this; how cool would it be to retire in a landscape defined by rolling hills, native grasses, oak trees and fruit orchards, that is also the ancestral home of California wine making?

About an hour outside San Francisco, up the river delta and along Highway 4 you end up in the Antioch, Brentwood, Mt. Diablo area. It’s an area still known throughout the Bay Area for agricultural products like cherries, corn and peaches. But up until prohibition, it was an area known for grapes. In fact The Mount Diablo region was the dominant grape growing region in the late 1800’s.

When, January 16, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified, the era of Prohibition began. Within a few years, most of the vineyards were plowed under and replaced with orchards of walnuts and almonds. What survives today is an enclave of family owned vineyards and wineries with names like Tamayo, and Hannah Nicole Vineyards. To retire among these wineries is to retire in the roots of California winemaking.

Of course, at this point you might start to analyze your idyllic retirement dream and suddenly realize that, as a 55+ active adult retiree, you love wine but maybe you don’t want to live way out in the sticks surrounded by grapes and nowhere to shop and dine.

Relax, the region is fully modernized. Don’t tell anyone, but the water tower in Brentwood is where they hide the cell phone transmitters. It’s still the bay area, after all. Brentwood in particular is a great choice for wine loving active adults to consider for retirement. The idyllic wine country locale is within easy reach of Walnut Creek, where you’ll find Broadway Plaza – one of the best known shopping destinations in the Bay Area. Surrounding the mall is an amazing array of small high quality restaurants, many of which feature the local wines. There’s access to BART in Walnut Creek, as well as Pittsburg/Bay Point (which is a little closer than Walnut Creek), so really, retiring in Brentwood gives you access to the entire Bay Area Region.

If health care is a concern for you as you get older (as it is for everyone, really) you’ll be glad to know that Kaiser Permanente has several facilities around Brentwood, so you’re never far away from high quality medical care.

Then the question becomes, “okay, so where’s a nice place to live in Brentwood?”

Active Adult New Homes

Well, if you’re looking at your retirement as “Life’s next big adventure” then you should take a look at Trilogy at the Vineyards. Trilogy is a master planned community that’s specifically designed around active adult retirees. Now in particular is a great time to talk to the folks at Trilogy because the depressed housing market has created an opportunity to buy into a very well appointed retirement at a discount price. Amenities include architecture by award- winning Bassenian Lagoni Architects, a library, gourmet studio and a fully equipped fitness center. If you’re serious about your wine lover dream retirement, you should really check them out before the economic recovery drives the prices back up.

Active Adult Living in Washington State

Situated between the dramatic Cascade Mountains and sparkling waters of Puget Sound, Redmond is probably best known as the home of Microsoft, and Nintendo of America. Thanks to the global success of these companies, and the associated large population of highly paid tech workers, the area has gained a reputation for affluence.

But what makes Redmond a great place for active adults to retire is that it abounds with natural beauty. It’s a city that boasts 34 parks totaling over a thousand acres with over 25 miles of trails; all within 20 minutes of downtown Seattle and only a short ride away from some great skiing.

Realizing full well that “active adults” includes a variety of activity levels, it’s an area that just about everyone can enjoy. There are trails for hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding, and many of the parks are “neighborhood parks” with benches and picnic tables, sports fields or courts. Marymoor Park in particular is one of the most popular in King County. It features a climbing rock, a big off-leash dog park, a model airplane field, an outdoor theater, and Washington’s only velodrome.

Cycling enthusiasts will probably be also interested to know that Redmond is "the Bicycle Capital of the Northwest". In addition to the velodrome, there’s the annual Derby Days bike race that takes place on the city streets, and is the oldest bike race in America. July of 2010 will see the 70^th anniversary of this event.

Along with the race, Derby days is a great example of this small town's community spirit. There are booths and attractions from most local businesses, and the events are designed to raise funds for local schools and holiday decorations downtown. During the rest of the year, the historic downtown, adjacent to modern downtown Redmond, offers a robust small businesses community and some great shopping in a relaxing environment. There’s live theatre, music, film and literary arts for every taste, along with an abundance of first-class restaurants to explore.

Active Adult New Homes

If finally owning your own business is part of your retirement plan, you should know that the City of Redmond does not have a Business & Occupation tax on income. Rather, a business license fee of $85 per employee helps offset the costs of road improvements for businesses. For those concerned that the regional economy is driven entirely by the big tech firms, it should also be noted that by some accounts Redmond's economy, as well as Puget Sound’s, continued to expand even when general technology slowed.

Of course, the strength of the local economy did not make the area immune to recent upheavals in the national economy. In an odd way, the housing crash has presented an opportunity for retirees looking at this area. Falling new home prices have actually created a phenomenal buying opportunity at places like Redmond Ridge.