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RETIREMENT VILLAGES are becoming more popular currently with the amount of baby boomers retiring. It is essential to discriminate concerning a few terms applied to this concept

Wikipedia describes a retirement home as a multi-residence housing facility that is intended for older people. The usual guide situation is that  person or couple in the dwelling has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. And other amenities are provided inside the building. Normally this includes facilities for meals, meeting, recreation, and some kind of health or hospice care. The level of care these facilities varies a lot. Housing in retirement homes can be paid for on a rental basis, like an apartment, or can be bought in perpetuity on the same basis in the same way as a condominium.

Essentially, a retirement habitat differs from a nursing home for the most part in the extent of medical care given. On the other hand, retirement villages and retirement communities, unlike retirement homes, offer separate and independent homes for residents and more.

A retirement community or retirement villages, is an awfully broad, generic term that covers many varieties of housing for retirees and seniors.  They are especially designed or geared for people who no longer work,or restricted to those over a certain age. A retirement Village differs from a retirement home which is often a single building or small complex where no "common areas" for socializing exist.

Allot of retirement villages are intended for that reason, and have particular conveniences catering to the needs and wishes of retirees, including wide-ranging services like clubhouses, swimming pools, arts and crafts, boating, trails, golf courses, active adult retail and on-site medical services.

Other facilities have no or very few common amenities. An Age-controlled community in general requires at least one household occupant to be 55 plus years of age or older (occasionally 50+ or 60+ years of age).
 

There are in fact three broad categories of retirement communities

    1.  ACTIVE communities (all residential units, no long-term healthcare facilities - also known as "independent living communities"

    2.  ACTIVE/SUPPORTIVE communities (a combination of residential and healthcare facilities - also known as "continuing care retirement communities" - CCRC)

    3.  SUPPORTIVE communities (all long term healthcare units, similar to assisted living facilities or nursing homes)

Because more and more healthier and younger people are retiring these days the most important focus I believe is on the active communities or independent living.

Retirement Villages are regularly built in temperate climates, and are common in numerous countries.

A number of publishers have formed lists of the 100 best retirement communities or 100 best places (or towns) to retire. Nevertheless, these lists are not comprehensive and frequently outdated.  Furthermore, most of these lists are focused on individual Retirement Villages in their prospective countries.  Plus, most of these retirement villages are targeted towards high income earners (the elderly and the rich).

Many countries are experiencing the same phenomena with the elderly at the present time.  Take for example, New Zealand with just about half a million people over the age of 65 in a 2001 census.  I would imagine today in 2010 there are like over a million people greater than the age of 65.  Add this number to worldwide consensus and you have an enormous sum of people in this age category.  This is largely due to the baby boomer period and healthy lifestyles.

Lifestyle and care option is unquestionably a reaction to this shifting demographic profile. The village element is undoubtedly a pursuit for an alternative to old age homes of the past.
Community and affordable lodging within essentials of security rank substantially with people's aspirations.

For example in the United Kingdom retirement villages are becoming more and more common.  To note a recent BBC statement (Aug 2009) there are about 25,000 people across the UK at the moment living in a retirement village model

Nurses, caregivers and visiting doctors are an integral ingredient of a lot of village operations, while community centers, bowling greens, a swimming pool and billiard tables are a familiar recreational feature.

I have traveled allot searching for a respectable place for me to retire.  My main concern was regarding expenses as I have a small pension to live on.  Initially, I was interested in the section near Lake Chapala situated 45 km southeast of Guadalajara, Mexico.  Perfect weather and great culture but because of the flood of foreigners the cost to live there is roughly the equivalent as it is my own country.  I passed on this option.

In addition, I thought of Arizona and Florida as I was a snow bird for a few years.  I passed on this alternative because of the expenditure issue also.

Finally, I decided on Colombia.  I traveled to Colombia to attempt my retirement there.  I tried Bogotá, Medellin and Cali.  I found that my pension went a long way there.  I appreciated the country and its population, but I had difficulty learning Spanish and this made it arduous to get on with my day by day responsibilities.

Subsequently one time I was talking to man who told me about the Philippines.  He mentioned the low cost of living in the Philippines and the fact that most Filipinos spoke English.  He went on to say that the English language was on all signs, menus and legal documents.  In Colombia I had a difficult time just opening up my cable account.

Later, shortly after meeting this man I made up my mind, sold all my possessions and trotted off to the Philippines.  Finally, I found my home where life is undemanding and affordable.

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Below is a sample budget of my cost of living in the Philippines:

    Housing (rental of a luxury three-bedroom apartment): $250 monthly
    Utilities (including, phone, Internet, and cable television): $100 montly
    Maid (twice a week): $10
    Cook (twice a week): $10
    Groceries: $150
    Water $12 a month
    I rent a new Yamaha scooter for $125 a month.  Gas is around $20 a month.
    A beer is around 60 cents in the store and $1 in the bar.
    1 kilo Italian style tomatoes in the marketplace 12 cents
    1 kilo fresh water fish in the market $140 1 kilo
    Clothing: $20 a month.  No need to wear shoes or slacks here.
    Most of us wear shorts and sandals

Entertainment (two people dining out eight times a month at top restaurants or other entertainment): $200.  I take my girlfriend out to a place she likes and it costs me $4 for the two of us.  I take her to an expensive restaurant and she doesn't like it.  My costs for dinning out is around $30 total.

 Health care (four $30 visits to a physician per year for two people, divided by 12 months): $20
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Will Irwin, author who is currently writing his next book 'explains that one of the most affordable places to retire is the Philippines.

Irwin goes further stating that there are a few 'secret' places in the Philippines that are developing rapidly with new retirement villages. Mr. Irwin explains that this is an  opportunity unnoticed by most owing to the lack of media exposure.

According to Mr. Irwin  one of the best places to retire overseas has to be the Philippines for the reason that it is developing quickly at this moment. Therefore opportunities are abundant, specially in Samar and Tablas (Romblon). This is the one of the best places to retire overseas because of the low cost of living whilst the surroundings are as beautiful as Boracay which has 1 million visitors per year.

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