Everyone who is over 55, should know the advantages of being a senior.

I’m not talking about social security benefits or getting into the movies at discount rates.

I’m talking about the freedom.

You’d be crazy not to give up your standard single-family home?

The play years.

There are two big times in a person’s life when they really get to play.

The first is when they’re single young adults and haven’t any responsibility in the world. You’ve heard how this fun time is wasted on the youth. Maybe you could have played more back then yourself. Whether you took full advantage of these carefree years or not, is irrelevant.

The second chance is where you’re at now. The kids have all moved out. You have the added advantage (hopefully) of being more financially secure. You still have your health, or at least enough of it to play. Take full advantage of this time.

But what about family?

Okay, so retiring to live on a cruise ship might not work for everyone. Most people I talk to, express the desire to live near family. There’s a special kind of pleasure that comes from watching and helping our kids raise our grandkids. (At least, from a reasonable distance. We don’t want them moving back in with us and making it a full-time arrangement.)

So why would a 55+ community help us? First of all, the amenities in one of our communities are great for kids and grandkids to visit. The absence of stairs means no dark basements for your kids to take over. Looks like they’ll have to find their own house.

Also, with as many active adult communities that we build, there is likely one near enough to your kids.

Low maintenance = Low worries.

Your house right now takes a lot of work. There is the lawn to mow, fertilize, water, and weed. Maybe there’s a garden to keep up. Don’t forget the general house maintenance items, like washing windows, replacing weather worn exteriors, and those pesky shingles that blow off after the occasional wind-storm. We haven’t even touched on snow removal yet.

There’s a lot that goes into maintaining your house, both on the inside and the outside. If these are your play years, wouldn’t you much rather spend them doing fun things? Otherwise, you might find your 20-year-old kids or grandkids wondering why retirement is wasted on the old.

Are 55+ communities a novel idea to you?

You don’t want to live in an assisted living community. That’s for old people. You don’t want to live in a regular single-family home either. Those are for raising families in.

You’re still young and have time to play. Make the most of this time and join an active adult community. There’s more opportunities to make friends and play.

It’s also a lot easier to get away from it all for a week, two weeks, even a month or two if you want. Since all the yardwork is taken care of for you, there’s very little that you need to worry about. These are fairly safe communities. I’ve known some people who only even live in them for 6 months out of the year.

It’s nice to have the freedom to serve, play, or just get away when you want. Leisure Villas has been building homes for active adults for nearly 20 years. We know what being an empty nester is like. We build our communities for you.