Niche Retirement Community for Rock and Roll Musicians

It is very rare for me to include a guest post on this blog.  However, this week a reader named CAD Man on the SodaHead website left a long comment at the end of my blog post on "Finding Niche Retirement Communities."  It was interesting enough that I thought it was worth it to offer it to my readers as a separate post.  Otherwise, very few readers would actually see a comment on a post that was written last spring.

The basis of his idea is the dream of creating a niche retirement community called "Rock Till Ya Drop."  I have included a link to help my interested readers find more information about it at the end of his guest post.

I'm not sure how he would go about buying and developing the land to create this niche retirement community.  When you read his full post, you will discover that he envisions homes, townhomes, condos and apartment houses, as well as restaurants, shops and bars.  It is a complex development. I know that my own brother-in-law, who is also an old rocker, used to spend a lot of time living in his RV at Slab City next to the Salton Sea in the Southern California desert.  There he was able to connect with many other Rock and Roll musicians and spend his winter evenings jamming with them.  However, Slab City is nothing compared to what CAD Man would like to create.

Perhaps one of the developers of niche retirement communities will see CAD Man's concept and decide to build a version of it.  If you think it is a place that sounds like the perfect retirement community for you, you may want to weigh in on it.

Keeping all this in mind, here's a re-print of the first part of the creative concept that CAD Man has for a retirement community that is sure to appeal to a certain niche market of Baby Boomers.  Out of respect for the SodaHead website, if you want to read more you will have to click on the link at the end of the post.  In addition, because CAD Man had reprinted his entire SodaHead post as a comment on my blog, I was forced to delete his comment from the Niche Retirement Community article to avoid accusations of plagerism.  However, I thought it was only fair to give CAD Man's idea a voice here.

The Rock Till Ya Drop Retirement Community

"We've been tossing around (for 6+ years) a concept for a retirement community called the 'Rock Till Ya Drop'

If you don't minding reading, you may find our thoughts interesting... enjoy.

Being a part-time musician and full-time lover of live music, I've been rolling this idea around in my head for the last 5 years and it's time to set it free... Why not band together with other musicians, artists, and anyone who truly loves live music and the arts to build the 'Rock Till Ya Drop' 55+ community (RTYD for short).

Here's the vision...

Build a small community (800-1000 residents) of various types of dwellings (single family homes, town homes, row homes, lofts, commune homes, and rental apartments) around an old-fashioned town square. The square would be built around a multi-purpose performance venue ..."

If you are interested in this niche retirement community, you can read more about it on SodaHead's webpage at:

http://www.sodahead.com/living/the-rock-till-ya-drop-would-this-be-a-cool-retirement-community/question-3201317/

If you are looking for interesting places to live after retirement, you may also be interested in reading:

Finding Niche Retirement Communities
Retirement Community Amenities
Simplifying Your Life for Retirement
The Best Sunny Places to Retire
Best Places to Retire Outside the US

You are reading from the blog:  http://Baby-Boomer-Retirement.blogspot.com

Photo of rock musician courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Finding Niche Retirement Communities

Most large retirement communities are designed to appeal to a large number of people with diverse interests.  For example, Laguna Woods Village, the retirement community where I live, has horseback riding (as shown in this photo I took a few days ago from the back of horse).  It also has golf, tennis, parties and much more. 

However, what if you could choose a niche retirement community that is designed to attract a specific group of people ... people who are more like you and share your specific interests and hobbies?  Today, this is one of the exciting new trends in retirement communities.

What is a Niche or Affinity Retirement Community?

These new retirement communities are catered specifically to people who have common interests or traits.  For example, retirement communities that target intellectuals are being built near many universities.  There are communities for Asian Americans, and at least one for Baby Boomers who enjoy recreational vehicles.  There are communities specifically for the gay and lesbian community, as well as communities for people who are interested in art and music. Sometimes these niche communities are referred to as affinity communities.

How do you find these communities? 

How to Find a Niche Retirement Community

Here are a few companies that either currently meet these specialized needs or are planning new affinity communities in the coming years

Aegis Living:  for Asian-Americans

Oakmont Senior Living: for Gays and Lesbians, and Korean-Americans

RainbowVision community: Gays and Lesbians

Escapees CARE: assisted living for RVers

PANDAbare: building a nudist assisted living facility

Burbank Senior Artists Colony: for actors, artists, and writers

Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame: university-based retirement near one of our nation's premier Catholic universities.

Retirement with an Equestrian Facility: Laguna Woods Village in California is the only one I have run across.  The photo above shows one of its trail rides.  People have moved to this community from states like Montana and Colorado in order to retire someplace where they can bring their horses with them.

Should You Move into a Niche Retirement Community?

Niche retirement communities are not for everyone.  Sometimes people long for more diversity, and a broader range of activities.  In other cases, some of the niche retirement communities may be exceptionally expensive.  However, if you have a specific need, you may want to look for niche communities in the area where you want to retire. 

If you know of a niche retirement community that you believe might interest others, please feel free to mention it in the comments section below.  My readers will appreciate your thoughtful suggestions.

If you are looking for articles on more retirement communities, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of this page to find links to hundreds of other articles on topics of interest to retirees.

You are reading from the blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

Photo by author