Soleil Laurel Canyon Active Adult Community in Georgia

If Georgia is your dream retirement location, one of the best master planned communities in the state, according to Where to Retire magazine, is Soleil Laurel Canyon in Canton, Georgia.  Residents in this age restricted, over-55 community can fish in their community's own lake while gazing out at the gorgeous Blue Ridge mountains.

Within five miles of the community, retirees can find restaurants, department stores, dry cleaners and other helpful businesses in and around the town of Canton.  The town also has a weekly Farmer's Market from spring to fall, live performances in the Canton Theatre, and fun festivals.  You'll love the charming town square, shown in the photo at the top of this article.

Since Canton is only located about 40 miles north of Atlanta, you have all the advantages of living near that major metropolitan area, as well.  Whether you want shopping, entertainment, sporting events or fine dining, Atlanta has it all.  In addition, Canton is only about a one hour drive from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which makes it easy for people who love to travel.

There are tax advantages for people who choose to retire in the state of Georgia.  Retirement income for residents over the age of 62 is exempt from state income taxes up to $35,000 per person.  Social security income is also exempt from state income taxes.  Property taxes are quite reasonable compared to many other states.  For an average home priced at $340,000 in Soleil Laurel Canyon, the property taxes for residents over the age of 62 would currently be less than $1000 a year (in 2013).

The weather in this region of Georgia is also very pleasant.  The temperate climate has an average high temperature of 87 degrees in July and 49 degrees in January.

If Georgia is your top choice for retirement, there are numerous reasons why you may want to consider living in Soleil Laurel Canyon:

Amenities

This beautiful retirement community boasts a number of appealing amenities that are centered around the beautiful 28,000 sq. ft. Craftsman-style clubhouse.  Here are some of the opportunities that await you:

Arts and Crafts Center
Gourmet Teaching Kitchen
Theatre and Performing Arts Center
Fitness Center
Walking trails
An amphitheater
Tennis and pickle ball courts
Bocce Ball
Billiards room
Fitness center
Library
Heated indoor saline lap pool
Heated Lagoon-style outdoor pool
Community garden and greenhouse
3.5 acre fishing lake (this lake is, perhaps, one of the most appealing features of this charming community)

There are also two lifestyle directors on staff who plan a wide variety of opportunities for residents to attend special activities such as social events, trips to area attractions, and movie nights.

Golfers need to be aware that this is not a golf community, which many retirees have come to expect in other master planned retirement neighborhoods.  However, golf is available nearby at the Fairways of Canton golf course that is adjacent to the community.  There are also several additional golf courses in the town of Canton, so there is no reason to give up golf or to ever be bored with your golf choices.

If you are interested in taking classes, including in subjects like art or computers, nearby Kennesaw State University has a Lifelong Learning Institute for adults age 50 and over.

Another amenity that is very appealing to many retirees are all the services that are included in your HOA dues, including complete lawn maintenance, a sprinkler system, home security systems with monitoring and Comcast cable television.  It is important to consider these included services when you are comparing the dues of various master planned communities.

Housing Prices in Soleil Laurel Canyon

The well designed homes in this community are energy efficient and have a number of special features that make it easy to age-in-place, including wide doorways, stepless entries and wheelchair accessible showers.

Home prices range from the low $200,000 range to the upper $400,000's for single family homes in this new home community.  As of mid 2013, less than 350 of the 728 planned homes have been built.

Homeowner's Association Fees in mid-2013 are $265 a month.  This is much less expensive than some other retirement communities, and may be partially explained by the fact that there is not a golf course on the premises.

Contact Information

Soleil Laurel Canyon
102  High Mountain Trace
Canton, Georgia 30114

(678) 880-3071

http://SoleilLaurelCanyon.com

If you are considering retiring to Georgia, you may also want to use this link to order books from Amazon about Georgia retirement.

For readers who are busy with their retirement planning, check out the index articles listed below.  Each one contains an introduction as well as links to a number of articles on that topic.  You should find the information very helpful:

Gifts, Travel and Family Relationships

Great Places for Boomers to Retire Overseas

Great Places to Retire in the United States

Health and Medical Topics for Baby Boomers

Money and Financial Planning for Retirement



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

Photo of the Canton, Georgia town square is courtesy of www.en.wikipedia.org/commons

Fighting Elder Abuse Around the World

When I opened the weekly paper for my retirement village this morning, I was interested to see an article about World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.  Until I read the article, I didn't know there was a special day set aside to bring this sad reality to our attention.  Unfortunately, there is no question that it is necessary.  The day has been recognized since June 15, 2006 and is intended to help social workers, police, adult protective service workers, nursing home staff, family members and others who come in contact with the elderly to be better educated and able to recognize the signs of elder abuse.  The program was launched by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations.  Obviously, this is a problem around the world, as Japan recently passed a law allowing elderly parents to sue their adult children if the children neglect or fail to visit them.

Statistics on Elder Abuse in the US

According to representatives from the Ageless Alliance of Orange County, California, one in ten senior citizens is abused.  This amounts to approximately five million people nationwide.  Studies by the National Center on Elder Abuse have found that between 7.6% and 10% of seniors who were part of a study were willing to admit that they had experienced abuse in the prior year.  Sadly, there are indications that many seniors are reluctant to report it, although Adult Protective Services does believe there is a trend towards better reporting.

Financial abuse alone was reported in one study by 41 out of 1000 seniors who were surveyed.

The problem may even be much more serious than these numbers indicate, since the New York State Elder Abuse Prevalence Study discovered that for every one abused elderly person who comes to the attention of authorities, approximately twenty-four cases go unreported.

This seemed almost impossible for me to believe until I read about the different ways that seniors can be mistreated, often by the people they most trust.

Types of Elder Abuse

Seniors can be abused in a number of ways. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse website, it appears that more elderly women are abused than men and that the older a person is, the more likely that person is to be abused.  In approximately 90% of cases, family members, such as adult children or spouses, are most likely to be the abusers.  Researchers have also discovered that people with dementia are far more likely to be victims of elder abuse than those without.  Here are some common types of elder abuse:

Neglect:  This includes incidents in which either a paid caregiver or a member of the family fails to meet an elderly person's basic needs or protect them from harm.  This can happen whether the person is living in their own home or in a nursing home.  In fact, in one study done in the year 2000, 95% of nursing home residents said that either they had personally been neglected or they had seen another resident neglected.  Since so many of us may eventually need to spend our last few months or years in a skilled nursing facility, I found this statistic particularly alarming.

Emotional Abuse:  Emotional abuse can include berating, threatening or demeaning an elderly person.  Emotional abuse may cause significant psychological distress and lower self-esteem.

Physical Abuse:  Physical violence against the elderly can increase other health problems and bring on depression or anxiety.  The victims also have a 300% higher risk of death when they are compared to people who have not been physically abused.

Financial Abuse:  Many seniors are especially reluctant to let their family members know when they have been taken advantage of financially, because they don't want to appear to be incapable of handling their own money.  They are often afraid they will lose their financial and personal freedom if their children learn what happened to them.  As a result, they may be the victim of a scam and never say anything to anyone.  As I have reported before in this blog, I have known two different intelligent, well-educated people who were victimized by scammers pretending to be relatives and asking that money be wired to them.  Both of my friends were horrified that they could be so gullible.

Sexual Abuse: Believe it or not, even bed-ridden elderly women have been raped.  To make matters worse, they are often not believed when they report it, which allows the perpetrator freedom to continue to abuse that person or another elderly person in their care.

Examples of Elder Abuse

There are undoubtedly millions of examples of Elder Abuse that have occurred in this country.  One case which was reported in my local newspaper occurred when an 85 year old woman allowed her only son to come stay with her.  He was actively using drugs and alcohol, his wife had left him and he had lost his job.

Before long, her son was growing marijuana on the patio of her retirement condo and threatening that he would report her for being incompetent to handle her own finances so that he could be appointed her conservator.  She was terrified of her son and his threats, although she eventually turned to social services for help.

In another case, our local newspaper reported on the case of a 76 year old man who remarried.  Within four years, his wife had sold everything of value that he owned and left him with $100,000 in credit card debt.   This may not be an unusual situation, since the father of a friend of mine had a similar experience when he remarried late in life.  My friend eventually had to assist her father in filing for both divorce and bankruptcy.

As you can see, elder abuse is something we all need to know about.  It can happen in anyone's family.

Resources:

National Center on Elder Abuse website: https://ncea.acl.gov/FAQ.aspx

You may also want to read:  The Ultimate Internet Safety Guide for Seniors

Another good option is:  "Elder Abuse Prevention Resource Guide"

 

"Village Recognizes World Elder Abuse Awareness Day" Laguna Woods Globe, Thursday, July 11, 2013.

If you are interested in information on retirement planning for yourself or your parents, or want to learn about Medicare, Social Security, financial planning, where to retire and more, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page to find links to hundreds of additional articles.  Each ones contains an introduction and links to a number of articles on that topic.


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

Photo of elderly woman courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Do You Qualify for Extra Senior Services or Benefits?

One of the reasons I like living in a retirement community is because they do such a good job of keeping residents informed about issues that could affect us.  Many of the mailers that are sent to us report on programs or events for seniors that I would know nothing about if I lived in a typical residential neighborhood.  This week we received notice of a new Benefits Checkup website that has been created by the National Council on Aging.  Anyone with access to a computer can easily find out if they qualify for additional benefits or special services.  Many seniors suffer needlessly simply because they do not know how to access the programs that could help them.

Even if you are a Baby Boomer who has not yet retired, you may be interested in using this website to see if you can discover any programs that could provide assistance to your parents or other elderly members of your family.

What Senior Citizen Benefits Might be Available?

Wouldn't it be a nice surprise to discover that you may qualify for some additional help as you age?  Here are examples of the types of services or discounts that various government agencies and nonprofit organizations may be able to provide:

Medicare and Medi-Cal
Veterans' benefits
Employment Services
Nutritional Assistance
Home-delivered meals
Prescription drug assistance
Housing assistance
In-home care

The National Council on Aging Benefits Checkup

Thanks to the National Council on Aging, you can do a general benefits checkup using just one website to see which types of assistance you may be eligible to receive.  You will still have to contact the different agencies separately to apply for the actual benefits.  However, you can use this one website to discover specific agencies or organizations that are most likely to provide you with the services you need.  Here is the website:

http://www.benefitscheckup.org

What Information You Need to Provide the Benefits Checkup Website

In order for the website to be able to help you locate senior support services, you will need to be prepared to provide certain information.  Before you log on, make sure you have the following facts available:

Your state of residence and zip code
Whether you live in a home, apartment or mobile home
How long you have lived at your current residence
Your status as a Veteran
Your spouse's status as a Veteran
Whether or not you or your spouse ever worked for:
     A State Government
     The Federal Government
     A local government agency
     The Railroads
Names of all the prescription medications you currently take
The current income for yourself, your spouse and all members of your household
Your assets, including the value of your property, stocks, savings account, etc.
Your estimated expenses, including:
     Mortgage or rent payments
     Utilities
     Out of pocket medical expenses

They estimate that it will take most people at least 20 minutes to complete the benefits checkup.

After you have input all this information, the website will provide you with a list of all the programs that you may wish to contact for assistance.  Most of them will have their own application process.  However, by using the National Council on Aging checklist, you may discover several programs that you never even knew existed.

If you are interested in learning more about special programs for seniors, use this link to find a number of Amazon books about senior benefits.

If you are interested in more helpful retirement information from this blog, check out the index articles below.  Each one contains an introduction to that topic plus links to a number of related articles:

Gifts, Travel and Family Relationships

Great Places for Boomers to Retire Overseas

Great Places to Retire in the United States

Health and Medical Topics for Baby Boomers

Money and Financial Planning for Retirement

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

Photo of computer courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Starting Over in New Retirement Destinations

Many Baby Boomers already have a vague idea of where they would like to live after retirement, whether that means Florida, South Carolina, Southern California, Arizona, some other region of the U.S., or even another country.  However, if you are within ten years of retirement, have you actually taken steps to narrow things down to a few specific retirement destinations where you would like to live?  After all, simply saying Florida or Ecuador is not very specific if you really want a smooth transition to retirement.  You are going to have to put some effort into picking a specific location and then making the transition happen.

Choosing the Best Retirement Destinations

Long before you are ready to move into a retirement home, you have to begin to search for the right community that will work best for you.  This is true whether you are looking at places within the United States or in a foreign country.  Here are some steps you should take:

Years before you expect to move, you should begin to take trips to various retirement destinations.  Be open.  For example, if you think you want to retire in Florida, take some vacations there.  However, you should also spend some time in nearby areas such as Georgia, South Carolina and along the coast of Alabama. Take into consideration issues such as how far you would be living from family members, such as grandchildren or elderly parents.  Compare the distant retirement destinations with a few retirement communities that are located in the same region where you currently live.  Since there are now retirement communities located throughout the United States, there is no reason why you should have to move far away from your loved ones unless you really want to.  This is the time to explore all you options, so enjoy it.

When you go on vacation, try to rent a place to stay that is in or near the retirement communities you are considering.  If you contact some of the newer communities in advance, many of them have special programs that allow you to spend a weekend in their community, take a tour and use some of the amenities.  If this is not an option, call a Realtor in the area and ask if they would show you some of the available homes in the neighborhood during your vacation trip.  Both of these are excellent ways to see which communities might work for you.

In addition to visiting during your annual vacation, I suggest you tour your favorite retirement destinations in the off season.  Go to Arizona or South Florida in mid-summer.  If you are considering retiring in Seattle, Pennsylvania or rural Michigan, go in the middle of winter.  You want to know the worst.

Read up on a variety of retirement locations.  There are many that you may not have heard about.  In addition, there may be negatives about certain areas that the property managers and Realtors will not tell you.  Read the articles in this blog (see the index articles at the end of this article to find links to dozens of articles about specific retirement destinations), and do research on other websites, as well.  You want to be fully informed.

Make a budget for your housing and stick to it.  Don't be persuaded to overspend.  It will only make you regret your housing decision.

How to Make the Transition to Retirement Easy

Even before you make the move, you need to begin to get ready for the change.  The first thing you may need to do is downsize your belongings.  This is a great time to give your children some of your possessions that they would like to have and you no longer need.  In addition, if you are storing things to give your children someday in the future, now is the time!  Three of our four daughters have items that came from our previous, larger homes.  When we go visit our kids, I jokingly tell them that I am "visiting our furniture."  It's important to accept that you are really giving these things away.  Do not get distressed if your old items are not treated with the same care you once gave them.  These items are gifts.  Let them go.

Once you have downsized your belongings, you are ready to actually prepare for your move.  Once you are within a year or so of making the change, put your current home up for sale, particularly if you find yourself in a "hot" real estate market.  That may not be the case in another year, so take advantage of strong real estate markets, when you can.

 If you sell your home sooner than planned, and you are still a few months away from retirement, you can rent a small apartment or home temporarily.  Many apartment complexes will let you rent month-to-month if you know you are going to be there less than six months.

Once you are ready to move to your retirement destination, if you are still uncertain whether it is right for you, lease a home in your chosen community for a year.  After that you will be better prepared to commit yourself.

Starting Over In a New Location

After you have moved and gotten settled, you cannot simply sit at home.  If you do, your new location will eventually stop seeming like your dream retirement.  In Laguna Woods Village, where we currently live in Southern California, there are dozens of activities going on all day long, every day of the year.  No one could possibly participate in a tenth of the activities offered.  However, I know that there are people here who are lonely and never participate in anything.  You will have to make the first move by getting out of the house and becoming active in your new community.  That is the only way to meet new people, which is important at any age.

Get involved.  Join a club, church or sports league. 

Sign up for a class, whether you want to learn bridge, photography or art.  Many community colleges, and even some four-year colleges, offer special Emeritus classes for seniors.  I take several free exercise classes through the local community college, and they are great for me both physically and socially.  The same community college also offers a wide variety of free classes in art, computer applications, history and other interesting subjects, both academic and non-academic.  Have fun learning new things!

Go to the gym or the swimming pool in your community.  Nearly every retirement community has both.

Make an effort to find friends.  Reach out to others.  Many of your new neighbors will also be transplants from other parts of the country, so they may be open to new friendships, too.

Expect some moments of homesickness.  Fortunately, today it is easy to stay in touch.  Call the people you miss and occasionally Skype with them.  In addition, periodic visits back to the old neighborhood can help keep the homesickness at bay.

If you are nervous or worried about meeting new people, you may be interested in this direct link to Amazon books about how adults can make new friends.  With very little effort, you'll soon be much happier in your new home.

If you are interested in learning more about some of the interesting retirement communities that are available, as well as getting other types of retirement information, click on the index articles below.  Each one contains an introduction and links to a number of helpful articles.

Gifts, Travel and Family Relationships

Great Places for Boomers to Retire Overseas

Great Places to Retire in the United States

Health and Medical Topics for Baby Boomers

Money and Financial Planning for Retirement


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

Photo of suburban home courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Sun City Shadow Hills in Indio, California

Many people who are planning their retirement are hesitant to consider California because they believe it is too expensive to retire there.  However, there are a number of affordable over-55 retirement communities that are attractive and have a wide variety of amenities, especially in the desert towns around Palm Springs in the Coachella Valley.  One of these is Sun City Shadow Hills in Indio, California.

Sun City Shadow Hills was listed in Where to Retire magazine, in their July/August 2013 issue, as one of the 50 best master-planned communities in the U.S.  This list was culled from ALL master planned communities in the United States, not just those designed for people over the age of 55.

Shadow Hills Amenities

This beautiful desert retirement community was developed by Del Webb and has a wide variety of the amenities that many retirees are requesting.

Golfers will love:

18 hole putting course
18 hole Par-3 course that is about 3,000 yards long
18 hole Championship golf course that is 6,773 yard long

Golfers and non-golfers alike will enjoy:

A 35,000 square foot main clubhouse
A second clubhouse, called the Santa Rosa
The amphitheatre
The Performing Arts and Ballroom facilities
Billiards and table games
Fitness centers at the clubhouses
Hobby, card and game rooms
Tennis and Bocce Courts
Both Indoor and outdoors pools and jacuzzies

In addition, the staff and volunteers in the community organize special events and trips to other locations in Southern California, including the San Diego zoo, area casinos and the wine country.

The nearby Coachella Valley communities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Desert Hot Springs, La Quinta, Indian Wells and Indio all offer a wide variety of special events, activities and attractions of their own, including art galleries, art museums, world class tennis facilities, restaurants, shops, movie theaters and a variety of festivals, including a spectacular hot air balloon festival.  The towns have wide, palm lined boulevards that take you past the entrances to beautiful resorts and planned communities.  Street sculptures, like the one pictured in the above photo, are sprinkled throughout the various desert communities.  There is no reason to be bored while you live in Sun City Shadow Hills!

Cost of Living

There are a wide variety of home prices in this wonderful community, ranging from about $200,000 for a 1,321 square foot home to approximately $455,000 for a larger 2,955 square foot single family home.  With 10 different home designs, buyers have plenty of choices in both design and price.

The monthly homeowner's fee in 2013 was $237.

Property taxes run approximately 1.4 percent of the value of your property.  This means that if you purchase a $300,000 home, your property taxes will run approximately $4,200 a year, or perhaps slightly more if there are special assessments or parcel taxes that have been added on.

Conveniently Located

Residents of this area not only enjoy the amenities of their own community and the rest of the Coachella Valley, but they are also less than a two hour drive to the coastal communities of Los Angeles and Orange County.  In addition, a roughly two hour drive in another direction can take residents up into the mountain communities of Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead.  There are an enormous variety of climates and activities available to active seniors who want to have a convenient location to call home.

Disadvantages

The only complaints I have ever heard about this community is the summer desert heat and the periodic wind and dust storms that erupt from time to time.  In both cases, the residents have two choices.  They can either confine their outdoor activities to early morning and late evening, or they can rent a place to stay near the coast during a portion of the summer.

I have had friends who have chosen both options, and they have managed to get through those hot, dry, windy summer days with little difficulty.  However, for people who really hate the idea of a dry desert climate, this community may be less appealing.

More Information

If you would like to read more about the Coachella Valley, you may want to read a few books about the area.   You can use this direct link to Amazon.com books about Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley to see the choices that are currently available. 

Contact Information for Sun City Shadow Hills

If you would like to get more information specifically about Shadow Hills or plan a visit, here is their website and contact information:

http://www.delwebb.com/communities/ca/indio/sun-city-shadow-hills

On the website you can also make arrangements to schedule a two-night visit for only $99, including a tour of the community and participation in an activity.

Sun City Shadow Hills
81-346 Corte Compras
Indio, CA  92203

Toll Free number:  (800) 420-5059


For those of you who are looking for more retirement planning ideas, or want to get information about other places to retire, click on the index articles listed below.  Each one as a short introduction as well as links to a wide variety of other articles on that topic.

Gifts, Travel and Family Relationships

Great Places for Boomers to Retire Overseas

Great Places to Retire in the United States

Health and Medical Topics for Baby Boomers

Money and Financial Planning for Retirement


You are reading from the article:  http://baby-boomer-retirement.blogspot.com

Photo of modern sculpture in Palm Desert, California is courtesy of www.en.wikipedia.org/commons