Despite what the proliferation of “best cities for retirees” reports would suggest, people are less likely to move as they get older. That can lead to “naturally occurring retirement communities,” as they’re called by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.
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Unfortunately, a joint report from JCHS and AARP shows that these NORCs aren’t necessarily the best places for retirees to live. Although most of the analyses compiled by different publications will focus on the general livability of an area — access to amenities and health care, nice weather, a large population of peers in the same age group — the report shows that NORCs score lower on AARP’s Livability Index than neighborhoods with more people from different age groups.
The Livability Index considers seven components, including housing, neighborhood, transportation, environment, health, engagement and opportunity. In addition to more age diversity, livable communities tend to have high scores in neighborhood, transportation, health and housing.
Using data from the 2017 American Community Survey, JCHS and AARP found that highly livable neighborhoods are home to just a quarter of people 55 and older. Older Americans are more likely to live in less livable neighborhoods.
Just 6% of people over 50 moved within one year of the survey, according to the report, and when they do, it’s typically to places with a similar livability score. Just 11% of movers over 50 upgraded to a better neighborhood.
“At the individual level, people may not consider how their own future needs may change—or do not highly value the supports they may need,” the authors wrote in the report.
Related: 5 Developing Threats to Retirement Security
JCHS and AARP found that more livable communities tend to have fewer options for affordable housing, an important consideration for retirees who will have to factor higher housing costs into their retirement projections. The report shows that housing cost burdens increase with both residents’ age and the livability of a neighborhood, so that 22% of people between ages 50 and 64 in the bottom quartile, and 28% of those in the top quartile, are cost burdened. Twenty-six percent of people over 80 in the bottom quartile are cost burdened, increasing to 38% of those in the top quartile.
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Danielle Andrus works as an editor for The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®). Over the past 15 years, she has worked in various capacities, including writing and editing. Andrus has worked for several notable publications and outlets and spent more than seven years as the executive managing editor at ALM Media, publisher of Investment Advisor magazine and ThinkAdvisor.com. Before that, she was online editor for Summit Professional Networks, where she oversaw newsletter development for four magazines, including Benefits Selling, Senior Market Advisor, Boomer Market Advisor, and Bank Advisor.
