Why are the British buying retirement homes in Florida

Just imagine..you wake up to another glorious beautiful sunny day, hop on a golf cart and play nine holes before meeting your wife for lunch in any one of a dozen restaurants. She's been to an exercise work out followed by an Ashtanga yoga class. Then there's just time for a quick game of tennis before watching an exciting international polo match between teams from Chile and the USA. Afterward it's downtown to browse the antiques and crafts on display at the outdoor market before selecting a gourmet twilight dinner with live music overlooking a lake. Maybe afterwards you still have the energy to dance under the stars to a live band or listen to an Opera recital and........apart from the meals; it won't have cost you a penny!

Does this sound the type of 5 star luxury holiday resort you can't even afford for a two week holiday? Well think again, this is a vision of what the Third Age should be all about, active retirement to give you the best time of your life. Once again America leads the way in defining lifestyle trends and this kind of lifestyle is already enjoyed by those who choose to live in the modern active retirement communities found throughout the Southern States especially Florida, Arizona and Southern California. What better way to enjoy retirement than to spend a decade or two of fun, relaxation and friendship amongst like-minded people.

Regrettably for most UK residents it's a lifestyle that can only be enjoyed for 6 months of the year because of the restrictions imposed by US immigration laws. On top of that it costs a lot more in health insurance to stay in the US for long periods and long distance travel can be wearing as we get older. However that has not deterred thousands of UK residents from purchasing property in this kind of lifestyle community.

It's not hard to see why! Just contrast the homes: in Florida £100,000 can buy a spacious luxuriously appointed 2000sq ft (185 sq m) property in a country club environment with many activities, whereas on most of the Spanish Costas that sum gets you no more than a 50sq m apartment and of course in the UK it can cost twice that for the smallest apartment built by a specialist retirement developer. And in the UK retirement developments are mainly the "warden on call" lifestyle that is mainly targeted at the 75 plus age group. Surely house builders here and in Europe are missing a trick in overlooking this concept of a community purpose built for the active newly retired? We know the holiday companies catering to the over 50s realise we are now ever more active and have many years to enjoy before moving into sheltered housing yet the UK and European developers are slow to grasp that the whole concept of retirement lifestyle is an industry in itself! Who wants to retire to a villa on a golf course in Spain to find neighbouring properties are all holiday lets and the clubhouse has no sense of community.

Compared to retiring in the UK of course the sunshine helps! In Florida you wake up and see people in their 60's & 70's out roller-blading, jogging and off to golf or tennis early in the morning. It's harder to imagine wanting to do that in the cold grey drizzle of a typical English morning. In the best communities there's always a club or a class with like minded people and expert assistance to help home owners fulfill whatever attracts them. Time to play the many golf courses, to try their hand (or feet) at a dance class, explore astronomy, develop their computing skills, bird watch in a National Forest or they can just be lazy and float in a beautiful pool or bask in a steaming Jacuzzi.

The boom in retirement living in the US has led from the mobile home parks of the 60s and 70s through to 21st century resort style communities that ooze luxury living. One example of these where hundreds of UK residents have properties is The Villages just north of Orlando. There the developer began with a dream to create a town that reflected the beauty and history of the 1800's. First they built Spanish Springs, a town centre that drew its inspiration from the architecture of St Augustine, the oldest city in the USA founded when Florida was a Spanish colony, think wrought iron balconies and cascading geraniums! More recently the adjacent Lake Sumter Landing drew its inspiration from the colonial architecture of gracious Southern towns like Savannah, Georgia. Lake Sumter Landing is entirely designed of gorgeous pastel and white clapboard buildings with the huge wrap around porches that look as though they came straight from the set of "Driving Miss Daisy". Yet these picturesque buildings are built with 21st century infrastructure to provide all the needs of the modern restaurants, shops and offices that create the vitality and services to make retirement living a unique experience.

European house builders please take note; start to think of selling a lifestyle not just bricks and mortar! Until they do try The Villages who have a permanent office in the UK for their British clients, which can be reached on 0800 585 645 and request your free DVD information portfolio today.