Several thoughtful comments from people, thanks all.
Rubicon makes an excellent point. This is one of the things I was looking at to try to figure a few things out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon
A realistic scenario: Overcrowding seems to be a constant in Florida. There are supposedly record numbers of baby boomers retiring. If that is true and holds true and if it is true and holds true that Central Florida is and continues to rapidly expand then demand will exceed supply. Hence the waiting list of assisted living facilities, etc. will grow longer and longer. Beside which I do not want to be a burden to anyone.
So if someone says to me "why don't you just drop dead". I'm going to respond with a cheerful "thank you"
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My wife and I are dead center of the baby boom generation.... which could mean... likely to mean we will experience peak demand on services (even though I hope we won't need them).
I was doing some general demographic research on the topic... and it should come as no surprise... Florida has many retirees.
I did a quick/rough calculations and found that the number or people in TV that are age 65 and over is more than the same age band in Cleveland OH (not the metro area which is larger) (yet cleveland has a much larger overall population). So I checked further and looked at the 3 counties where TV is located. Those 3 counties have a population roughly the size of Detroit MI (700+ thousand). In Detroit (not the metro area which is larger), 10.4% of the population is 65 or older. In the 3 counties (Sumter 27.4%, Marion 24.5% & Lake 26.4%) the population is about the same as Detroit but look at the pecentages of people over 65... roughly 26% (about 260% compared to Detroit). In the US, that age group (65 and older) is currently about 13% of the population based on 2012 census. The TV area demographic tilt for age is no surprise... it is what I expected since Florida has many retirees. I got the local age statistics from wikipedia. Cleveland and Detroit were just picked for population comparison purposes... I could have used any large cities....I have not cross-check the sources for accuracy.
I know from experience... age related decline situations(needing a lot of hands on help) are almost always tough situations. But they can also be much worse. People are often conflicted about decisions if they are in the middle of a crisis and have no idea of how they were going to handle it. Just a basic plan can help. More than call someone for help.
I think that old adage is sound "fail to plan then plan to fail".
The demographic issue is not show stopper for moving to Florida... but if there is a big chance we might not have services available... should catastrophe strike... I would like to know that there might be a strong chance of it and plan for it. Moving back home might be the best decision for us for a variety of other reasons too.
BTW this thread is not about whether TV or Florida is a nice place to retire... many have already decided on that issue.
But I do roll my eyes a little when it goes like this... Question: how do you plan to deal with age related decline if you need hands on help? Answer: Boy we really have a nice golf course.
This thread not about your decision or the trade-offs. No need to rationalize you basic decision.
I am just wondering how other are planning to deal with age related decline... or how others are or have dealt with it.
I am hoping to learn something.