Life Done Right™

With New York real estate prices so insane, the thought of a developer investing in a continuing care community makes about as much sense as growing grapes in the Arctic. You can try, but it’s the wrong environment. Sure you could build a green house up there, but it would cost you a small fortune [...]

A collector is born the day she discovers that owning two or three or four of the same-but-different thing allows them to appreciate how the human mind likes to endlessly reinvent common shapes and forms in order to put food on the table. A collector is really a historian in disguise. What’s crucial for this [...]

Some call it “aging in place,” some call it staying put, some just cuss and say, “ain’t no fricking way you’re gonna put me in one of those nursing homes or assisted living facilities!!” Baby Boomers are waking up to the crappy nature of places that isolate seniors in old age. Honestly, who the hell [...]

Broadway attracts the ego like mosquitoes are attracted to a pale woman’s arm. Over time, though, the ego undergoes a transformation that places less emphasis on public approval and gravitates toward an inner audience that could care less about satisfying a stranger’s penchant for entertainment. Patricia Ben Peterson once plied her personality on Broadway but [...]

Planning for retirement is like eating a bowl of baked beans before you go to bed: there comes a point when you realize there’s no escaping the inevitable stink of regret from not eating them earlier in the day. Well, those in their 30s are buying retirement homes with the idea that there’s no place [...]

Hobbies are nice except for one thing: there’s never enough time to indulge in them. Work always seems to get in the way of spending endless hours tying fly fishing lures, reading books, or cooking meals. Even after retirement, the will to engage in your hobby can easily be thwarted by a lack of convenient [...]

Florida is losing its luster as a retirement destination. Hurricanes, tornadoes, and outrageous insurance premiums do not make for a carefree retirement. Georgia, sensing an opportunity to grab some of that retiree population, is gussying up their perks package. If you’re 62 and over the you can attend college for free. The governor promises no [...]

As you start to figure out where you’re going to retire, one thing you should bear in mind is the relationship between residential and commercial spaces. If the two are separate, then chances are you’ll be driving your health into the ground.
The exodus of workers from the city in order to enjoy the [...]

Where to live in retirement used to be a simple choice: Florida or Arizona. Once the decision was made, you sold the house and headed south to live out your later years sipping drinks under the lanai while watching your neighbor mow his lawn or plant a shrub.
Today, retirement living is all about maximizing your [...]

For all you non-subscribers to New York magazine, buy the December 11th issue. It contains an excellent guide to elderly services in New York City. It covers all the usual suspects like nursing homes, retirement communities and advice on how live off a fixed income in an expensive city. Kudos for such a fine guide [...]