5 Next-Generation Retirement Communities

Retirement for country music lovers. Those who made country music their career can now make it part of their retirement. The Crescendo at Westhaven, near Nashville, is scheduled to open in 2013. The community will have a recording facility, a theater, an outdoor performance area, and a gazebo for smaller concerts. "We wanted to create an environment where there's ongoing contact with the folks who are retired from the business with those still in the business," says Ed Benson, president of Crescendo's board and recently retired chief executive of the Country Music Association. "There's a great history in our industry of reverence and respect that current writers and performers have for their predecessors. It will be invigorating and stimulating for the senior residents and it will be meaningful for the younger writers to interact with those who have come before them." But the opportunity to share your stories in song doesn't come cheap. Entrance fees, which are 90 percent refundable when tenants leave the facility, will range from $300,000 to $650,000. That's in addition to monthly fees for services. Although it's designed for retirees in the music and entertainment industry, the 180-unit facility will be open to all country music enthusiasts.

[See 10 Great Places for Foodies to Retire.]

Assisted RV living. Traveling the country in an RV is a common retirement dream. But what happens when you can't or don't want to drive anymore? One group of RVers came up with a solution. The Rainbow's End RV Park in Livingston, Texas, includes an assisted living facility, Continuing Assistance for Retired Escapees (CARE), which looks after residents who live in their RVs (some stays are short, and others are longer term). CARE provides three meals a day and a snack, takes care of two loads of laundry per week, assists with shopping, and provides transportation to medical appointments if necessary. "We help them when they need to change propane tanks, and we do small maintenance for them on their rigs," says Robert Brinton, the facility director for Escapees CARE. Residents also have access to an activity center, where they can play board games or bingo, attend exercise classes, and enjoy a blue grass jam each week. The cost: an affordable $800 a month for singles and $1,200 for couples.

[Also see 10 Cities with Affordable Nursing Homes.]