For Most, There's No Place Like Home
Towns prepare for the graying of boomers
Looking ahead. By 2030, one quarter of Minnesotans will be older than 65, and state officials looking for keys to the future often turn to small farming towns like Dassel, where retirees already make up about 25 percent of the population. "We try to think about how every decision will affect our seniors," says Meeker County Commissioner Amy Wilde. Gray-haired congregants prompted three of the town's churches to install elevators. Gary's Family Foods delivers free of charge to the homebound. And when Dassel's doctor died, the town fought to keep a local clinic open.
Dassel's zoning laws also allow rental units in single-family neighborhoods, so seniors vacating farms can find homes downtown. In 1992, Joan Benson, 71, and her husband, Leslie, moved to a tidy two-bedroom duplex rental in town from a 100-acre farm that was getting too unwieldy to manage. Now Joan, recently widowed, leaves maintenance to her landlord and walks to the town bakery each morning for coffee klatches with pals. "It certainly was a wonderful move, now that I'm alone," she says.
Where the elderly are
Retirees looking to find like-minded souls might forget Miami Beach. Today, smaller regions are drawing retirees seeking a less hectic and more affordable life- style, according to the Milken Institute.
Growth rate of over-65 population from 1990-1998
Nye, Nev. 185.6 pct.
Flagler, Fla. 97.8 pct.
Columbia, Ga. 92.0 pct.
Douglas, Colo. 89.1 pct.
Fort Bend, Texas 87.8 pct.
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