News for Women of A Certain Age

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Welcome to News for Women of A Certain Age where I select some news stories or media posts I think you will enjoy!  Feel free to comment on any or all of them below.  I thought I would start us off with a smile today.  This video is funny…but, oh so true! (Signed…GiGi)

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Oprah’s magazine says there are 5 Ways Not to Look Older at Work.  Can you guess what they are?

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Allow me a moment for some shameless promotion of my hometown, San Antonio.  An article in the San Antonio Express News caught my attention recently.  Just remember if any of you move here, you must let me know!

Bexar County remains big draw for seniors

By Peggy O’Hare, Staff Wr

Jennifer Nolan makes a pot of macaroni and cheese while her daughter, Kenzi Nolan, 8, stirs a pitcher of tea at their home in the Sablechase subdivision in the Fair Oaks Ranch area. The family moved to Bexar … more

Dave Harms, 71, moved with his wife last June to the Alamo Ranch area of Bexar County from Lodi, California, a town about 30 minutes south of Sacramento.

“The reason we left California is I was getting fed up with the politics … The gun laws, the high taxes, the high cost of living — all of those combined,” the retired California Highway Patrol sergeant said.

Harms and his wife are happy with their decision. They enjoy the many social amenities offered at the Hill Country Retreat development where they live. They also enjoy the Texas people and the lower cost of living in the Lone Star State.

“The people are friendly,” Harms said. “We really enjoy our neighbors. … If you don’t have something to do in this neighborhood, there’s so much more to do in the city of San Antonio. You have sports teams here, you have good theater, all kinds of recreational activities.”

Harms falls within the demographic that recorded the steepest growth rate in Bexar County over the past seven years: people 65 to 74 years old.

New population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show Bexar County’s total population of 65- to 74-year-olds surged by more than 41,000 between July 2010 and July 2017. That can be attributed to a combination of current residents reaching this age group and new residents of this demographic moving here, Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter said.

The county’s estimated population of residents 65 to 74 years old stood at 138,416 as of July 1, 2017.

In Bexar County, the number of residents 65 to 69 years old increased by 42.6 percent between July 2010 and July 2017. The number of residents 70 to 74 years old jumped by 42.9 percent during that same seven-year period.

Those numbers eclipsed the growth rates seen in all other age groups in Bexar County.

Bexar County’s growth rates for people 65 to 74 years old equaled or slightly outpaced similar surges recorded for this demographic statewide. Texas recorded a 39.1 percent increase in residents 65 to 69 years old and a 43 percent increase in residents 70 to 74 years old over the seven-year period.

Those county and state numbers exceed the growth rate seen for this demographic nationwide, the latest census numbers show.

Kimberly Howell, a real estate agent who has worked in the San Antonio market for 30 years and the owner of Kimberly Howell Properties, said she is seeing a greater demand than ever before from homebuyers 65 to 74 years old.

“A lot of the seniors, they’re definitely investing in real estate,” Howell said. “Although a lot of them are buying the garden homes and doing that kind of lock-and-leave lifestyle, we’re also seeing them buy even the larger homes in various communities in the city. I would definitely say that has increased dramatically from years past.”

San Antonio and Bexar County have always drawn a fair number of seniors, but many are now moving here from other locations, Howell said. On Tuesday, Howell showed a house to an older couple moving here from Colorado. She’s also seeing seniors relocate here from the Northeast and from California.

“You know how everybody used to go to Florida?” Howell said. “All the snowbirds would buy in Florida and move down there. … Now the shift is to Texas.”

To Howell, it’s not hard to see why: “The cost of living is excellent here. I think the weather is obviously more conducive for seniors’ comfort than, say, up north. And we do give a discount on the property taxes for (seniors) 65 and above if it’s your homestead.”

And it’s not uncommon for seniors moving here to pay cash for their new homes in Bexar County, she said.

“They’ve sold their homes in other markets and they’re in a position to pay cash,” Howell said. “Then all they owe on a yearly basis is their property insurance — and, again, they get the discount on their (property) taxes. Then that’s all that they owe for their house. And they find that living in San Antonio is so affordable.”

Beth Kobb, 67, a therapist, expects to close the purchase of a house this week in the Timberwood Park neighborhood in far North Bexar County. She and her husband will move there next month from their current home in Pearland, south of Houston.

They wanted to move to get away from the frequent threat of hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf. Kobb noted their Pearland home came very close to flooding during Hurricane Harvey last August.

“Originally, we were looking at Austin,” Kobb said of their planned move. “But when we went back to look not that long ago … we realized how much it had changed and how congested it was. And so we crossed it off our list.”

She’s looking forward to living on more hilly terrain, in a place where the houses are farther apart and the yards are bigger than in their current neighborhood in Pearland.

“I understand a lot of retired people are living in the Hill Country or moving to that area,” Kobb said. “So I really like the prospect of expanding my repertoire of same-age friends, you could say. Where I live now is a lot of young families.”

Many seniors moving to Bexar County are former military service members who once did some kind of training in San Antonio and decide to come back, said local real estate agent Julie Stewart, who works with The Schrader Group, part of RE/MAX Associates. They return here to live close to the San Antonio Military Medical Center, the Audie Murphy VA Hospital and other medical facilities, she said.

 

Check out a second article from the SAEN, WE NEED TO REINVENT RETIREMENT

 

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That’s all for now.  Please leave a comment on anything here, and as always………………………………………….

KEEP SMILING!!

Another photo from beautiful San Antonio, Texas

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Finally, one of my favorite sales of the year has started…the Talbots Red Hangar Sale!  I found several great pieces last summer in this sale…in the slideshow below you will see some of my favorites, but click on any of them to go to the site and look for yourself!

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6 Comments

  1. That Talbots sale always draws me in too! Great time to stock up on quality pieces for a good price! I especially enjoyed the article about reinventing retirement. The thought of just staying home in retirement actually frightens me. I would lose my mind for certain! I have more plans for retirement than I ever had for my “full time work” life. All are attainable and exciting (to me) and I’m very much looking forward to it.

  2. 1st thing – Congrats on the new grand baby! Aren’t they the most wonderful things in the world?? I loved that video! I’m a “Mimi” – I know you are a “Gigi” – They could have called me “Fido” & I would have been just fine with it, but my 1st grandson named me and it makes it all the more special! 2nd – The whole “moving to another state after retirement” fascinates me…I love reading about the different places, housing, reasons folks are moving (cost of living, etc.). BUT…personally, I could NEVER, EVER see my husband and I actually doing that! We paid off our mortgage 12 year ago and love our little house. We live on acreage his mama&daddy bought in 1940 – farming and working “town jobs” to pay for it. Both our children are married now and we have grandchildren who I just could not bring myself to move away from! My dad is in assisted living in town, probably going into a nursing home soon. So many ties to my home and area! Ah – Now, TRAVEL! That is another story! Our plans are to take “road trips” and see all the places we never had the time or money to see while we were working, with children and full time jobs. I love the thought of coming home to our little “home base”, seeing the children&grands, going to our church…That sounds like a wonderful retirement to me! And I know that we all are different – kids move away, no long time connection to a house or area, no aging parents to over-see/care for….I think that is the beauty of retirement! It means different things to different people – but the freedom to live/travel/enjoy these “golden years” is exciting! I hope everyone who reads your blog retires (or not, if they don’t want to!) and enjoys this exciting new chapter!!!

  3. I do wonder what will happen in Texas with the water situation. More and more people are moving here and places like Austin and San Antonio have multiple traffic problems. Then every year we seem to have a drought and the lakes dry up. Where will the water come from? Is there any long range planning for development?

  4. Good articles. I liked the San Antonio one. I agree with Jill that I wonder where the water will come from with all the people moving in. I currently live just north of Austin but grew up in a small town near San Antonio. We have had water concerns for as long as I can remember.

  5. I don’t have those answers. But, I know our current aquafir water is some of the purest around. But that is a good question and one for city leaders. Thanks Michele.

  6. My sons are 27, 29 and 31 and haven’t gifted me with daughter in laws or babies yet; however, my younger sister will have a grandbaby due September. We’ve discussed names and she’s decided on Lovey! Her hubby is none to happy because he just knows he’ll get called Dovey?. I love San Antonio as that’s where all my family are. Visits are always magical!

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