Retirement the Margaritaville Way
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2022 8:33 am
I found this article interesting even though living there is not at all appealing to me.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022 ... aville-way
Though Margaritaville is probably very different than what most of us envision for FIRE, it sounds like a success from a community perspective, fighting the issues of isolation and sedentary lifestyles many elders face.
For non-retirees in the US, many also face the issues of social isolation, as well as long commutes due to suburban sprawl / single use zoning. Higher density mixed-use zoning solves this, but people generally don't want to be crammed into close quarters with strangers they have nothing in common with. Many exurb apartment complexes are just a place to gang people together who work in the same general area with the same general income range, without any unifying identity like there would be in a village in the era before BS jobs - a mill village, a seaside fishing town, a mining town...
Perhaps an enterprising developer could find success in creating a mixed use community that isn't just a bunch of generic apartments on top of the standard strip mall lineup, with a theme that doesn't have to revolve around day drinking and beach bumming. Why not a book lover's paradise with a bookstore+cafe, quiet tree-lined trails, community book clubs and writing workshops, and of course good apartment sound isolation? Or how about a culinary village with small (non-chain) dining options, community gardens, cooking classes, pot lucks / communal kitchen, and high quality kitchen appliances in the apartments? Surely there would be some demand for more interesting places like these where residents would have some things in common, and it could be profitable even though they aren't trying to get the broadest appeal possible.
It's just sad that after the college experience of living in a walkable community with so much in common with everyone else there, the only other option for that kind of vibe, aside from joining the rare commune or cohousing development, is Jimmy Buffet.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022 ... aville-way
Though Margaritaville is probably very different than what most of us envision for FIRE, it sounds like a success from a community perspective, fighting the issues of isolation and sedentary lifestyles many elders face.
For non-retirees in the US, many also face the issues of social isolation, as well as long commutes due to suburban sprawl / single use zoning. Higher density mixed-use zoning solves this, but people generally don't want to be crammed into close quarters with strangers they have nothing in common with. Many exurb apartment complexes are just a place to gang people together who work in the same general area with the same general income range, without any unifying identity like there would be in a village in the era before BS jobs - a mill village, a seaside fishing town, a mining town...
Perhaps an enterprising developer could find success in creating a mixed use community that isn't just a bunch of generic apartments on top of the standard strip mall lineup, with a theme that doesn't have to revolve around day drinking and beach bumming. Why not a book lover's paradise with a bookstore+cafe, quiet tree-lined trails, community book clubs and writing workshops, and of course good apartment sound isolation? Or how about a culinary village with small (non-chain) dining options, community gardens, cooking classes, pot lucks / communal kitchen, and high quality kitchen appliances in the apartments? Surely there would be some demand for more interesting places like these where residents would have some things in common, and it could be profitable even though they aren't trying to get the broadest appeal possible.
It's just sad that after the college experience of living in a walkable community with so much in common with everyone else there, the only other option for that kind of vibe, aside from joining the rare commune or cohousing development, is Jimmy Buffet.