travel – Retirement Media: Active Adult Living

Travel is probably the one activity most associated with retirement. We dream all our working lives that one day we will have the time to travel.

For one group, the travel dream is being lived out and that group is active adults.

Active Adults Like to Travel.

It makes sense, since being active means to move and if you move enough, you are traveling. Ha.

In our Active Adult Community, we have a monthly newsletter, The Deaton Creek Villager, that has a section called “Traveling Villager” that displays photographs of residents on their travels. I love this section which gives you a good idea of where Active Adults travel to.

This month the Traveling Villager has photographs of our residents in these locations: Mt. Masada Israel, Arches National Park in Utah, Grand Teton National Park WY, Bacelona Spain, Dunrobin Castle Highlands Scotland, Murphy’s Bar Lillarney Ireland, Rose distillery Dillard GA, Eiffel Tower in Paris, cruising Glacier Bay Alaska, on a camel in Judean Desert West Bank, Lambeau Field Green Bay, Erice Sicily. Wow, how’s that for a bucket list, and that’s only one month.

Active Adult Communities Make Traveling Easier

There are a couple of ways living in an 55+ Active Adult Retirement Community makes travel easier.

You feel safer leaving your home. It is a gated community with neighbors that know each other.
Travel Opportunities

There are Many Types of Travel Opportunities

Some examples of travel opportunities in Active Adult Communities are:

Day Trippers Group – Day Trippers take a different trip each month. We are limited to excursions that can be completed within one day. We go to places within a 150 mile radius from the Village. With 700 members, trips fill up fast. Some trips coming up this year are:

8/7/ Harrah’s Cherokee Casino

9/17/ Cirque du Soleil Luzia

10/12/ College Football Hall of Fame, Carlos museum

11/17/ Gwinnett Gladiators Ice hockey

12/16/ Symphony
Independent Travel Group – People who want to plot their own itinerary when planning vacations. Purpose: Meet to share experiences on how to plan your own travel, save money, basic photography, use the Internet to find information, learn country customs, book hotels, get a more in-depth cultural experience, etc. Many times neighbor friends in Active Adult Communities do a trip together.
Travel Group – Do you like to travel ? Do you want to travel ? Well then this is the group for you! UPCOMING TRIPS: Many great trips planned for the coming months including, Ireland, Tulip River Cruise, London/Paris, British Isles cruise, Australia/New Zeland and New York City Holiday.

These travel groups are a tremendous resource for your retirement travel in so many ways, giving travel ideas, making travel easier and even letting you travel with friends while not having to worry about the logistics of travel.

Outside travel companies cater to our Active Adult Community and make presentations in our clubhouse. Organized trips will pick us up and return to our parking lot. How convenient is that!

Mary Ann and I will be on the Daniel Discovery Tours ten day trip in October for the New England Fall Foliage. Escorted motor coach tours these days provide high-quality, comfortable trips to destinations throughout the United States and Canada.

Road Scholar learning adventures are designed to enrich, thrill, and challenge you. Road Scholar has been recommended to me by several friends. Not cheap, but reportedly worth it.

Collette Tours is probably the top senior travel company offering guided tours worldwide. They will have tours leaving from your Active Adult Community.

Cruises. One of my favorite posts to research and write was Cruise Travel Tips and gives a good overview of why people love to take a cruise.

Associations– This week one of our community friends (Mary Lou) is in New Orleans and posted a pic of her group cruising the Mississippi River. She is there attending a retired teacher association meeting. Another neighbor Ron is retired military and told me he went to a retired military group meeting in Saint Louis and another I think in Portland Oregon later this Summber where he is spend some vacation time. With my track club association I have traveled to MN, NC, NM, and AL attending the USATF and National Senior Games. You may have some outside associations too that offer travel opportunities.

AARP Travel is a good source of travel ideas and travel discounts.

4. Travel With Teens – Many of our friends like to travel with their families once a year. My pickleball buddy just went on a cruise with this family, then he and his wife did a back to back cruise by themselves. Other popular family travel is to rent a big house at the beach or in the mountains.

Living in an Active Adult Community definitely helps one enjoy their dream of retirement travel. This is a intangible benefit that you may not be made aware of when considering an active adult community lifestyle.

Robert Fowler

Travel while you can.
My friend Larry

Medical Travel For Seniors

Medical tourism, that is traveling to another country for affordable medical treatment is on the rise, particularly for us seniors. I know two of my friends who have traveled out of the country for medical procedures and there are probably several more, maybe who don’t talk about it.

My friend, David, who is in his early 70’s, traveled to Costa Rica to get many of his teeth capped. He told me it was actually an American Doctor from California who did the work and it cost him much less than he would have paid at home. He was happy and recommended it. He ended up liking Costa Rica as well and went back to visit several times, for additional dental work and for pleasure.

I read where dental implants are one of the most common medical travel procedures.

Some people take a long vacation when they travel abroad for medical treatments. One friend when to Serbia for either a face lift or maybe it was just upper eye lid surgery and stayed for one month. Towards the end he could enjoy the trip as well.

Some people travel to Mexico, including Cancun, for procedures and I see Medical Travel companies that advertise they will take you there, arrange for post-op lodging and then get your back home.

Some countries specialize in different medical fields. I guess Costa Rica may be dental since I have heard several people say that. South Korea is supposed to be the place for plastic surgery, maybe Serbia also. Brazil is also known for their plastic surgeons. Turkey has eye care.

Reportedly the cost savings for medical travel treatments is from 15% to 75% after deducting your travel expenses.

The benefits of medical travel include saving money, getting some traveling in and reducing the waiting time as it can be quicker.

There is even a Medical Tourism Association which a non profit association for medical travel. Their site has quite a bit of information.

I am sure there are plenty of downfalls from medical travel as well. The CDC had health warning for travelers to Mexico about the Zita Virus, Hepatitis A and unsanitary conditions.

To me, it sounds like the medical travel for dental work may be the best. I would really have to be convinced to do anything else. But apparently many people are convinced medical travel is worth it.