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Nick Pendrell
3.0 out of 5 stars Well-Written, But Irritatingly Biased
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2013
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On the plus side, the author is a very talented writer and this book is very entertaining and easy-to-read. The problem, however, is that the author makes it clear right from the outset that he is totally against the idea of retirement villages finding them 'unnatural' even though, as someone in his thirties with small children, he is far from being in the demographic that these communities are aimed at.

His constant negative attitude towards the entire concept of the communities gets tiresome after a while and I found the book to be very opinionated and negative. Time after time, the residents who he meets in the communities tell him that they are having the time of their lives, yet the author refuses to be swayed by any point of view other than his own. He would make an excellent politician. for sure.

There are not many other books written on the subject and there is a lot of useful, well-researched information contained in the book. So, if you can get over the highly one-sided agenda that the writer has, it is definitely worth a read.
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Nick Pendrell
3.0 out of 5 stars Well-Written, But Irritatingly Biased
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
On the plus side, the author is a very talented writer and this book is very entertaining and easy-to-read. The problem, however, is that the author makes it clear right from the outset that he is totally against the idea of retirement villages finding them 'unnatural' even though, as someone in his thirties with small children, he is far from being in the demographic that these communities are aimed at.

His constant negative attitude towards the entire concept of the communities gets tiresome after a while and I found the book to be very opinionated and negative. Time after time, the residents who he meets in the communities tell him that they are having the time of their lives, yet the author refuses to be swayed by any point of view other than his own. He would make an excellent politician. for sure.

There are not many other books written on the subject and there is a lot of useful, well-researched information contained in the book. So, if you can get over the highly one-sided agenda that the writer has, it is definitely worth a read.
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Katherine Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual book about American retirement communities
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2018
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An unusual and interesting summary of retirement communities in the US. The details of the "political" and financial set up of the communities makes the whole thing come across as rather exploitative and creepy. Unusual read, highly recommend.
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Bill Pen
3.0 out of 5 stars Blechman Doesn’t Understand Growing Old and Started Lies About The Villages
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2018
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Andrew Blechman writes FAR better than the three books that follow, but it always seems that he is writing the book his editor is telling him to write to get good reviews and a lot of attention. I’ll come back to him in a minute.

By all means read Leisureville. I did, and I enjoyed much of it. However, if you are thinking of retiring in The Villages, start with the three that follow. They are very short, and they are self-published by amateurs, but they are much more useful. “Inside the Bubble: An Unauthorized Guide to Florida's Most Popular Community,” by Ryan Erisman, is the best place to start. Buy it from his web-site, and it’s cheap if you buy the electronic version. He explains how The Villages works, especially fees and future growth and the safety of the investment. In short, for an average $250,000 house, allmtaxes and fees and a mortgage, figure about $4,000 a month. Cut that in half if you buy a cheaper house and pay cash, don’t eat out, don’t golf or dont play the big courses, etc., but if you are planning to get by on Social Security, even if you have the highest Social Security, forget it. Go elsewhere. Maybe an older trailer. I then read Lindsay Collier’s book about The Villages. Wow! Simply reading the list of things to do there was so exciting that I wanted to move there right away, even though I prefer living in a cooler climate, in the woods, alone. The chance of friendships and community and things to do are the things that would draw me, and most 55 and older communities are just too small to offer them. However, when I read “The Florida Move Guide,” by Ron Stack, I nearly threw up. Do you want lots of reasons to NOT move to Florida? This book should be required reading for everyone thinking about retiring there.

Back to Blechman. He is responsible for the scurrilous rumor that The Villages has a high rate of STDs, though it was the scandal sheet The Daily Mail in the UK that turned Blechman’s rumors into fact and circulated it world wide. But Blechman reported it without checking the facts. By contrast, Ryan Erisman actually checked the Florida Health Department statistics and found that the counties The Villages are in have extremely LOW STD rates, as one would expect, even if a tiny percentage of the people were having sex. (Why are younger people so disgusted by the idea that people a generation older still have sex? They usually say “Ewww!” or “Too much information.” Blechman also passes on as fact one old swinger’s joke that there are ten women for every man at The Villages. Garbage! Maybe there are ten women wanting sex there for every man able to give it. Maybe there are ten widows for every widower. But most people there are married.

Blechman sometimes does really seem to understand something about aging. At first he didn’t, but then he seemed to catch on. But this understanding is temporary. He goes on a number of times about how choosing to live in a retirement community is age discrimination. He accuses people who go there of not wanting to provide for their grandchildren’s future, of not wanting to be part of America, of hating kids. However, I don’t think he understands, despite his research, what it means to grow old. Forty year olds usually can’t. They may know it intellectually, but the reality doesn’t really kick in until you are there. They do things that are supposed to make them live a hundred years, and exercise, and take herbs and all, but it won’t help. (What helps most is staying out of the sun.) But eventually, skin thins and wrinkles, and age spots show up. Eventually, it’s harder to get hard. Eventually, sex without a lubricant risks injury. Younger people don’t understand what it is like to have joints that hurt now and then, or more. They don’t understand that climbing or descending stairs can hurt. They don’t know what it is like to look in the mirror and not recognize yourself. They don’t know what it is like to look at your friends and see people who look like corpses. They don’t understand how for old people, their children, grandchildren, younger neighbors making an effort to be polite and get the door, or whatever are all discriminating against them. I loved my grandmother and all my life went on vacations to see her, but I always saw her as old, even when she was in her fifties. I never saw her as a real person with real regrets who had a real youth.

And what is with this great love of children? Blechman seems to think that people who would rather read a book than play with grandchildren are unnatural. That doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy them now and then, but face it: raising kids is a lot of work and stress, often with little gratitude. Some of us are crazy about being with family, and some of us weren’t raised that way and aren’t that way. Some people are at odds with their kids. Some of us can take a few hours of it. And, of course, some of them only want a few hours of us.

So, sure, read this. Enjoy it. I did. But does Blechman understand what it is like to grow old? No.
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sophie
3.0 out of 5 stars We Care about the Children, But who cares for Seniors
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2017
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So let me ask the author this, would you choose a neighborhood to raise your family
where there aren't any other children to play with and only adults live there? Hmm, didn't think so.
So to have lots of kiddies around is really choosing an age segregated community for the
benefit of your children. Just like the seniors are looking for when choosing The Villages and
other master planned communities. They want lots of people close in age to associate with. As for not investing in the community
and the next generation, Wrong. These seniors did invest in their communities when they had growing children.
They attended council meetings, school events, fundraisers, teachers meetings, planning board meetings, the
town parades. Bought real estate and paid hefty property taxes with most of it going to support the schools. While renters coasted
along and moved in and out without any fiscal contribution of taxes or setting down roots, (the landlord's taxes could never equal
the cost of the renters 3+ children in the school system). Well it's your turn Andrew and other parents to support the children
and whats left for the following generation. Our town built a beautiful, too architecturally beautiful, and
$$$ school 7 years ago. Guess what it needs an addition now at the cost of $27 MIllion dollars!
Outrageous. No concerns or efforts to reduced a portion of taxes for the senior population on a fixed budget to help fund this. Nor does our town ever talk about what can we set aside for senior resources. Yes privatization is doing a better job when it comes
to meeting the many needs of an aging baby boomer society. Hoorah! Community, safety, staying active, continued learning,
golf carts vs cars, town centers with great amenities and sunshine top the list. When you grow old you become vulnerable in many ways.
To have a network of friends and neighbors in close proximity brings security. Too often I read and hear on the news of burglaries
against the elderly, not for money or TV's but for the drug prescriptions in the medicine cabinet.
Your bias is disappointing, aging will hopefully help you grasp the bigger picture. A reminder, self segregation
has always been around, its disguised as the price of the houses in that neighborhood your drawn to are so
inflated that you won't be able to buy and live there, or your kids attend their award winning schools. Hooray again
for the Villages as they have a variety of housing for many retirees to rent or own. Also suggest
the book, Inside the Bubble:Unauthorized Guide to Florida's Most Popular Community by Ryan Erisman. This is only
available at the website by same name. Found it a more objective and balanced book.
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