College Towns Are
Great Retirement Locations
One thing we learned during our college visits with our children during their high school years was that college towns are great retirement locations. They are some of the nicest communities we have ever visited, and we’ve gone back to a few of them on our travels. They provide great culture and usually some excellent restaurants. If the college has a school of music or theater, you’ll usually find some excellent productions that are open to the public. There is something about walking through a college campus that keeps you on the young side and it’s nice to see young people following their passions and interest.
Many times, a larger college will have a sports program and watching a college football or baseball game can be one of the great experiences in the world. The game day experience at the Golden Dome at Notre Dame or watching the cadets play at West Point is something you will never forget. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself taking in a college game every year.
Our daughter attended the Crane School of Music in Potsdam which a little town in New York not far from the Canadian border. The winters can be brutal, but the Christmas and winter concerts are usually sold out because they are of such high quality. We looked forward to it every year as parents and so did many of the local residents as paying customers. Theater programs can offer some wonderful plays and there are a few colleges that offer a season of Shakespeare if you’re so inclined.
College Towns Are Great Retirement Locations And
An Unending Resource For Enrichment
We now live in the Hudson Valley in New York and have discovered one other college program that is worth exploring. The Culinary Institute of America is only about thirty miles away and their restaurant program is world famous. We have enjoyed many meals at their specialty restaurants and have gone to quite a few events such as wine tasting dinners and seasonal celebrations. The local residents are very supportive and appreciative of the excellent food that is prepared and served by the students. Talking to them about why they chose their individual specialties is extremely interesting and, if you like to cook, makes you want to get home to try a new dish or work on a kitchen skill that you haven’t quite mastered. Their cafeteria, which is also open to the public, is a far cry from the meal plans we used to have back when I was in college. The campus is absolutely gorgeous and is right along the Hudson River in one of the most beautiful areas of New York state. Some students actually stay in the area after they graduate so the restaurants throughout the area reap the benefits of having this center of culinary excellence so close by. We can fully attest to the fact that the locals love the food as well so there’s no doubt that college towns make great retirement locations, especially if there’s a cooking school involved.
You shouldn’t overlook the possibility of going back to school yourself or at least auditing a course at a local college in a subject that interests you. Our local community college has an incredible assortment of courses in many different subjects that are very reasonable. Columbia-Greene College is getting a very good reputation not only as a two-year institution, but as a place for supplemental learning and certificate programs. Although I absolutely hated school, I always loved to learn. If I don’t have to take a test and can study at my own pace, I am all in favor of learning new things. I can even tolerate sitting in a classroom on occasion. Some of our friends look back on their college days with such fondness they have actually taken a class or two just for the fun of it. College towns make great retirement locations because of the opportunities they provide for learning, self-improvement and cultural entertainment. And never overlook the other ways they can improve the area by attracting better medical care, a wider variety of retail outlets and, quite often, high quality restaurants offering a more extensive variety of cuisines.
With the professors and administrative staffs living in the area and the student body that is frequently visited by their parents and relatives, colleges greatly expand the resources an area can offer, and the local residents are the beneficiaries of this environment. While many of the establishments will cater to the younger crowd, you’ll also find a large selection of upscale offerings in just about any category you can name from clothing and food to cars and services. Check out the economic statistics of any area that has a couple of colleges or universities in the area and you’ll notice higher incomes and home values with more stores and medical facilities to choose from. These areas attract people who are looking for the finer things in life and it’s a big reason that college towns are great retirement locations. But don’t just take my word for it, check it out next time you’re traveling. Stop in at a well known college and look around. It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!
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