THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 2022 SAFETY | FROM Page 1 Page 17 How to Choose a 55-Plus Active Adult Community Dear Savvy Senior, What tips can you recommend for choosing a good active adult housing community? My husband and I, who recently retired, are planning to relocate to an area closer to our grandkids and are interested in buying a house in an age-restricted 55-plus housing community. Active Retirees Dear Active, If you’re contemplating moving into an age-restricted community, fi nding one that’s right for you takes some legwork. While active adult communities generally off er the opportunity for a lower-maintenance lifestyle around similar aged people, they vary enormously. Here’s what you should know. Today’s active adult communities come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges, ranging from small city-based apartment complexes, to single-family homes, to sprawling resort-style locations situated on a gated golf course. Most are owned by their occupants, but a growing number are rentals. Typically, at least one occupant of each property must be at least 55. It’s also important to understand that 55-plus active adult communities are not the same as retirement or independent living communities, which are primarily designed for older seniors in their 70s and 80s. Active adult communities do not typically include meals or have a central dining area, but many of them do off er a range of recreational amenities and activities. To help you locate and research active adult communities in the areas you’re interested in, the best resource is 55places.com. This is a comprehensive website that provides ratings, reviews and information on activities and amenities for thousands of communities across the country. Once you find a few you like, here are some questions to ask yourself that can help you choose: What’s our budget? To help you choose the right active adult community you’ll fi rst need to determine what you can aff ord. Consider the home’s purchase price, whether you’ll need a mortgage, how much the property taxes and insurance are, and how much the homeowners’ association or community fees are. These fees, which typically run a few hundred dollars per month, go toward lawn care and possibly snow removal, as well as community areas like a clubhouse or pool. However, some communities may require additional memberships or fees for golf, tennis, classes, or other activities. You also need to consider the area’s cost of living for other things like food, utilities, transportation, health care and taxes. Numbeo. com and BestPlaces.net off er tools to compare the cost from your current location to where you would like to move. And Kiplinger’s has a tax guide for retirees at Kiplinger. com/links/retireetaxmap that lets you fi nd and compare taxes stateby-state. How active is the community? Some communities provide fi tness facilities, swimming pools, tennis courts and more, along with dozens of organized activities, classes and social events. Other communities are much simpler and more laid back with very limited amenities and structured activities. You’ll want to choose a community that has the types of people, facilities, activities and vibe that appeals to you. Will we like the surrounding area? Will the area around your prospective community serve your needs now and in the future? Ideally, this means having easy access to good doctors and hospitals, and a local airport if you plan to travel much. You’ll also want to research how far you’ll be from essential services like grocery stores, banks and pharmacies, as well as dining, shopping, and recreational attractions. Schedule a Visit Once you’ve narrowed your choices, call to make an appointment and visit them. Be sure to allow plenty of time at each community and, if possible, go back to your favorites more than once. Also be sure to ask questions while you are visiting, particularly about the community rules. Some developments will let you stay overnight in a model home for a few nights to get a feel of what it would be like to live there. While you are there, try the amenities and activities, and speak with as many residents as you can. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. Police Sgt. Joe Turner discussed the training the department receives for active threat incidents. munity does it better than most,” said Bright. “We have been really working on these relationships for years with the school resource offi cers and Dr. Kelly and her staff , police and fi re. I think our best defense is everyone having a stake – see something, say something, listen, don’t take anything for granted, report things – and that’s our best bet to head these things off before they become a major incident.” Police Sgt. Joe Turner and Capt. Amy O’Hara provided some more of the details of the training and tools used by public safety personnel to help prevent and respond to issues in the schools. Several times, Turner talked of the high level of training Revere police receive for active shooter and other mass casualty events, and he also noted the amount of training the department’s three school resource ofWard 4 City Councillor Patrick Keefe asked a question during the public safety forum. (Advocate photos by Adam Swift) Police Captain Amy O’Hara spoke during the public safety forum while Police Chief David Callahan looked on. fi cers go through. “It is our policy … we push this through training and practice and simple culture in our agency: that we will respond to what we like to call an active threat incident,” said Turner. “When there is a threat to people in a public, populated place, our offi cers are taught to intervene. Our goal is to get in there and stop the potential loss or danger to human life or stop the actual taking of such.” O’Hara said research shows that prevention, relationships and support are often overlooked keys to school safety, but extremely important. “Students are often the fi rst to know of a planned attack, whether through a peer, through the grapevine or through social media,” said O’Hara. “Most of these incidents were averted because of student-reported concerns to a trusted adult – a parent, a teacher, a police offi cer – about a student’s concerning behavior, and then action was taken.” O’Hara said the students who come forward with that kind of information are coming forward because there are trusted relationships in place. “They are trusting the school resource offi cers, one of whose goals is creating youth interactions,” said O’Hara. “And it’s not just school resource offi cers; the hallmark of what we do is to build trust. It is eff ective policing and it keeps our community secure and safe.” School Committee Member Aisha Milbury-Ellis asked if there are plans to increase the number of school resource offi cers in the schools. Police Chief David Callahan said the department currently has two offi cers going through resource offi cer training, and Kelly said she would like to see a female resource offi cer in the schools.
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