Survey Says: Chardon One of Best Places to Retire
Typical pensions are over. The day of working a job for life at one company, get a pension and retire comfortably is very rare, or in most cases, no longer exists. Jessical Boalt
According to a recent survey, the City of Chardon is an optimal place to spend your golden years.
The city ranked as the second best place in Ohio to retire — first place went to nearby Beachwood, according to smartasset.com.
“First, we looked at state and local tax rates: income and sales,” said A.J. Smith, of smartasset.com, who conducted the survey. “We calculated effective rates upon a typical retiree, earning $35,000 annually (retirement, savings, social security or part-time employment) and spending disposable income on taxable goods.
“Next, we determined the number of doctor’s offices, recreation center and retirement centers per one thousand residents in each area. Finally, we found the number of seniors in each county and city on three factors and calculated an average ranking that are the best places to retire.”
One of the reasons for the survey is to spark conversation among adults earlier on in their lives about retirement and savings, Smith said.
“The earlier you can start saving, the better; but folks who haven’t begun saving shouldn’t feel discouraged in doing so. The amount of money to save really depends upon your lifestyle and how much you are willing to save,” she said.
Statistically, 16 percent of the residents in Chardon are senior adults,
“Geauga County senior residents are creeping near 30 percent of the total population,” said Jessica Boalt, director of the Geauga County Department on Aging. “In fact, out of all 88 counties in the state of Ohio, Geauga County has the highest percentage of 90 years and older residents, plus has more 60 years of age and older demographics than 18 and under in our county population.
“We have a more aged population here in Geauga County than our surrounding area counties,”?Boalt said.
The Geauga County Commissioners, zoning officials and Chardon mayor, as well as other public servants, are invested in the senior population, she said.
“(They help) seniors (with anything) from mundane tasks, with behind the scenes work without fanfare, to making sure our seniors get the help they need to live independently at home for as long as they are able,” Boalt said. “Our county cares about our seniors.”
The Chardon Senior Center is a busy place with seniors utilizing a variety of classes, scheduled sightseeing trips, entertainment, exercising and adult daycare for seniors who have extra care needs, Boalt said, adding the Meals on Wheels program delivers lunch to seniors at home and the senior center offers other valuable help such as home repair and free legal advice with a qualified lawyer.
Seniors can also take advantage of the senior center’s Geauga Transit, which will pick them up and drop them off, and return them to their home for $3 each way.
Aside from Geauga Lyric Theater, the local boutiques, parks and recreation programs, dining options and library, seniors also have plenty of housing options in Chardon.
Seniors can be found in individual homes, apartments, condos, assistant living at The Residence of Chardon assistant living on Grant Street and two nursing homes with rehabilitation areas: Chardon Healthcare Center on Water Street and newly opened Mapleview Country Villa on South Street.
Heather Hill Care Communities with its various accommodations for seniors is in Munson Township on Bass Lake Road, just South of Chardon.
There are also entire senior communities in the Chardon area. One of the oldest senior communities is right outside the town line in Chardon Township, on Chardon Road — Wilders Mobile Home Community.
“It didn’t start out as a senior community,” said Marilyn Wilder, whose husband, Fred, inherited the business from his father. “It started out as an affordable place for WWII GI’s and brides to start their lives together. Over time, especially during the 1970s and 1980s, there was such a growing population of mobile homes with seniors living here. It just morphed into a senior community, not intentionally.
“Interestingly enough, people who live here, are here until they can no longer live here and move to a nursing home facility or pass away here,”?Wilder added. “We have seen changes lately due to the economy. People used to purchase their mobile homes with cash after selling their larger homes as they downsize. Now we get a lot of telephone calls requesting to rent the mobile home. That is a huge change. We do have a few mobile homes to rent, yet that is a recent thing for us.”
Boalt echoed Wilder on economic challenges having changed seniors’ financial trends, especially with travel and expensive hobbies.
“Typical pensions are over. The day of working a job for life at one company, get a pension and retire comfortably is very rare, or in most cases, no longer exists,” Boalt said. “401 K’s no longer guarantee the money will be there anymore, interest rates are incredibly low to make your savings grow and many seniors have double mortgages and are making house payments. The older seniors, by the time they retired, had their homes paid off, but there are a large percentage of younger seniors who second mortgaged their homes to help pay for their children’s college tuition or helped pay for their own parents’ expenses while they were taking care of them.”
Between jobs moving out of the country, downsizing, budget cuts and looking at the bottom line, many seniors or soon-to-be seniors are looking at fewer options of obtaining a pension, Boalt explained.
“Many companies have closed and with it, the retirement pension are gone,” she added. “Many seniors will still be working long after they should retire due to money issues. The key to be able to retire is to be able to afford your lifestyle, where you live and the amenities you are accustomed to having.”
She said right now is a tough time for some seniors, who will either retire much later in life or might not be able to retire at all.
“There is no shame to simplify with no lavish cruises, however, take a vacation in your own ‘backyard’ so-to-speak, with a bed and breakfast, or tour the Amish landscape in the county gem of Middlefield,” Boalt said. “There is still hope, a bit of rethinking of retirement, living frugally and enjoying the amenities, literally in your backyard, can help accommodate an affordable and doable retirement in Chardon, Ohio.”
HEADSHOT?OF?JESSICA?BOALT W/PULLQUOTE
