This is not your grandmother’s ideal retirement community.
Or … is it? It is if your grandmother is really into yoga and hiking, and she doesn’t give a hoot for pickleball or shuffleboard.
That’s from the findings of After55.com’s survey of more than 700 people between the ages of 50 and 89. We asked our respondents, in a voluntary survey conducted online May 10-31, 2016, what activities they want in a senior living community – and where they want that community to be.
What we found is that today’s seniors and soon-to-be seniors reflect their Baby Boomer upbringings and want an active retirement. They want exercise and yoga classes (39%), walking and hiking (36%), and swimming and water aerobics (34%). They also want to mingle! 24% of respondents favored singles nights and meet-and-greets as senior living activities.
What they don’t want are stereotypical “old folks” activities like shuffleboard, sing-alongs – or even Wii bowling.
More on Senior Living Activities
Among other top findings in our survey:
- After working up a sweat exercising, respondents want some entertainment and culture. Favored senior living activities were trips to museums and cultural events (32%), movie nights (28%), arts and crafts (23%), and restaurant outings (20%).
- Florida and California were by far the top two states for retirees. In fact, almost half of those surveyed (45%) reported that they are either already living in these states or plan to move to them in retirement. Read more about the most popular states for retirement.
- The largest age group among our respondents was 60-64, at just over a quarter of those participating.
- Women outnumbered men in responding to our survey in a 69% to 31% ratio.
- Only 18% of men and 15% of women responding currently live in senior housing, so what they want could shape the future of retirement communities.
Full Results: Senior Activities Survey
What activities do or would most interest you in senior housing? (749 respondents, ages 50-89, survey conducted May 10-31, 2016)
| Exercise / yoga classes | 39.1% |
| Walking / hiking | 36.2% |
| Swimming and water aerobics | 34.0% |
| Trips to museums, cultural events | 31.5% |
| Movie nights | 28.3% |
| Singles nights / meet-and-greets | 24.2% |
| Arts and crafts | 22.7% |
| Restaurant outings | 20.0% |
| Dancing | 18.8% |
| Educational classes (languages, etc.) | 18.3% |
| Cooking and baking | 18.3% |
| Religious services and study | 16.3% |
| Card and board games | 16.2% |
| Bingo | 13.8% |
| Gardening / flower-arranging | 13.8% |
| Shopping trips | 13.5% |
| Trips to sporting events | 12.8% |
| Book clubs | 12.7% |
| Other | 9.6% |
| Billiards / ping pong | 8.5% |
| Lawn games (horseshoes, mini-golf) | 5.3% |
| Sing-alongs / karaoke | 4.9% |
| Tennis / pickleball / badminton | 3.2% |
| Wii sports and video games | 2.8% |
| Shuffleboard | 2.0% |
This article was originally published on After55.com: Survey Results: Favorite Senior-Living Activities in Retirement
More Reports From Our Survey
What Men Want to Do in Retirement Homes: Go for a Walk!
What Women Want in Retirement: Activities for Body and Mind
Where Single Seniors Can Meet the Opposite Sex
Shuffle Off, Shuffleboard: The Least-Favorite Senior Activities
5 Most Popular States for Retirement in After55.com’s Survey