2021 Winter Ideal-LIVING

Just south of Savannah, this surprising low country community offers luxury homes surrounded by a protected natural landscape. Here, your family can escape from the noise of the world in a place where spontaneous get togethers, outdoor activities, and the influence of water create a new rhythm to life.

The center of our waterfront lifestyle is found at the Marina Village, with stunning views of golden marshes, dry slip storage spaces, along with fresh water boat slips for residents. Accessible from every corner of the community via Harbor View Drive, a road with spectacular views of glistening waters, Marina Village is sure to become the heartbeat of Waterways.

|

Cottage Homes from the mid 300’s Waterview Homes from the 400’s Estate Homes from the 500’s Townhomes from the mid 200’s

to the fullest LIVE FLORIDA

Lakewood Ranch offers a lifestyle unlike any other in Florida. An incredible variety of homes and villages are all within minutes of our 150-mile trail network, six parks, three town centers, a sports campus, Sarasota Polo Club, a farmers’ market, arts & entertainment and 365 days worth of activities. And just beyond our backyard, you’ll find the whitesand beaches of Sarasota and all the excitement of Tampa. Welcome to The Ranch. We can’t wait to show you around.

Named “Best Health and Fitness Community” by ideal-Living

20+ UNIQUE VILLAGES TO CHOOSE FROM IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA | HOMES FROM THE $200S TO OVER $ 1 MILLION

The Best-Selling Community in the U.S. for All Ages .com

There has never been a better time to build your dream home with your own personalized design!

If you’re interested in a diverse lifestyle with unique experiences, and rolling hills, our community is what you are looking for.

Our community takes the phrase "active adult lifestyle" to a new level, with our world-class amenities and endless outdoor recreational activities.

If you're considering Florida for a second home or retirement living, then you owe it to yourself to see all that our community and location have to offer!

Personalize homes and site packages range from the upper $200s to over $1.5 million.

We have a variety of Move-In Ready Showcase Homes available.

The Peninsula is a community with extraordinary amenities right at your fingertips. Just outside your doorstep is a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course and the Indian River Bay. Enjoy indoor and outdoor pools, a trip to the spa, a meal at the Terrace Grille and more, all without ever leaving the gates.

With a first-class experience right outside your door, you’ll never want to leave, but if you do, you’ll always be at ease when you come home to The Peninsula. New Homes from the $300s to $3M+. Discover summer at the Peninsula today.

© 2020 Schell Brothers LLC.All Rights Reserved. All information and pricing is subject to change without

Obtain the Property Report required by Federal law and read it before signing anything. No Federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. WARNING: THE CALIFORNIA BUREAU OF REAL ESTATE HAS NOT INSPECTED, EXAMINED, OR QUALIFIED THE OFFERINGS. Pennsylvania Registration Numbers OL00169 (Latitude Margaritaville at Daytona Beach) and OL001170 (Latitude Margaritaville at Hilton Head). Latitude Margaritaville at Daytona Beach and Latitude Margaritaville at Hilton Head are registered with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen, 1000 Washington Street, Suite 710, Boston, MA 02118 and with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20552. This material shall not constitute a valid offer in any state where prior registration is required and has not been completed. The facilities and amenities described and depicted are proposed but not yet constructed. Photographs are for illustrative purposes only and are merely representative of current development plans. Development plans, amenities, facilities, dimensions, specifications, prices and features depicted by artists renderings or otherwise described herein are approximate and subject to change without notice. ©Minto Communities, LLC 2021. All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced, copied, altered, distributed, stored, or transferred in any form or by any means without express written permission. Latitude Margaritaville and the Latitude Margaritaville logo

•

•

•

•

•

WINTER 2021

VOLUME 23, NUMBER ONE

PUBLISHER

RPI Media, LLC.

PRESIDENT

Michael Hackeling

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Kelly Godbey

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

William Burr, Sam Crawford, Colleen Crowley, Emily Colin, Jan Cullinane, Kelly Godbey, Warren Grant, Emily Hackeling, Kim Henry, Scott Kauffman, Lawrence Tundidor, Fanny Slater, JG Walker

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Kelly Godbey, Amber Whittington, Sabrina Dively

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Laurie Kent

DATABASE MANAGER

David Heck

IDEAL-LIVING.COM

David Heck, Will Weinel

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Gina Burwell

ADVERTISING SALES

NC, Myrtle Beach, SC, TN, DE,VA,WV, PA, NJ: Daniel Keir | dkeir@ideal-living.com

SC, GA, FL: Fred Warren | fwarren@ideal-living.com

Western U.S. & International: Dana Leyva | dana@ideal-living.com

Sales Coordinator: Laurie Kent (800) 736-0321

www.rpimedia.com

The real estate projects and services advertised in this magazine constitute advertisements of the owners or their agents. RPI Media, LLC.® makes no representations or warranties concerning such advertisements. Interested parties should direct their inquiries to the appropriate parties listed for information concerning any of these advertisements. The advertisements contained construed as an offer to residents of the states of New York or New Jersey, or where otherwise prohibited by law. Questions on the availability of offers should be directed to the advertiser. Publisher’s notice: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.” We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Obtain the Property Report required by Federal Law and read it before signing anything. No Federal Agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property.

“

is heaven to me. ... We are so grateful to have

welcoming communty to call home -- heaven.”

NEVER HAS TO STOP. FUN

Start living the lifestyle you’ve been dreaming about with Encore by David Weekley Homes. Our lifestyle-driven approach to home design offers the ideal balance of livability with thoughtfully-designed floor plans featuring indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces and a high level of customization to make your new home everything you’ve imagined.

Plus, you’ll delight in more freedom and fun in one of our friendly 55+ lifestyle neighborhoods offering a variety of amenities, clubs and activities – all planned by a lifestyle director – to enhance your active life. These intimate communities make it easy to develop friendships with your neighbors, too.

David Weekley Homeowners Liz* Deering & Kelli D. Stevens

by Kelly Godbey | kellyg@ideal-LIVING.com

It’s mid-December as I write this note of encouragement for you, and this morning I was out on my paddleboard in the Atlantic Ocean watching the sunrise. Yes, you heard me right, the middle of December, and I was in the ocean, albeit in a wetsuit, but the enjoyment and utter serenity were the same. Brilliant colors surrounded me as I paddled atop the glassy ocean, listening to the sea birds overhead and the splash of fish, all the while looking for friendly dolphins or hoping to spot a whale since I had heard of recent whale sitings. These moments of being on the water give me time to reflect on the challenges and opportunities that 2020 has brought to the world, yet I am filled with hope for the new year’s promise.

Ideal-LIVING magazine shows the possibilities of starting a new life in what can be the best part of your life. And, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the unknown can and has happened. As we take the time to honor the lives of those needlessly taken from us, those now inflicted with a long-term illness, or those who now shoulder the vast financial burden as a result of COVID, we should be ever-thankful for the opportunities we have to live fulfilling lives. If you are lucky enough to have your health, you have the ability to improve your quality of life exponentially by relocating to a destination with lower taxes and a better climate. Many can now work from home, so it might be easier to make that move sooner than you thought.

Throughout 2020 and into 2021, a real estate boom continues as a great migration occurs from highly populous areas to locations with more open space and a better quality of life (page 92). Overall, housing demand has skyrocketed, and inventory is waning (page 100). Ideal-LIVING speaks with new homeowners and developers who share their stories about this unprecedented marketplace. We also look at how COVID has transformed home design with the trends for 2021 (page 110) that include outdoor living space and home offices.

Saving the best for last, Ideal-LIVING presents a fabulous opportunity for our readers to attend our Winter 2021 VIRTUAL Resort & Retirement Shows. We have made vast improvements to our VIRTUAL program to include live webinars on how to choose the right place and lifestyle as well as home trend seminars presented by community representatives from Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and more (page 55). The show is the perfect place to speak with the people who live in these locations to find out about taxes, housing costs, and lifestyle options, all from the comfort and safety of your home. You can live chat with the representatives throughout the show hours. As editor of Ideal-LIVING magazine, I will be hosting live presentations where you can ask your questions.

You deserve to live your ideal life. We hope that you will spend a few hours at the Ideal-LIVING VIRTUAL Resort & Retirement Show with us to learn about the extraordinary life that awaits.

If 2020 was the year for “What the $#@!”? Then 2021 Should be the Year of Hope It’s time to find your joy in life again

Find Your Ideal... DESTINATION

The first step in finding your ideal destination is to choose a location of interest, maybe one you have vacationed to or have always wanted to visit. Perhaps you want to live in an international destination, or you can start with a state, then choose a region, then city, and find communities of interest.

Ideal-LIVING welcomes the following communities. Please take the time to visit their websites, and don’t forget to tell them you saw them in Ideal-LIVING.

Asbury Ocean Club

Asbury Park, NJ

Located 70 minutes south of New York City and halfway to heaven, Asbury Ocean Club offers elegant residences with spectacular views that are unrivaled on the Jersey Shore.

Towering 17 stories above the Asbury Park Boardwalk and looking out beyond the blue horizon, the one- to four-bedroom condominiums at Asbury Ocean Club feature wraparound balconies, white-oak flooring, and 10-foot-high walls of glass. The luxurious interiors offer the finest names in tasteful design, including Miele appliances and Spazzi cabinets in the kitchen, as well as bathrooms with Hansgrohe fixtures, Lacava sinks, and optional Duravit Cape Cod Tubs. Above it all are six unique two-story penthouse designs with even more elegant appointments plus grand rooftop terraces that are the pinnacle of paradise.

Asbury Ocean Club residents enjoy top-tier amenities like 24-hour concierge service, a heated ocean-view pool, a fullservice spa and fitness center, a business hub with private offices and state-of-the-art video conferencing, a private beach club, and The Drawing Room, a glass-house libations lounge and fireside retreat for intimate gatherings.

The iconic seaside town of Asbury Park has a legendary live music scene and a flourishing restaurant culture. So plan a trip to the Jersey Shore, get a suite at The Asbury hotel, catch a concert at Asbury Lanes, and have a look at Asbury Ocean Club—an inspiring new home for the glory days ahead.

Calesa Township Ocala, FL

Calesa Township will be a master-planned community for families of all ages, including a 5,000-home buildout across 1,500 acres. The community will include amenity centers, extensive walking trails, and neighborhood pool cabanas for families to enjoy time outdoors. The Avid Adventure Trail System encourages families and all community members to explore the outdoors while enhancing their physical and mental well-being. The design of Calesa Township will be pedestrian-friendly with a few well-placed connective tunnels designed to minimize the interaction of foot-travelers and bikers with cars on the road. While the community's main entrance will be a public road, the neighborhoods may have gated entrances.

The master-planned community will also be home to a tuition-free public charter school and an innovative aquatic center. Children in Calesa Township will have the opportunity to attend the Ina A. Colen Academy when the doors open in August 2022. Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training (FAST) will be a premier aquatic center set to open in late 2021. FAST will have indoor and outdoor 50-meter competition pools, a fitness center, spectator seating, and an outdoor splash pad.

Calesa Township will be appealing to active adults because they can live in the same neighborhood as their children and grandchildren. Residential home sales are projected to begin in mid-2021.

MyCalesa.com

Preservation Point

Wilmington, NC

Lake Tansi Village

Preservation Point is the newest waterfront community on the North Carolina coast and offers residents two distinctive lifestyle features. The first is Preservation Point’s location on the previously undeveloped grounds of the former Sans Souci rice plantation, a peaceful abode for both native wildlife and future human residents. Remarkably, it’s just one mile from downtown Wilmington and all of the services, shopping, attractions, and events that the historic port city has to offer.

The second is Preservation Point’s incomparable collection of amenities, including a private playground for homeowners and their guests. The West Indies-style clubhouse will be the heart of community activities with a lounge, meeting rooms, fitness facilities, and a resort pool. And, rising from the salt marsh will be a unique seven-acre island retreat featuring a pavilion for outdoor gatherings, pickleball courts, a putting green, and a dog park. In addition to kayak launches and fishing piers, the island’s Preservation Point Marina will offer 30- to 50-foot boat slips with direct access to the Cape Fear River, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Developed by Lakewood Capital Group, a select number of large Preservation Point homesites are currently available. Each is a one-of-a-kind setting for custom-designed residences with sweeping views amid a maritime forest of live oaks and other hardwoods. With the ultimate in a convenient location and unrivaled lifestyle amenities, it’s clear that the new Preservation Point community won’t be Wilmington’s best-kept secret for much longer.

PreservationPointeNC.com

Crossville, TN

Located on East Tennessee’s beautiful Cumberland Plateau, Lake Tansi Village is an ideal destination for retirees and families looking for a good-neighbor community with active-lifestyle amenities that can be enjoyed in all four seasons.

The 550-acre Lake Tansi is the hub of outdoor recreations like boating, water skiing, and the region’s best freshwater fishing. At the same time, the community’s other three stocked lakes are reserved for sailing, kayaking, and canoeing. The Lake Tansi Golf Course is open for play year-round and rated among Tennessee’s Top 10 by Golf Advisor. Two community centers feature tennis and racketball courts, indoor and outdoor pools, and meeting rooms for various interest clubs and volunteer organizations. On-site restaurants, spa and fitness facilities, seasonal farmers markets, and live-music concerts in the summer are all a part of the invigorating Lake Tansi Village lifestyle.

The nearby City of Crossville is a regional center for professional services, shopping, and festival events that has preserved its small-town ambiance and genuine hospitality for new area residents. And movers who want real value should note that Tennessee has no state income tax, local property taxes are remarkably low, and Lake Tansi Village owners pay an average of just $260 in annual dues. Take a virtual tour now, and make an in-person visit when you’re ready because a select number of new homesites, single-family residences, and condominiums are still available at Lake Tansi Village.

LakeTansiHomes.com

Experience the perfect balance of home and nature. Oakland Park combines the beauty of nature with the history and character of old-Florida architecture. With a charming small-town feel, our community is located only minutes away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Winter Garden. Take a stroll down our many nature trails to see stunning views of Lake Apopka, explore our multiple parks or jump on the West Orange Trail, one of Orlando’s top trails for biking, inline skating, running and walking. Enjoy an active, outdoor lifestyle while still being close to everything. Discover Oakland Park today. Newly constructed model homes are now open. Homes from the $300s.

David Weekly Homes * RCB Homes * J&J Building * Brierhill Homes

Oakland Park Community Clubhouse

1000 Civitas Way, Winter Garden, FL 34787

Community News Update

Don’t miss this opportunity to visit these amazing locations.

COVID-19 COMMUNITY TRAVEL UPDATES

Ideal-LIVING encourages our readers to travel safely when finding your ideal home. First, check out the websites of any communities you are planning to visit. Almost all communities have a section on their website to keep potential residents apprised of their COVID-19 precautions when it comes to community amenity usage, as well as touring options. Many also have 3D home tours online.

BIRDIES ON THE SCORECARD

Fairfield Glade | Fairfield Glade, TN

Bird lovers in Eastern Tennessee’s Fairfield Glade have installed nearly 100 protected nest boxes for bluebirds and tree swallows along the community’s golf courses and in several common areas. The Cumberland County Bluebird Club has also established new nest boxes in two nearby City of Cookeville public parks.

FairfieldGlade.net

NEW RESIDENTS AND AMENITIES

The Bluffs on the Cape Fear | Leland, NC

The Bluffs on the Cape Fear community in North Carolina welcomed 24 new families in the fall of 2020 and is nearing completion of 22 additional custom homes. The River Park/Boat Ramp will be ready by the end of January 2021, and construction of the new marina will begin later this year. Plans have also been approved and work starts this spring on the 11,000-square-foot Bluff’s Clubhouse addition, along with enhancements to the clubhouse area that will include a post office, pickleball and multi-use sports courts, and an expansion of the kids‘ playground.

TheBluffsNC.com

NEWEST MARGARITAVILLE MOVING FORWARD

Latitude Margaritaville Watersound | Panama City Beach, FL

The new Latitude Margaritaville Watersound sales center and model home park are well underway. Thirteen models will include villas, cottages, and single-family residences. The projected grand opening is scheduled for spring 2021. Located on Florida’s Emerald Coast between Panama City and Pensacola, the community’s first 248 homesites are under development and the initial phase of Latitude Margaritaville Watersound is projected to include a total of about 3,500 homes. Watersound is the third Latitude Margaritaville by Minto Communities, following successful debuts in Daytona Beach and near Hilton Head, SC.

LatitudeMargaritaville.com

The Shades of Carolina Colours Suit You Perfectly

The blues of abundant waters flowing throughout this coastal region of North Carolina. The greens of our Bill Love-designed championship golf course. The many hues of life in a celebrated planned community, situated in New Bern, a town that is at once historical and modern.

It’s a picture perfect lifestyle, spent among friendly neighbors and fun-filled activities, including swimming, tennis, pickleball, a dog park and miles of walking and biking trails. And the convenience is further enhanced with a retail center now open at the community’s entrance. If you’re searching for a retirement community that celebrates the art of living, these are definitely your Colours.

Inquire about our Discovery Package and come visit Carolina Colours for yourself.

TIMBER RIDGE HOMESITE PREVIEW COMPASS POINTE | LELAND, NC

The Compass Pointe community, located on the North Carolina coast near Wilmington, has announced an exclusive preview of new golf- and water-view homesites in the upscale Timber Ridge Estates neighborhood. The official grand opening is scheduled for spring 2021. Special incentives and credits are now available for purchasers. CompassPointeNC.com

VIRTUAL ORLANDO HOME TOURS

Taylor Morrison I Maitland, FL

Taylor Morrison, one of the nation’s largest home builders and land developers, is now offering self-guided, on-demand home tours of move-in-ready residences in the Orlando area. Choose from among the available homes, and get a private code to “unlock” the front door at your appointment time. Then take photos and ask questions as you tour at your own pace. Taylor Morrison featured communities in Florida include Solivita, Vitalia at Tradition, and Esplanade at Highland Ranch. TaylorMorrison.com

Wilmington, NC’s most unique new address... only 1 mile from the historic Downtown Riverwalk!

NOW OPEN! Preservation Point is the newest and most unique waterfront community in beautiful Wilmington, NC. Situated on the grounds of the former Sans Souci Rice Plantation, Preservation Point offers a location and features like no other address in coastal Carolina. This exclusive community sits on the banks of the majestic Cape Fear River, just 1 mile from historic downtown Wilmington.

Residents will enjoy large home sites with gorgeous hardwoods, a 7-acre private island with a marina and a West Indies styled clubhouse with pool and workout facility. Availability to own in this historic location so close to downtown Wilmington will be extremely limited - Make sure that you do not miss out on this unique opportunity to build in this one of a kind community!

800-675-1800

www.preservationpointnc.com

Private Island and Marina on the Cape Fear

Clubhouse and Pool

Fifteen Reasons to Move to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica has become one of the most popular places in the world for North American retirees and expats to relocate. What exactly is it about this beautiful country that lures people to pack their belongings and reinvent their lives there?

by William Burr

For starters, compared to many other countries in Central America, Costa Rica enjoys far more political and economic stability and has a moderate growth rate. It’s a democratic country that doesn’t seem likely to change, and many American expats live there. To make it even more convenient, it has a relatively low cost of living, allowing even those with moderate incomes to live in relative comfort. In recent years, Costa Rica has also become the hub of a thriving technology sector.

In no particular order, here’s a list of 15 good reasons to move to Costa Rica. If you ask current expats, you're likely to find many more categories with very few disadvantages.

Small Country. The size of Costa Rica is often compared to West Virginia, but don’t let Costa Rica’s small footprint fool you. It is a vast country of rolling mountains, open plains, and lush river valleys that separate the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. These natural features prevent the construction of superhighways that would theoretically connect relatively close locations. Long drives through magnificent scenery are the result.

Stable Democracy. Known as the Switzerland of Central America, Costa Rica has no military, which has allowed military budgets to be diverted to the growth priorities of education, the environment, tourism, and healthcare.

1 2 3 4

International Air Access. Costa Rica has two major airports, one in the capital of San Jose and another in Liberia in the region of Guanacaste. Both airports

offer national and international flights. Direct flights to major cities in the U.S. are reasonably priced, making it easy to stay close to family or welcome visitors.

Stable Exchange Rate. The colón is the official currency in Costa Rica, though U.S. dollars are accepted virtually everywhere. Even small villages have at least one ATM, so using these machines is a great way to ensure you have access to

your money when you need it. Banks update the exchange rate every day, a rate that fluctuates only slightly. Though it is more expensive than many other Central American countries, Costa Rica has a stable economy and currency, which allows residents to safely plan their costs and maintain their budgets.

Cost of Living. The cost of living varies among different areas within Costa Rica. If you choose to live in an upscale gated community by the beach that caters to wealthy expats, your cost of living will be substantially higher than if you choose to live in a coffee-growing region in the mountains. But, in general, costs will not exceed what a North American is accustomed to.

Large Expat Community. The country is filled with expats from the U.S., Canada, and Europe. No matter where you go, the capital city of San Jose, the mountains, or the sea coasts, you will find English-speaking people everywhere. A prospective expat can find numerous expat contacts online who will gladly offer help and advice.

Residency Options. U.S. citizens do not need a visa to enter Costa Rica, only a valid U.S. passport that is good for at least six months. You will also need proof of a plane ticket to exit the country. A standard 90-day tourist visa allows you to buy an existing business like a hotel or B&B, or build your own. You don’t have to be a resident of the country to start a business using a tourist visa.

Healthcare. For expats who plan on retiring or living in Costa Rica, it is necessary to establish residency to access extremely low-cost medical care through a system called Caja. In fact, if you’re going to be a legal resident of Costa Rica, paying into Caja is required. You can’t get any form of residency without proof of existing Caja coverage.

Sustainable Environment. Costa Rica’s environmental credentials are impressive: More than 98 percent of its energy is renewable. Forest cover now stands at more than 53 percent after painstaking work to reverse decades of deforestation. Around a quarter of the country’s land has been turned into protected parks and reserves.

English Language. Though Costa Rica is a Spanish-speaking country, English is spoken almost everywhere.

Private healthcare plans are incredibly affordable, starting at around $50 per month. Even the out-of-pocket medical costs for those with no coverage are staggeringly low compared to the U.S. Costa Rica has a modern and highly rated healthcare system, even more highly-rated than the United States. Possibly because of this, Costa Rican citizens have a life expectancy of 77 years, one of the highest in the world. Medical tourism is a recent outgrowth of this due to the country’s envied healthcare reputation.

Health Culture. Costa Rica is far ahead of most countries in establishing an ecofriendly tourism sector that concentrates on yoga, meditation, massage, nutrition, and spirituality.

Safety. Costa Rica is a peaceful democratic nation, yet it is still a developing one, making it important to exercise the same common sense usually expected when traveling in a foreign country or major city. Costa Rica does have some crime, but unlike other countries in Central America, most travelers report feeling quite safe there. The tourism industry contributes significantly to the country’s GDP, which has helped reduce poverty and improve safety.

Wildlife Diversity. Costa Rica is covered in natural wonders. It has epic volcanoes with spewing lava that create natural hot springs to soak in. It has tall mountains from which the Atlantic and Pacific coasts can be seen. It has hundreds of miles of shoreline beaches, varying from black to pink to gold to white, with dolphins and whales to watch offshore. Each ocean coastline varies. Some have enormous waves for world-class surfing. Others have calm and gentle waves for snorkeling and diving.

The land is covered in large, old-growth trees, swaying palms, and beautiful flowers. Rushing rivers and waterfalls flow through mangrove forests. The Osa Peninsula is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. But in other parts of the country, howler monkeys often live in backyard trees. Sloths cross the road causing traffic jams. Toucans and scarlet macaws fly overhead, making Costa Rica one of Earth’s most magical and beautiful countries.

Highly Educated Population. Due to the government-operated public school system, local Costa Ricans are extremely well educated, unlike many of their neighboring countries.

Enviable Weather. While there are distinct wet and dry seasons in most of the country, temperatures on both coasts average between the high 70s and low 80s year-round. Even in the rainy season, there is typically some sunshine every day.

Does this short summary of good living whet your appetite? If so, you’re not alone. For these reasons and many more, Costa Rica rates in the top tier of the expat scale year after year.

Costa Rica is covered in natural wonders, making it one of Earth's most magical and beautiful countries.

Magical Setting

Unparallel Lifestyle

One of the Most Spectacular Settings on Earth

A Course of The Reserve Club at Woodside Opens Its Second 18 “Persistence”

by JG Walker

Nearly 400 new golf courses opened in the United States in 2000, but by 2019, that number was down to about a dozen. The number may be even less in 2020, but there’s one that’s already on the shortlist: The Reserve Club at Woodside’s Hollow Creek Course in Aiken, SC. More than just a noteworthy accomplishment, it’s a story of successful perseverance in a time when we could all use one.

"It’s been one of my more challenging projects, that’s for sure,” says golf architect Clyde Johnston, who has designed more than 65 new courses and renovated at least twice that number during his career. He created the Hollow Creek layout with design consultant Fuzzy Zoeller, his seventh collaboration with the popular PGA TOUR pro and former Masters champion. “Fuzzy is one of the really good guys in the golf business and always great to work with,” Johnston says.

Construction of the Hollow Creek course began in the late summer of 2006. The two-phase plan was to build and open the first 10 holes for play by the fall of 2007, giving Reserve Club members 28 holes along with The Reserve Club’s existing Nicklaus Course. Johnston and Wadsworth Construction got the initial work done on schedule and were set to begin on the final eight holes in 2008.

While work on many golf courses around the country came to a halt during that recession year, some were never completed. Reserve Club Chairman and Woodside Communities Developer Rick Steele didn’t let

that happen to Hollow Creek. As the economy recovered and Woodside continued to attract new homeowners, club members and Steele both kept the completion of Hollow Creek Golf Course at the top of their community amenities priorities.

Two new holes were built in 2017, but not yet opened for play. By then, everyone involved in the project could see the light at the end of the tunnel, despite some additional regulatory challenges to ensure the utmost protection for the course’s neighboring nature preserve.

“We had to do some significant rerouting for those last six holes and changed one planned par five to a par three,” Johnston says. “We wanted to protect the adjacent wetlands and comply with some new stormwater runoff regulations that had come into effect in the meantime. But we got it done.”

Well, almost. Those last half-dozen holes were finished in the fall of 2019 and prepared for a big grand opening ceremony the following spring, just before the 2020 Masters Tournament at near-by Augusta National Golf Club. But, because of COVID-19, both events were delayed.

Finally, on July 2, 2020, Johnston, Aiken Mayor Rick Osborne, and a small group of masked and distanced invitees were on-hand for the official ribbon cutting. Rick Steele summarized the experience: “As a nation, we’ve been through a housing bubble and a housing bust. We’ve been through a financial crisis and now a pandemic. But we’re here, and that’s a tribute to the persistence of everyone here today.

DISCOVER WOODSIDE

Seeing is more than believing when you book your Adventure Awaits Package to visit Woodside— it’s learning, enjoying, and experiencing. Plan to spend three or four days living like a resident during your stay: plan a hike, visit the eclectic shops, eateries, and boutiques in downtown Aiken, enjoy a round of golf, stop by the racket pavilion for a game of tennis or pickleball … the choice is yours. Visit woodsidecommunities.com to tailor your visit today.

Hollow Creek

“We are sometimes challenged as developers to come up with names, and this golf course has a number of them,” Steele says. “I’ve heard it called Fuzzy’s Course, and it’s been called Clyde’s Course. But I think it should truly be called The Persistence Course.”

Actually, the Hollow Creek course isn’t named for a person or a commitment, but for the neighboring natural garden that’s becoming famous in its own right. The Hollow Creek Nature Preserve sprawls over 110 acres of woodlands and wetlands set aside by Steele’s development company in 2007. Nearly five miles of nature trails meander through the wildlife sanctuary, which last year was named South Carolina’s first official Bluebird Habitat. Volunteers with the South Carolina Bluebird Society have installed more than 1,100 nesting boxes for their favorite colorful fliers, as well as native ducks, owls, and kestrels.

Next door to the nature preserve is the new Anderson Farms residential community, which features expansive homesites, direct access to the Hollow Creek trails, equestrian facilities, fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding on Anderson Pond. And, in conjunction with the opening of the Hollow Creek Course, single-family lots with sweeping golf views were recently made available in Woodside’s new Longmeadow neighborhood.

The Reserve Club at Woodside offers its members a complete menu of toptier amenities. In addition to the 36 holes of championship golf, the USTAcertified racquet club includes both tennis and pickleball courts. There’s also a resort-style pool and cabana, as well as complete fitness facilities and spa services. The Reserve Clubhouse is the heart of community activities, with two elegant ballrooms and meeting space for more than 60 social and interest groups. Neighbors can also reserve plots to grow their vegetables, herbs, and flowers in the community gardens, or enjoy the fresh air in all four seasons on the community’s 17+ miles of paths and nature trails for walking and biking. Those residents can easily stroll or ride over to The Village at Woodside, a commercial hub that’s less than a mile from The Reserve Club. The growing center currently includes three restaurants, a full-service salon and spa, boutique shops, and various medical and dental offices to serve Woodside residents. Family-friendly outdoor events are on the calendar every month at

“After all the challenges we had with this project, I think it turned out very well.”

From left: Wesley Elijah, President of Community Operations Rick Steele, Woodside Communities Developer and Reserve Club Chairman, Clyde Johnston, Hollow Creek Golf Course Architect Dereky Floyd, Director of Agronomy, Reserve Club at Woodside

The Village, which is also home to the Benton House assisted-living facility.

Just down the road, and recently named by Southern Living magazine as one of the “South’s Best Small Towns,” is the vibrant City of Aiken. While the surrounding region has long been famous for its horse-breeding farms and other equestrian centers, the revitalized Aiken downtown area offers more than 30 locally-owned restaurants, many featuring farm-to-table cuisine, plus antique stores, theaters, shops, and historical landmarks. The unique Hitchcock Woods urban forest offers 65 miles of nature paths, and many Woodside residents sign up every semester for classes at the Academy of Lifelong Learning on the campus of the University of South Carolina-Aiken.

Partially in response to COVID-19 restrictions, Woodside offers one-on-one FaceTime meetings that include virtual access to available residential properties and club amenities. The website at WoodsideCommunities.com also features a video library where folks can explore the Woodside neighborhoods and the Aiken area at their leisure. At the Woodside Sales & Discovery Office, The Reserve Club, Village Fitness, and Aiken Design Center, Steele has also

had all of the HVAC systems retrofitted with iWave air purification technology to help ensure the safety of future property owners who are visiting the community.

As the completed Hollow Creek Course begins its first full year of operation in 2021, its designer could finally allow himself a moment of satisfaction. “After all the challenges we had with this project, I think it turned out very well,” Johnston says. “Most importantly, the club members are very pleased with their new 18-hole course, and that’s what matters.”

Sometimes it’s incredible what can be accomplished with a little — or a lot of — persistence.

on my mind

And why it should be on yours, too!

by JG Walker

From the mountains to the sea and from thriving metropolitan areas to laidback small towns, Georgia also offers unique locations, cultural attractions, and recreational opportunities unlike any other state.

Georgia may not be the first state on your list of possible destinations for the next chapter of life, but it certainly deserves a closer look. Kiplinger recently ranked Georgia No. 3 on the list of “Best States To Retire,” citing its low taxes and living costs for seniors. But whether you’re ready for full-time retirement, planning to work remotely for a few more years, or thinking about moving your company to a more businessfriendly environment, Georgia should certainly be on your radar.

Income Taxes

Georgia has a bracketed state income tax scale that ranges from 1% to 5.5% but offers some major breaks for seniors. The first $65,000 in individual retirement income (or $130,000 per couple) is excluded from taxation for residents age 65 and older. For Georgians between the ages of 62 and 64, the exclusion amount is up to $35,000 (or $70,000 per couple). Georgia does not tax Social Security retirement benefits and has no estate or inheritance tax.

Sales Taxes

The state sales tax rate in Georgia is 4%, with most groceries and other basic items exempt. Local governments can collect an additional amount for county and municipal services, resulting in an average combined sales tax rate of about 7.33%.

Property Taxes

Homeowners in Georgia pay an average of about $1,000 in property taxes on $100,000 of assessed home value, but that amount can be a little higher or lower depending on the county (and Georgia has 159 of them). However, there are a number of statewide homestead exemptions available for residents starting at age 62 and increasing as they get older. Many counties that want to attract new residents offer additional exemptions that can be even more beneficial than those offered by the state.

Property Values

In September 2020, Zillow estimated that the average home value in Georgia was $213,918, noting that this figure was seasonally adjusted and included only the middle-price tier of homes. Overall, Zillow found that Georgia home values had increased 5.7% in the past year and predicted a rise of 6.9% in the next year.

“What really stands out about our area here in southern Georgia is that it still offers affordable coastal living. You can get a new, custom-built home starting at about $350,000 in one of our premier private communities like Cumberland Harbour.”

Lloyd Streit, Broker/Owner, Atlantic Salt Realty St. Marys, Georgia

Business Incentives

The Georgia economy is one of the most dynamic in the South, with corporate headquarters that include Coca-Cola, CNN, Chick-fil-A, Delta Airlines, and Home Depot. New business development is a top state priority. Companies that create full-time jobs in Georgia can be eligible for tax credits of up to $4,000 per job, with even greater allowances for businesses with wages higher than the local average. Additional investment tax credits are available for manufacturing and high-tech companies, plus those engaged in research and development. There are also a number of tax exemptions for machinery, equipment, and materials, as well as for companies that offer employeetraining programs.

Cost of Living

As noted in a November 2020 article published in USA Today, the overall cost of living in Georgia is currently 7% below the national average.

Healthcare

According to Kiplinger, Georgia has the sixth-lowest health care costs in the country for retired couples. Emory University Hospital in Atlanta is Georgia’s top-rated facility, and the state-wide Emory Healthcare Network has more than 250 provider locations employing 2,800+ physicians. The St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System is the leading provider in Savannah and the surrounding coastal Georgia region.

“We’re so fortunate at The Landings to have Georgia’s ‘First City’ of Savannah just 15 minutes away. We love strolling the cobblestone streets in the historic district, enjoying the local museums and lively arts scene, participating in the festival celebrations nearly every month, and dining out at the nationally-acclaimed restaurants.”

April Coleman, resident of The Landings since 2015

SPOTLIGHT ON The Georgia Coast

Georgia may have the most unique collection of oceanfront islands on America’s Atlantic coast. Tybee Island is “Savannah’s Beach Town,” a family-friendly seaside destination for vacationers and day trippers alike. Ossabaw and Sapelo are two of the South’s largest barrier islands that are accessible only by boat, where maritime forests, pristine beaches, and the traditional Gullah-Geechee culture have been preserved. Sea Island and St. Simons Island, in contrast, feature world-class destination resorts, championship golf courses, and restaurants with BBQ and seafood specialties on the menu. Jekyll Island features 20+ miles of bike paths, the region’s biggest water-fun park, and classy accommodations at the historic Jekyll Island Club. And the delightful town of St. Marys is the “Gateway to Cumberland Island” and its 17 miles of undeveloped oceanfront.

SPOTLIGHT ON Atlanta

Atlanta is the hub of the South’s largest metropolitan area and a crossroads of regional transportation, entertainment, and culture. HartsfieldJackson International Airport offers direct flights to nearly every major city in the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Teams in all of the major American sports leagues have a home in Atlanta, and attractions range from the awesome Georgia Aquarium to the sublime Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. There are scores of theaters, concert venues, and art museums, all of which are accessible from distinctive urban enclaves like Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Decatur, and Vinings, as well as mountain towns to the north like Helen, the college town of Athens to the east, and Peachtree City to the south, where 90 miles of paved pathways make golf carts the everyday vehicle of choice.

SPOTLIGHT ON Savannah

Forbes featured Savannah on its list of the “25 Best Places to Retire 2020,” citing lower median home prices and living costs that are 12% below national averages. Even better, Savannah-area residents can enjoy the same lifestyle amenities that have made the port city such a popular tourist destination: leisurely walks through the 24 pocket-park squares in the historic district and the 100-acre Bonaventure Cemetery, featured exhibitions at the Telfair Museums, local-craft shopping at the City Market, and the brew pubs, wine bars, and one-of-a-kind restaurants along River Street and throughout the downtown area. Add in a year-round calendar of music, film, art, and food festivals, and it’s easy to see why so many former Savannah visitors now make it their home.

“Residents often inform us that the sense of community they enjoy at Savannah Quarters far exceeds their expectations. From walking or biking the community with their friends, to late morning rounds on the Greg Norman Signature golf course or private lessons at the tennis center, all at a location just minutes from historic Savannah.”

Joe McNamara, Sales Manager | Savannah Quarters

Farm to Table

Georgia is the nation’s leading grower of peanuts, pecans, and those sweet Vidalia onions. It’s second only to neighboring South Carolina in peach production, but Georgians will tell you that theirs are much tastier. The state is also a major producer of blueberries, bell peppers, cabbages, cantaloupes, cucumbers, snap beans, squash, and watermelons, plus poultry, pork, and seafood. Every city and county seat hosts seasonal farmers markets, or you can sample the local fare at trendy Atlanta cafés, award-winning Savannah restaurants, and Main Street diners all over the state.

Lifelong Learning

Georgia residents age 62 and over can take classes for free or earn degree credits at 26 satellite campuses in the University of Georgia system and more than 20 technical schools located throughout the state. Many other private colleges and specialty institutions like the Savannah College of Art & Design welcome senior students with auditing options or reduced-fee courses.

Location, Location, Location

Georgia’s climate is mild in the winter, warm in the summer, and just about perfect in the early-arriving spring and late-lingering fall. As a result, outdoor recreations from golf and tennis to hiking and boating can be enjoyed year-round in Georgia. Among specific locales, Atlanta and Savannah may be the best known. Thriving midsized cities like Augusta, Columbus, and Macon have much to offer, but Georgia also features hundreds of rural small towns with a front-porch hospitality that welcomes new neighbors.

GET AWAY FROM IT ALL. AND STAY THERE.

CHECK OUT OUR PARTNER COMMUNITIES:

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE . CHEROKEE VILLAGE MOUNTAIN HOME . BELLA VISTA . FAIRFIELD BAY

IN ARKANSAS, WE , VE BEEN SOCIAL DISTANCING SINCE BEFORE IT WAS A THING, THANKS TO OUR ABUNDANCE OF WIDE-OPEN SPACES AND FRESH AIR. SO, IF YOU , RE LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO RELOCATE THAT IS SMALL ON CROWDS BUT BIG ON ADVENTURE, LOOK TO ARKANSAS. PLAN A VISIT TO EXPERIENCE THE WONDERS OF THE NATURAL STATE. CHANCES ARE, YOU , LL WANT TO STICK AROUND. VISIT OUR BOOTH AT THE IDEAL-LIVING VIRTUAL RESORT & RETIREMENT SHOW ON FEBRUARY 13 & 14. OUR REPRESENTATIVES WILL BE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT LIFE IN ARKANSAS.

There’s a Place for You, and Find It!

venture out

DISCOVERY TRAVEL

ideal-LIVING invites you to get out and explore communities to find your ideal destination. You won’t know until you go. Here’s a sampling of Discovery Travel opportunities with over 100 more that can only be found online.

available only on

.com/ventureout

HORIZON HOMES - WILMINGTON, NC

As a family-owned and operated business, Horizon Homes of Wilmington has one main mission in mind: to design homes that suit homeowners’ individual needs and lifestyles with quality materials at an affordable price. Working as a team, Robin Hackney tailors every new home’s design and construction to fulfill each homeowner’s “Wish List” while Deans Hackney is in charge of the land side of the business. Providing quality, energy-efficient, custom homes designed around the individual wants and needs of their customers with an emphasis on top-notch customer service, is what sets Horizon Homes apart.

BAY CREEK - CAPE CHARLES, VA

This is an unprecedented waterfront living experience on Virginia’s Cape. With its ideal location on Virginia’s sought-after eastern shore, one of the most environmentally stunning areas in the United States with more than 78,000 acres of preserved parks, Bay Creek is a natural sanctuary for premier coastal living. Boating, birding, crabbing, fishing, and paddling along the Chesapeake Bay are a way of life here. There is truly something for everyone on these 1,720 pristine acres.

You won’t know until you go!

FAIRFIELD GLADE - FAIRFIELD GLADE, TN

If you are looking for spectacular mountain beauty, look no further than Fairfield Glade. Located high atop Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau at 2,000 feet elevation, Fairfield Glade accounts for the near perfect seasonal changes with very comfortable summers and mild winters. Enjoy Tennessee’s low property tax and moderate home prices! Come stay and play and discover what we’re all about!

PLANTATION AT LEESBURG - LEESBURG, FL

Orlando Realty Solutions welcomes you to award-winning Plantation at Leesburg, one of the premier 55 + Active Adult communities in Central Florida. Plantation at Leesburg is located in the hills of Leesburg. This region of Florida is known for its geological ridge, providing hills covered in ancient oak trees, combined with massive lakes nestled in between small historic towns such as Leesburg, Tavares, Mount Dora, and Clermont.

PALMER RANCH - SARASOTA, FL

Endless recreational activities, country club living, tree-lined streets, and the nation’s top-ranked beach, Siesta Key, makes Sarasota a popular and enriching retirement destination. With white sand beaches, boating, the arts, professional sporting events, and quaint downtown areas with countless dining opportunities, Sarasota presents buyers with a variety of unique neighborhoods and a wide range of lifestyle choices, from maintenance-free villas to condominiums to sprawling estates and beautiful single-family homes, all nestled into the natural Florida landscape.

GRANDE DUNES - MYRTLE BEACH, SC

This master-planned resort sits on the sandy beaches of Myrtle Beach, SC ,and stretches across 2,600 acres on the Atlantic Ocean and Intracoastal Waterway. With a near-perfect year-round climate, members and guests enjoy a wide variety of outdoor activities. The exclusive par-71 course offers its guests a classical inland style and features wide, generous fairways. A 126-slip marina marks the Intracoastal Waterway’s only marina in Myrtle Beach. Members stay active with additional amenities including a Tennis Club, Members Club, and Ocean Club with beach access.

To find more than 100 Discovery Travel opportunities, visit ideal-LIVING.com/ventureout

3 Scroll through community booths, and see photos and videos. Talk/chat or email with exhibitors who are community agents and homebuilders. They are area experts who can answer your questions.

You’d need weeks of travel time to visit every community at our show. At this online event, you can browse them all without leaving your couch.

FAQs That Might Help You

This show is the only opportunity to not only browse locations but also get all your questions answered— no research, reading, or surfing the web required on your part!

Booths will have experts from every location ready to chat with you. Text, live chat, or even video chat one-on-one to get the answers you need. Use this checklist to get started, and add your own questions!

c What types of activities are available in your community?

c What’s special about your community?

c What can you tell me about clubs and fees at your community?

c Is it easy to make friends there?

c Can you send us home plans?

c Do you have any homes with single-floor living?

c What's the weather like?

c How close are you to the beach?

c What about quality healthcare?

c How close is the nearest hospital?

c How close are you to the nearest airport?

c What is the cost of living?

c How much are property taxes on a typical size (2,500 sq. ft.) home?

c How long does it take to build?

c Do you have Move-in-Ready new homes?

Visit our Concierge Desk (Help Desk) if you have any questions during show hours. ideal-LIVING representatives will be available to help you find your ideal destination, life, and home.

CHOOSE YOUR IDEAL PLACE

Learn how to simplify your search by focusing on key priorities such as tax-friendly states, lower cost of living, milder climate, and living around people you like.

CONSIDER YOUR IDEAL LIFESTYLE

Now that you have all of this free time, how are you going to spend it? Guaranteed to inspire!

IMAGINE YOUR IDEAL HOME

Can happiness be measured in square feet? Discover elegant and practical, new-home design trends that personalize the world inside and outside your home. Come imagine with us!

Talk, chat, or email with community representatives at the Ideal-LIVING Resort & Retirement Show from NORTH CAROLINA • FLORIDA • SOUTH CAROLINA • GEORGIA • TENNESSEE

• DELAWARE • SOUTHWEST • INTERNATIONAL, AND MORE!

6

Reasons to Attend the Online Virtual Show

1. Connect with local experts via chat, video, or phone.

2. Compare destinations across the country near mountains, lakes, beaches, and more.

3. View 55+ community exhibits and videos.

4. Watch live and on-demand presentations on how to build your ideal life.

5. Get first hand advice from experts for a smooth relocation.

6. Download exclusive community brochures.

Find your ideal destination, life, and home...from the comfort of your home. idealshows.com

Spend as much or as little time as you’d like at the virtual show. Come anytime throughout the weekend to view seminars and exhibits.

On-Demand How to Choose Your Ideal Destination

On-Demand Consider Your Ideal Lifestyle

On-Demand Imagine Your Ideal Home

So many beautiful places to live, how do you choose the one for you? Learn how to simplify your search and decide with confidence! Attendees will be mailed the 2021 Relocation Guide.

With better health and more free time to enjoy life, how are you going to spend it? A better life awaits. Learn how to start living your ideal life today.

What’s hot for 2021? Explore new home trends that enhance your quality of life, including outdoor living, open floor plans, flexible spaces, kitchens, home offices, and aging in place.

SATURDAY ( check each show agenda for time zones)

10:00 Show Opens Exhibits open. Chat or talk with representatives from top destinations.

10:30 How to Choose Your Your Ideal Place

Join Ideal Living for a lively discussion on choosing your ideal place with strategies to find your ideal destination, life, and home, and how to get the most out of our virtual show.

11:10 Top Places to Live Destinations like Savannah, Sarasota, and Wilmington

12:10 Active Lifestyle Communities Discover what it’s like to live in a 55+ Community. What activities are available to you?

12:30 Preparing for Retirement in a PostPandemic World Learn financial options for keeping your money safe and funding your retirement goals.

1:10 60 is the New 40 Explore healthy living lifestyle communities.

2:10 Staging Your Home for a Sale

From decluttering to curb appeal, find out the top ways to ensure a quick sale.

2:30 Top Reasons to Move to a Planned Community Join us for a 20-minute moderated discussion where community representatives will be available to answer your questions on what it’s like to live in a planned community.

3:10 Top New Home Plans

4:00 Show Closes

The pandemic has changed the way people see home. Home offices, gyms, flex space, and lots of outdoor living space are featured in new home plans.

SUNDAY ( check each show agenda for time zones)

10:00 Show Opens Exhibits open. Chat or talk with representatives from top destinations.

10:30 How to Choose Your Your Ideal Place

Join Ideal Living for a lively discussion on choosing your ideal place with strategies to find your ideal destination, life, and home, and how to get the most out of our virtual show.

11:10 Top Places to Live Destinations like Savannah, Sarasota, and Wilmington

12:10 Pickleball Anyone? Get a quick lesson in the nation’s fastest-growing sport for those aged 50 and better.

12:30 Help Fund Your Retirement with a Reverse Mortgage

What is a reverse mortgage, and how can it help us live the life we want?

1:10 The New Home Buying Process Virtual home tours generate new home sales and allow buyers to live their ideal life sooner.

2:10 International Lifestyles

2:30 Top Reasons to Move to a Planned Community

What’s it like to live in another country? From buying a home to language and healthcare.

Join us for a 20-minute moderated discussion where community representatives will be available to answer your questions on what it’s like to live in a planned community.

3:10 Home Building Tips Developers give tips for designing and building your ideal home.

4:00 Show Closes

* All topics and times are subject to change. When you enter the show, check show agenda located in the seminar room for updated topics and times.

JOIN US FOR A 2-DAY LIVE ONLINE EVENT!

Find your ideal destination, life, and home from the comfort of your home.

Join us for this live online event:

• View community exhibits and take virtual home tours

• Talk with community experts on live chat, video, phone, or email

WHEN: Sept. 12th and 13th, 10am - 4pm

WHERE: Wherever you are!

• Watch live and on-demand presentations at your convenience

• Experience communities without needing to travel

Receive our 2021 Relocation Guide!

(The first 750 registrants for each show will receive a complimentary copy.)

Beach? Mountains? Golf? Explore it all. Compare communities to find your ideal lifestyle and destination, including:

• Retirement-friendly, low-maintenance home designs

• New active and healthwise lifestyle communities that offer walking trails, parks, and wide open space to enjoy outdoor living

• Second home and vacation destinations

*Topics and times are subject to change. Consult the registration agenda for actual times. SHOWS VARY, CHOOSE YOUR REGION OR THE DATES/TIMES THAT ARE MOST CONVENIENT FOR YOU.

RSVP: idealshows.com

Find Your Ideal... LIFE

It's time to find your ideal life. Think about what you want in your new life. Maybe you want to live on the coast and go for walks or bike rides on the beach, or maybe you want to hike in the mountains. Perhaps you want to find a place where you can work from home and have a better quality of life.

Landings Club Completes Revitalization Project

New amenities keep “paying it forward”

by JG Walker

The member-owned Landings Club on Georgia’s Skidaway Island near Savannah has completed a $25 million revitalization project with new amenities to enhance the year-round coastal lifestyle for community residents.

Cliff Frohn and his wife Beth moved to The Landings from Maryland 14 years ago. He served as president of The Landings Club Board of Governors in 2018 and 2019. “We put together a capital-improvement planning committee,” Frohn says, “and part of that process was using member-led focus groups to get feedback on project ideas.” Among the top priorities was replacing one of the original golf clubhouses.

The new Marshwood Clubhouse opened in June and has been named No. 3 on the list of Best New Private Clubhouses in 2020 by Golf Inc. Magazine. In addition to a resort-style pool, cabana bar, full-service pro shop, and event lawn, two new dining options—Arnie’s Tavern and Palmer’s Steakhouse—honor the memory of golf legend Arnold Palmer, who designed the club’s Marshwood and Magnolia courses.

“Our interior designer was able to work with the Palmer family to get reproductions of photographs of

Arnie throughout his career that are displayed in the dining room and bar,” Frohn points out. “It’s really a pretty cool tribute.”

The Franklin Creek Sports Complex, home to the club’s expansive tennis and pickleball center, added The Deck at Franklin Creek, a 4,500-square-foot dining facility with an abundance of outdoor space where members can enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also included is a water-fun area with a zero-entry pool, two slides, and a splash pad for the club’s youngest members.

“We also put in a pirate-ship water feature, and our grandkids really love that,” Frohn says. “But what the members wanted most was a very casual dining option, the kind of place where you could come straight from a workout in the gym or a match on the tennis courts and get a good meal. We really didn’t have a facility like that before, and the big outdoor dining area has certainly become a favorite gathering place this year.”

Enjoy. Relax. Play.

Lake Tansi Village

is located on the magnifi cent Cumberland Plateau in Crossville, Tennessee. This retirement community is jam packed with a good balance of relaxing and exciting activities. Whether you prefer golfi ng, boating, swimming, or simply enjoying the good life – it’s all here at Lake Tansi.

The expanded Oakridge Wellness Center is now a 52,000-square-foot facility that includes a complete range of cutting-edge fitness equipment, as well as cardio, groupexercise, and strength-training studios and programs. Among the more unique features added are a Wellness Bar, which serves hand-crafted smoothies and cold-pressed juices, and an expanded childcare facility in the center’s new family area.

The Landings Club currently has 2,884 memberships, which includes well over 6,000 individuals when family members are included. “We’re a multi-generational community, from infants to people in their 90s,” Frohn says. “The re-

vitalization project has rounded out our club amenities very nicely for all of those age groups.”

In the works for 2021 and beyond are targeted enhancements to several of The Landing Club’s six championship golf courses. “Continuing to improve the existing amenities is important,” Frohn notes, “and then asking ourselves, ‘What’s next?’”

“You want to be in a position where your club is always investing in itself,” he concludes. “I think for a lot of us, it’s about paying it forward. The people who were here before us invested in the facilities that Beth and I first saw 14 years ago. And I view it as our responsibility to keep paying that forward and continuing to invest in the club so that future members, young and old, can enjoy this amazing community as much as we have.”

“Continuing to improve the existing amenities is important, and then asking ourselves, ‘What’s next?’”

A Fortuitous Move to the Tennessee Mountains

The 2,300-foot peak of Lookout Mountain informs life in Chattanooga, TN, and the surrounding towns and communities. You can view it from everywhere. The peak even gave Chattanooga its name, most likely derived from the Creek Indian word Chat-toto-noog-gee, meaning ‘rock rising to a point’.

From the peak, you can look northeast to downtown Chattanooga and the Tennessee River, which swirls around the elegant city, just five miles away as the crow flies. Look northwest three miles, and from Lookout Mountain’s Sunset Rock, you can spot the pristine fairways that swirl around the graceful 3,000-acre community of Black Creek.

Black Creek is a stunning multi-generational community tucked along verdant mountain ridges. Amenities abound at Black Creek, including a championship 18 holes recently rated among the Top 10 Golf Courses in Tennessee by the prestigious Golf Magazine Ranking Panel. There is also tennis, a swimming pool, a fitness center, casual and fine dining, an outdoor sports complex, a breathtaking rockfaced clubhouse, and countless club activities.

In the fall of 2017, Mark and Linda Smylie had all three of their children attending the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and thought it was a good time to get away from their tasking Chicago winters and move south and closer to the kids. Not right on top of them, mind you, but nearby.

by Warren Grant

The couple looked at Atlanta, Birmingham, Greenville, and Nashville, but couldn’t settle on any of them. Then, a friend suggested they visit Chattanooga, where they connected with a local realtor. Soon they were looking at homesites at Black Creek and generally falling in love with the stunning setting, people, and amenities.

“[We] surprised ourselves with how certain we were about this special place.”

Mark Smylie

“We bought a lot at the end of a cul-de-sac after just three days,” says Mark. “We thought the search process would take 14 to 15 months, but we surprised ourselves with how certain we were about this special place.”

While waiting the last three months for their house to be built, the Smylies stayed in three different Airbnbs in downtown Chattanooga— North Shore, South Shore, and St. Elmo— giving them a head start in acquainting themselves with the city.

Completed in August of 2018, their 3,100-sq.-ft. home originally had a screened porch specified, but Mark decided to dry-in the space and convert it to an indoor sunroom. A prophetic move, considering 18 months later the world would be turned upside down.

Mark and Linda, both in their late 50s, have full-time jobs. She is an actuarial analyst and

works out of a cozy keeping room with a fireplace in their Black Creek home. Mark, however, works for Nielsen, the television rating service, and was on the road eight to 10 days a month working with television stations and consumers on the West Coast. But last March, the company put a moratorium on airplane travel, so his sunroom is thankfully now his full-time office.

Last spring, they enhanced and enlarged their whole backyard outdoor living space by creating a two-tiered patio and adding a fireplace, water feature, and patio furniture, creating a perfect space for entertaining while also observing social distancing guidelines.

The Smylies love to hike with their three dogs, and just beyond the patio, they can jump

on a four- to five-mile loop trail that winds throughout the community. They also enjoy tennis and are picking up pickleball. And Linda is active in both bunko and book clubs.

They look forward to getting back to normal and frequenting favorite downtown spots like The Riverwalk, Tivoli Theater for an Allison Krause concert, Niedlov’s bakery for breakfast, State of Confusion for eclectic fare, or Linda’s favorite Italian restaurant, Alleia on Main Street. Avid baseball fans, they also can’t wait to attend the Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball games, where they only have to gaze to the horizon to see the famous ‘rock rising to a point.’

Lobster Tails & Collard Greens

What do you get when you take a jack-of-all-trades kitchen mastermind, a dash of “New Southern” elegance, and a pinch of coastal influence? I’m not fond of math, but since this delicious equation leads to elevated dishes like lobster tail and collard green spring rolls with raspberry coulis and saffron cream, I’m all ears … and stomach.

Not only does Chef Shane White boast an impressive 17 years as Executive Chef at South Carolina’s Keowee Key Country Club, he got his start at this prestigious facility. From a teenager washing dishes to a young apprentice honing his skills under some of the area’s most talented chefs to a full-fledged leader manning his own flourishing, multifaceted operation, Chef Shane has climbed (and earned) each and every rung on the culinary ladder.

Fresh off of a nearly $8 million renovation, Keowee Key’s Club reopened in July 2019 with approval for outside events like weddings, corporate functions, and fundraisers. The banquet room was consistently packed, and Chef Shane’s kitchen was cranking out as many as five different menus in one day.

Although COVID-19 brought that massive new wave of business to a screeching halt, the Club (and kitchen team) have forged on. Whether it’s casual lunchtime handhelds, Russian-themed dinners, or sold- out signature fried chicken and collards (which dart out the door by the quart), Chef Shane continues to dazzle Keowee Key members with his magic and keep them hungry for more.

Chef Shane White | Executive Chef

The Club at Keowee Key | Salem, SC

Did you know from a young age that you wanted to be a chef? What are some of your earliest memories in the kitchen?

I had no idea! I figured I would be working at Duke Power or laying brick. I didn’t even know that this was a field and actually stumbled into it when I was 15. I started washing dishes at Keowee Key and then eventually continued to move up.

What was your culinary career path like? How much hands-on experience did you get in the industry?

Before I got to Keowee, I had never seen a lobster or a shrimp. The closest thing to a steak that I knew was a Salisbury steak! After washing dishes here starting in 1988, over the next five years, I started working under some great chefs and began to hone my skills.

I followed one of the Keowee chefs to another kitchen in Greenville and then worked as Executive Chef at several well-known restaurants in that area. I came back to Keowee to do a consulting year in 2000, returned in 2003, and have been here ever since.

by Fanny Slater

Salem chef Shane White gives Southern cuisine an elevated lift at The Club at Keowee Key

In a full circle way, everything is tied back to this club!

How would you define your cooking style?

I use techniques versus recipes and play off of a lot of different ideas. Sometimes, it’s all about salt and pepper. You can be a good or bad cook simply from over or under seasoning something.

You’ve been the Executive Chef at Keowee Key for an impressive 17 years. What is it that not only drew you into the country club environment, but kept you there for so long?

Relationships with members are very important, but I also enjoy the ability to not always be doing the same thing. We do an “around-the-world” monthly series where I get to cook all different types of cuisine from Russian to South African to Indian. I’m not an authentic Russian cook, of course, so I take liberties and hope it’s close!

One day, I’m doing burgers and hot dogs and the next I’m preparing a Chef’s Table event for 12. We get compared to other free-standing restaurants who specialize in one thing, but there’s so much more going on here.

Speaking of your Chef’s Table events (which have been wildly successful for over a decade), they’re a huge draw for members and a place where you get to flex your most creative culinary muscles. Tell me more about these dinners and why you think they’ve been such a continued hit.

The groups vary from eight to 12 guests, but I’ve done them for as little as two people and as many as 40. The idea is a five-course dinner where each plate is a surprise. We’ll ask if there are any allergies, dislikes, or likes, but essentially it’s a blind meal (which can be paired with wine).

The Club’s regular menus have to be a mix of things and members like familiar items (i.e. burgers, steaks, pasta, etc.). The Chef’s Tables are opportunities for me to use my creativity. Menus are based on seasonality, but we’ve accommodated all kinds of dietary needs like kosher, gluten-free, and vegetarian. We’ve even done the surprise five courses for kids!

Longtime Executive Chef Shane White’s versatility and kitchen management expertise are paramount in meeting the demands from such a large, diverse array of palates. On any given day, Shane’s menus usually include a large special event, such as a gourmet wine dinner, while simultaneously offering a variety of dining options in the main and private dining rooms, the bar, terrace, patio, and The Bistro, which also provides lunch and extensive takeout service. The members rave about the fine dining events in equal measure with kudos for nightly specials and Southern favorites like barbeque, fried chicken, and shrimp and grits. And as a special treat, on a balmy South Carolina evening, we just might find Shane and the boys regaling us on the Event Lawn with some great dance tunes. Versatility and expertise describe Chef Shane to a T.”

— Margaret Eldridge

“Serving more than 3,000 residents hailing from all 50 states, the Club at Keowee Key houses two restaurants and the largest private event venue within a tri-county radius.

The Keowee Key Wine Appreciation Club is a large monthly event with up to 120 attendees (pre-COVID). Chef Shane designs all the meals tailored to the chosen wines for the month's theme. These are five course and five-star meals. He introduces us to new flavors and dishes that expand and titillate our culinary palate. His ability to 'roll with the punches' is second to none, like the time the ovens went out the day of our Wine Club event. Somehow he managed to not only prep the meal, but it turned out fabulous! Chef Shane is an important part of the Keowee Key Club's success and asset to the community as a whole.

— Olimpia Borys Member since November 2013

The club is situated in an area widely recognized for its coastal cuisine. What are a few of your quintessential South Carolina dishes that members love? And is your food mostly Southern-motivated?

Definitely the shrimp and grits, fried chicken, crab cakes, and pimento cheese! There’s a lot of Southern influence even though we’re not necessarily Southern. The meatloaf, for example, features wild mushrooms and a red wine jus. I like to elevate classic dishes and blend unique flavor combinations.

I was a chef at a restaurant and blues bar that featured “New Southern” cuisine. It was coastal, Southern, and New Orleans tied into one. I also worked under a chef in Greenville where the food was a mix between California and New York cooking (like veal meatloaf, for example).

At the country club, we’re a jack of all trades. Sometimes it’s Italian night, sometimes French.

Are you responsible for executing everything?

We do Chef’s Tables and other functions right alongside regular service, and I cook each item that’s on the Chef’s Table menu myself. Members know that my hands have been on everything. I like to surprise them, and in return, they completely trust me.

That’s certainly a testament to the faith these folks have in you!

They use these Chef’s Tables as opportunities to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries, and they’re putting their complete trust and faith in me with the expectation that I’ll execute a great meal.

What advice do you have for home cooks who aren’t very comfortable in the kitchen but want to entertain and improve their skills?

I believe that recipes can help you one time, whereas techniques help you in the long run. If you learn a recipe, you can make that one dish. If you learn a technique, it’ll help you make a thousand dishes. I’m also a big fan of the cast iron skillet!

“At the country club, we're a jack of all trades. Sometimes it's Italian night, sometimes French.”

“Chef Shane is an inventive and skilled chef.

If you’re like me and have always been partial to the Parisian style of food shopping, you make more than one single weekly excursion. You visit the market almost daily to pick up the freshest produce, proteins, and occasional specialty items to give your supper a little spark. Thanks to the pandemic, however, the frequency of taking trips to crowded stores has tremendously decreased. Depending on where you live and how big of a wave the virus happens to be in at the time, you might not even visit a grocer for weeks at a time. Many of us (guilty) even stocked up on canned foods when it all first went down—not knowing whether we were simply just being cautious or preparing ourselves for an apocalypse-style scenario where we wave bows and arrows to shoo away neighbors asking to borrow a cup of milk.

That’s what happens in apocalypse movies, right? I’m more into medical dramas.

Savory Solutions for Coping with COVID

All of this to say, while I’m profoundly happy binging “Grey’s Anatomy” during this extended stuck-at-home scenario, I still want to enjoy a nourishing meal. Everyone is hitting the kitchen harder than ever, and I, for one, am thankful that there’s been a rise of interest in cooking. Before, no one seemed to “have the time” to linger over a lovely, all-day, from-scratch stock produced from last night’s dinner bones, excess herbs, and veggie scraps—but now there’s no excuse.

By Fanny Slater

You can try, but you’ll likely just end up hangry and snapping at your boss during that Zoom meeting that definitely could have been an email. Like it or not, the worrisome wonders of 2020 have reprogrammed the way we look at food. They’ve changed the way we gather—or don’t gather— for dinner parties, altered the way we “pack” our lunches (since many of us are just meandering from our beds to a makeshift office in a guest room), and transformed the way we meal prep.

So saddle up, grab your spatulas, and let’s get started.

I’ve taken it upon myself to share with you three of my very favorite seasonal dishes that are not only delicious, but COVID-appropriate as well. That’s right, I’m showing you how to stretch your ingredients from one day to the next while also teaching you a trick about beans that will blow your mind. Whether you’re one of the folks who’s decided to take a deep dive into gastronomy— crowding your kitchen counters with fermented foods and sourdough starters—or you’re simply just sick of curbside crap and are craving homemade eats, I’ve got your savory solutions covered.

When it comes to cooking, you can’t really be picky during a pandemic.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Kale, and Creamy White Bean Sauce

Even if you didn’t dart off to the store to line your pantry the moment you heard restaurants were closing their dining room doors, there are likely beans and a box of pasta in your cupboard. I’ll admit, unless it’s tangy, brown sugar baked beans being dolloped onto a plate alongside chargrilled burgers, I’m not particularly a fanatic of the fiber-rich side. And that’s where the genius of this carby creation comes in. The beans become the star through the power of puréeing and morph from mundane rounds into a velvety sauce that smothers juicy sausage, nutrient-packed kale, and rigatoni.

1 lb rigatoni

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb ground mild Italian sausage

2 t coarse salt, divided

1 t freshly ground black pepper, divided

¼ t crushed red pepper flakes

2 small shallots, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 T chopped fresh sage

3 T chopped fresh parsley, divided

½ c grated parmesan cheese, divided

2 c low-sodium chicken stock

2 c packed chopped fresh kale

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Just before draining, reserve ½ cup of the starchy cooking water.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the sausage, and season it with 1 teaspoon of the salt, ½ teaspoon of the pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage from the pan and set aside.

Add the shallots, garlic, beans, sage, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, and remaining ½ teaspoon of pepper. Sauté until very fragrant, about two minutes, and then deglaze the pan with the chicken stock, scraping to remove any brown bits from the bottom. Transfer half of the bean-stock mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Return the sausage to the pan along with the cooked pasta, kale, and ¼ cup of the parmesan. Toss, adding a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water at a time, until the kale is wilted and the sauce clings to the pasta. Season to taste, add additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Divide the pasta among plates and garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, ¼ cup parmesan, and 2 tablespoons parsley. *Serves four

Sausage, Ricotta, and Green Pepper Calzone

Now that we’ve hit peak pasta perfection, let’s move along. You and your partner, spouse, roommate, or cat can only survive on noods for so long, so the secret of this meal is doubling the sausage. No, not just for snacking.

It’s time to break out the pizza. But we’re not slinging standard pies here or dialing for delivery. We’re going full steam ahead to calzone country. Storebought dough (or from-scratch, if the mood should strike you) is as versatile as it gets. You can roll it out paper-thin for Neapolitan flatbread or fold it for an enclosed, dippable version using whatever ingredients you have on hand (like sausage). Also, garlic knots, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon-sugar dessert pizza, pot pies, and breakfast pockets are just a few of the other ways you can play with your dough. For our purpose, we’re repurposing the meat from our first meal, throwing in a few grassy peppers, adding a dollop of fluffy ricotta, and calling it a day. Or a lunch. *see recipe following page

Sausage, Ricotta, and Green Pepper Calzone - cont'd

1 T olive oil

1 lb ground Italian sausage (sweet or mild)

½ t coarse salt

½ t dried oregano

1 t garlic powder, divided

1 c diced green bell pepper

½ c diced sweet onion

¾ c whole-milk ricotta cheese

¾ c grated mozzarella cheese

Flour, for dusting

1 package refrigerated pizza dough (about 8-10 oz), proofed at room temperature

1 large egg, beaten and mixed with a splash of water

½ t flaky sea salt (like Maldon)

2 c homemade or store-bought marinara, for dipping

In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the sausage, oregano, and ½ teaspoon of the garlic powder. Cook for one minute, and then add the peppers, onions, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is no longer pink and the veggies are crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage mixture and set it aside in a bowl. Fold in the ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and season to taste with additional salt, if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Dust a clean work surface with flour, and lay the pizza dough on top. Cut the dough into quarters. Using additional flour if necessary,

roll and stretch one piece of the dough into a circular shape about 1½ times its size.

Spoon ¼ of the sausage and cheese mixture on one side of the dough, and then fold the other half over-top making a half-moon shape. Using your fingers, press and tuck the edges to seal the dough. Repeat with the remaining dough, and then brush each one evenly with egg wash. Sprinkle with the remaining garlic powder and flaky salt. Using a sharp knife, make several small slits in the top of each calzone.

Place the calzones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake until golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Serve warm with marinara sauce. *Serves four

Hearty French Onion Soup Casserole with Sherry, Sharp Provolone, & Thyme

*Serves four to six

Now that we’ve covered some carb-happy eats, it’s time to talk about soup. It is winter after all. Unless you live in Hawaii, then you should probably stick to papaya. For those of you hunkering down during the chilly weather months (which you’re doing anyway thanks to the worldwide virus gifted to us by 2020), this French Onion Soup Casserole is about to be your jam. Speaking of jam, that’s pretty much what you’re going for when it comes to caramelizing onions. The only requirement to get you there is time. Also, thyme, but more importantly—an actual period of patience that allows the onions to release their sugars, take a deep breath, and become their best selves. This casserole-style version of the classic soup has a heartier feel as it’s thickened with a touch of flour and made in bulk form (ideal for the freezer).

Just South of Nashville, is Del Webb’s Southern Springs and it’s full of Southern Charm. You’ll experience beautiful weather with 4 Seasons, extensive resort-style amenities and a vibrant community of neighbors and friends. Virtual and Private Tours are always available. DelWebb.com/SouthernSprings | 615-283-9766

Photographs are for illustrative purposes only, are not intended to be actual representations of a specific home being offered, and depict models containing features or designs that may not be available on all homes or in all communities or that may be available for an additional cost. This material shall not constitute a valid offer in any state where prior registration is required or if void by law. At Del Webb communities, at least one resident of household must be 55 years of age or older, and additional restrictions apply. Some residents may be younger than 55. Del Webb and the Del Webb script logo are registered trademarks of PulteGroup, Inc., and/or its affiliates. ©2021 PulteGroup, Inc. All rights reserved. 1/1/2021

Another double? Don’t mind if I do. Amp up the amount of those golden-brown caramelized onions and keep them on hand for frittatas, salad toppers, and even calzones. See how we came full circle there? Once you’ve mastered these three recipes, you can swap other ingredients in and out and adapt to your heart’s desire based on whatever resources you have on hand.

Stay safe, stay hungry, and happy COVID cooking!

4 T unsalted butter

3 large Vidalia

onions, thinly sliced

2 large cloves

garlic, minced

2 t coarse salt

½ t black pepper

2 dried bay leaves

2 T chopped fresh thyme, divided

1 T tomato paste

4 T all-purpose flour

1 t Worcestershire

¼ c dry cooking sherry

¼ c dry red wine

6 c reduced-sodium beef broth

1 demi-baguette (about 10"-12" long), sliced into ½-inch thick rounds

2 T olive oil

1 c shredded sharp provolone cheese

1 c shredded Gruyère

In a heavy, wide-bottomed saucepot, add the butter over medium-low heat. Once it begins to foam and sizzle, add the onions and garlic.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to get very soft and release their juices, about 20 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt, the pepper, bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon of the thyme and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are fully caramelized and deep golden brown, about 40 more minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350° and toast the baguette slices

Arrange the baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and drizzle both sides with the olive oil. Bake, flipping once halfway through, until golden-brown and toasted, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves and stir in the tomato paste and the flour. Turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits from the bottom, with the Worcestershire, sherry, wine, and beef broth. Bring the soup to a boil and stir constantly until lightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes, and then add the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt.

In a 9x13-inch baking dish, layer half of the toasted baguette slices and spoon half of the onion soup over top. Evenly top with the remaining baguette slices and cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and broil the casserole until the cheese is bubbly and lightly golden. Divide among bowls and top with the remaining 1 tablespoon of thyme.

WhyTens is my favorite number

Yes, I’m cheating a bit. TENS isn’t really a number, but if the title of this column included that TENS is an acronym for “Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation,” you may have skipped reading this. And that would be too bad because this small battery-operated device can relieve pain. It did so for me, and I’ll share several success stories from other people as well.

by Jan Cullinane

How and why does a TENS machine work?

I consider myself active, and in pretty good shape, but I guess I didn’t account for a day of pool play with my two young grandsons that involved repeatedly throwing them up in the air in our swimming pool. Lots of fun, but my right shoulder became very painful.

I tried several things over the next few days— an oral anti-inflammatory, BENGAY, an ice pack, rest, a shoulder massage from my husband, and a topical anti-inflammatory, but nothing did the trick. I mentioned my discomfort to a friend, Cathy, who told me she had a TENS machine, which she and her husband utilize frequently for a variety of aches and pains. I had never tried one before. After giving hers a try and experiencing great results, I purchased my own.

To operate the unit, adhesive electrode pads are attached to the skin on either side of the affected area. When you turn the machine on (which is about the size of a TV remote control), small electrical impulses are sent to nerves near the painful area. You feel a painless tingling sensation. It’s thought that TENS works by reducing pain signals to your spinal cord and brain and/or increasing the production of our body’s own natural painkillers, called endorphins, which are produced by our nervous system.

Who can benefit?

According to the renowned Cleveland Clinic, TENS can be used for treating a number of issues including pain in muscles, tendons, and joints; lower back pain; bursitis; tendinitis; and osteoarthritis.

The machine should never be used on certain areas including infected or broken skin, eyes, head, throat, over the heart, front or sides of neck, or near cancerous lesions.

The scientific studies of TENS units show mixed results, but enough people have reported benefits that a TENS unit can be worth a try for pain relief. I’m glad I used it—and I do NOT think it was a placebo effect. I was skeptical that it would work, but was utterly surprised and completely delighted by the results. I used it a few times a day for two days (detailed instructions, tips, warnings, and contraindications are included in the directions that come with each unit). My pain was completely gone, and it’s been several months. Perhaps it would have disappeared anyway … I’ll never know.

I did an informal and unscientific survey of some friends (including tennis friends—I figured they would be a rich source of aches and pains!) and relatives and found that: John A. used TENS after a terrible car accident for the back of his neck; Roger C. used it for his sore back; Gene L. (a tennis pro) used it for golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow, and uses it for “on and off”

recurring back issues; knees must be popular, as Mary R. used TENS to assist in her knee rehab after surgery as did Bob P. and Pete K., coupled with physical therapy. On a less positive note, Jody A. tried a TENS unit for plantar fasciitis, and it did not help. Several people shared that they have used a TENS unit for years.

Where can you buy one and how much does it cost?

If you think it’s worth a try, TENS units can be purchased at many national chains, including Walmart, COSTCO, Walgreens, CVS, and Target; I ordered mine from Amazon. There are various prices and brands, but mine was $29.99 with 5.5 stars and had more than 16,000 reviews (the tennis pro’s unit was $36.95). A TENS machine does not work for everyone and everything, but based on my experience, it has made TENS my new favorite number.

Jan Cullinane is an award-winning retirement author, speaker, and consultant. Her current book is The Single Woman’s Guide to Retirement (AARP/Wiley).

A TENS machine does not work for everyone and everything, but based on my experience, it has made TENS my new favorite number.

Looking After Ourselves While Looking After Everyone Else

Unprecedented is most definitely the word of 2020. Whether we like it or not, we are living in unprecedented times. Covid has provided us with a whole host of extra challenges to navigate, including isolation, financial insecurity, uncertain futures, anxiety about health, separation from loved ones, and being locked-down with loved ones—which can be just as difficult. Therefore, it’s not surprising that mental health and emotional well-being have also taken center stage this year. In a recent poll by the

by Kim Henry

Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly 50 percent of people said that the COVID-19 pandemic was harming their mental health, and almost one in five said it has had a “major impact” on their wellness. So what can we do for our inner world to help us handle our external situations with a little more grace and ease?

Fortunately, there are many tools at our fingertips that can enhance our emotional and mental wellness. Supporting ourselves is truly the best way we can support those we love, and knowing this may be the much-needed motivation to create positive habits, even when this feels nearly impossible to do.

As a wise man once said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” When it feels overwhelming to initiate a more balanced lifestyle, remember that we can start with one bitesized change and take it from there.

Here are some suggestions:

Keep a Gratitude Journal

Include three things you’re grateful for every day. It can be as simple as enjoying a great cup of coffee or the sun shining. Leave your phone at home for an hour or two— whatever is realistic for you. Disconnect from constant emails and alerts, and spend time outdoors. Research consistently shows that being in nature can increase energy levels, reduce depression, and boost well-being.

Make Time to Go Off the Grid

ARE YOU OLD ENOUGH?

Located in award-winning Brambleton, in the heart of Loudoun County, Virginia, Birchwood has become the best-selling active adult community around. Buyers have fallen in love with this new, walkable community where everything you want is at your fingertips including a 20,000 square foot clubhouse with indoor and outdoor pools, open spaces and trails, shopping and dining.

Birchwood is within easy access to Dulles International Airport, the nation’s capital, the new Metro extension and dozens of wineries, breweries and historic sites.

Choose from condominiums, villas, carriages and single-family homes with furnished models by nationally recognized homebuilders Miller & Smith, Van Metre Homes and Winchester Homes.

Plan your visit today. Move in this year.

You Are What You Eat

We all know that when we feel down or are having a tough day, heading to the fridge is an easy go-to. But will that chocolate cake or can of beer lift you up in the long run? Creating a healthy eating pattern is often one of the most testing areas of life, but it's equally rewarding when we manage to do it. Once again, experts say don’t try and change everything overnight. Set yourself up for success by just cutting down on the sweet stuff or bringing more fresh ingredients into your diet one day at a time.

Get Creative

This can be as simple as following a new recipe or making an easy craft from Pinterest, or as ambitious as learning a whole new skill or language. Maybe you’ve always wanted to find the time to write a poem or paint a picture. Make that time, and don’t listen to any critical or judgmental voices. Creative expression and overall wellbeing are inextricably linked.

Little Acts of Self Love

Introduce small ways to nurture yourself: an Epsom salt bath, playing soothing music, lighting candles, and getting cozy on the sofa with a good book. Make your new ‘habits’ accessible and easy to accomplish.

Move Your Body

When the mind is on a loop and driving us crazy, it’s time to get into the body instead! There are so many ways to exercise these days. You can explore and see what works best for you. From Zumba to yoga, hiking to biking, being active is one of the best ways to increase health in the body, mind, and spirit.

A Good Night’s Sleep

Never underestimate the negative effects of sleep deprivation. When we are exhausted, everything seems 100 times worse. Lay off the coffee toward the end of the day, and try a soothing herbal tea instead. Play a relaxing meditation or music, rather than watching Netflix late into the night. Notice how different everything feels after a decent night’s sleep.

Practice Forgiveness

Even if it’s just forgiving that person who cut you off this morning, harboring resentment only hurts us at the end of the day. Research shows that people who can forgive have less volatile mental health. This is not to be confused with remaining in an unhealthy or abusive situation.

You have the power to take positive steps right now to improve your resilience and emotional health. It’s best not to wait until you’re in the thick of a crisis to make mental health a priority. It’s often easier to form beneficial habits when you’re feeling okay. Then you have a whole toolkit of positive actions to draw from when you need them most. Perhaps choose something from this list that resonates with you and add to it gradually. Remember, it’s much harder to give from an empty cup than from one that is being continually replenished.

Whether you’re exploring the magnificent St. Johns River, walking miles of trails or meeting new friends at the RiverClub, you’ll love the unique coastal Old Florida feel. WaterSong at RiverTown is close to everything that’s important to you – but far away enough to feel like an oasis.

New Villas

In addition to all of RiverTown’s amenities, you’ll enjoy exercising and socializing at WaterSong’s planned, exclusive resident-only offerings:

• Fitness center • Social room • Hot tub

• Resort pool • Pickleball courts • Paw park

• Clubhouse • Fire pit • Bocce ball courts

• Event lawn • Lake pavilion

and Single-Family Homes from the mid $200s

For more information call 904-337-4856 or visit WaterSongFL.com.

WaterSong is a 55+ unique community with exclusive amenities and access to all of RiverTown’s multi-million dollar amenities.

| S T. J OHNS, F LORIDA

Preparing for Retirement in a Post-Pandemic World

Recessions are a normal part of the economic cycle, yet the 2020 recession was anything but normal. A close to complete shutdown of the economy in March sharply consolidated economic losses that would normally occur over months into a few weeks.

The 2020 recession has been responsible for great health, lifestyle, and economic losses for many Americans. Those who had not adequately prepared for difficult times experienced a higher level of economic pain and anxiety than those with a solid written financial plan. With the U.S. economy showing signs of recovery, many have asked what could be done to potentially better prepare for the next recession. To help answer this question, Ideal-Living spoke with Financial Advisor Lawrence S. Tundidor, AIF®, AAMS®, AWMA® of the Tundidor Wealth and Investment Group to find out what folks nearing retirement or in retirement could potentially be doing to prepare.

1. DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE WRITTEN FINANCIAL PLAN

Some have said that goals without a plan are just dreams. One of the most important things Americans can do is create a solid financial plan that considers their short- and long-term goals. Having that plan in place allows individuals and families to create a roadmap that shows where they currently stand in relation to achieving the economic and lifestyle goals they have set, and what needs to be done year by year to stay on track. Another important benefit of a financial plan is the ability to run hypothetical scenarios like a recession and any negative impact it could have, such as losses in retirement accounts, losses in home value, or employment losses. While certain outcomes cannot be prevented, having a course of action for a worst-case scenario allows any “cracks” in the financial plan to be potentially addressed way in advance.

2. HAVE AN ADEQUATE CASH RESERVE

One of the best things Americans can do to prepare for difficult times is to build an adequate cash reserve that is right for their needs and lifestyle. Many have said that three to six months of expenses is the right amount. The issue with a generalized number like that is that everyone’s situation is different. One must look at their specific expenses, existing

debt, upcoming large expenses, and their income viability during a recession. For example, a business owner or someone employed in an economically sensitive sector may need more in cash reserve than someone in a position where their employment is more likely to be safer in an economic downturn. For those close to retirement or looking to purchase a new home in retirement, consider the cash needed so that your plans or timeline do not need to be altered in any way.

3. REDUCE DEBT

Carrying large amounts of high-interest debt during a recession can create a great strain on a financial plan. As people prepare for the next recession, consider all existing debt and a plan on how to reduce or refinance that debt. Consider existing cash savings or monthly investment contributions to decide if that money is best utilized where it is currently being saved, or if paying down debt offers a better long-term return. With interest rates at historic lows, review existing mortgage debt, as well as the ability to consolidate debt for the possibility of reducing the interest rate or monthly payment amount. Another benefit of reducing debt before a recession is the ability to take advantage of potential discounts on items such as cars, recreational vehicles, or home improvements during recessions. Having a reduced debt load allows you the possibility of taking advantage of those opportunities or qualifying for a new mortgage.

4. PROTECT YOUR PORTFOLIO

As we saw earlier in 2020, recessions usually come with stock market downturns. Protecting your portfolio from losses, especially for those nearing retirement, is extremely important. With equity markets returning all-time highs, now is a great time to review your current allocation and risk tolerance. Many have had the same investment

“If the plan doesn't work, change the plan, not the goal.”

strategy for years without considering that they are now closer to retirement or their portfolio no longer matches their needs and risk tolerance. With equity returns being strong over the past decade, it is easy to consider the return on investment as the primary bellwether for whether a change to the strategy is needed. It is important to remember that for most, retirement requires a distribution strategy vs. an accumulation strategy in your working years. One's ability to recover from a downturn when you are no longer contributing and are now withdrawing is much more difficult than someone who is not. Many wait until things get worse to consider making necessary changes, but it is advisable to be proactive instead.

5. EVALUATE INCOME NEEDS AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

One of the most important parts of a financial plan and preparing for a recession is a true evaluation of income needs that encompass minimum expenses to live on and the amount needed to fulfill the lifestyle you chose. One must ask themselves if the market has one or more negative years during a recession,

Live your best life

Dataw Island

When you live the life you love, you’ll feel what it means to #liveyourbestlife.

Do you enjoy waking up to egrets settling in the spartina grasses as the sun glimmers off the water in hopeful anticipation of the adventures the day will bring? Sipping coffee on your porch as a wood thrush sings its happy song and a hummingbird buzzes by to say hi? Moss-draped oaks and palm trees in the distance invite you for a morning walk, a warm-up for your outdoor yoga session or round of golf or tennis… Or perhaps today you will enjoy one of the many clubs – a trip to the art studio, the free library, a kayaking or sailing excursion.

The community of Dataw Island is built upon the principal that every day is another opportunity to embrace all that life offers. Dataw Island offers social clubs and philanthropic opportunities too numerous to mention, and myriad amenities, including:

• 36 holes of Golf by Tom Fazio and Arthur Hills

• 8 Har-Tru Tennis Courts

• Croquet

• Pickleball

• Bocce Ball

• A Full-Service Marina

• Indoor and Outdoor Swimming Pools

“Best Golf Community”

where will your income come from? Consider income from protected sources such as social security, pensions, annuities, and what portion of those income needs are met utilizing those sources. Consider a careful drawdown strategy that may include fixed income, dividends, cash, and some principal to generate the remaining amount if there is a gap. The point of planning a carefully thought out drawdown strategy is to minimize having to liquidate investments at the wrong time and hurting chances of recovering when things take a turn for the better.

Although recessions cannot be prevented, you can take a proactive approach to prepare yourself and minimize the impact, if any. It is important to remember that a financial plan is based on the individual and their short- and long-term goals. Post-retirement living is very different, so take the time to explore your options well in advance of your retirement age. We encourage you to sit down with

an unbiased independent financial advisor that puts your best interests first, and helps you compose a written personalized and holistic financial strategy with the goals of protecting your retirement investments and securing the next chapter of your financial future.

To learn more about this topic, please attend Lawrence’s seminars or visit his virtual booth at the Ideal-Living Expos in February 2021. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to contact Lawrence at LawrenceT@VoyaFA.com

• Multiple Dining Venues

• 33-Acre Nature Preserve with a Dog Park and Sunset Dock

• And so much more.

Dataw Island. Created by nature … and reserved, just for you. Visit Dataw Island and discover what it means to truly live your best life. Experience Dataw

Investment adviser representative and registered representative of, and securities and investment advisory services offered through Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. (member SIPC). Neither Voya Financial Advisors nor its representatives offer tax or legal advice. Please consult with your tax and legal advisors regarding your individual situation. Any opinions/views expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of Tundidor Wealth & Investment Group, Voya Financial Advisors. Tundidor Wealth & Investment Group is not a subsidiary of nor controlled by Voya Financial Advisors.

CN1433368_1222

Many wait until things get worse to consider making necessary changes, but it ’s advisable to be proactive instead.

The 2020

Mass Migration

By Emily Hackeling

2020 sparked a rapid change — in our lifestyles and our priorities. While COVID-19 has caused people to reconsider their lifestyles and move to a new location, it has also sparked a change in the way we relocate, pushing us to rely more on technology and get creative to explore potential homes. Here we’ll dive into why people are moving, how the moving process is changing, and where people are heading.

While it certainly seems that people are leaving high-tax, overcrowded cities in droves, where are they going? And what are the main drivers for leaving? What’s drawing people in? I spoke with several agents at Waterways, a gated, coastal, planned community in Georgia.

Q: DO YOU SEE A SPIKE IN INTEREST FOR RELOCATING TO WATERWAYS?

“I have seen a spike in the phone calls and the tours that I have done over the last two months. The fun thing is that I am seeing people come from all over. I have toured people from New York to California.” —

Lynne Mois

“Yes... there’s definitely an increased level of interest coming from retirees who are looking to accelerate their retirement relocation decisions. Our current guests are expressing interest in leaving the “big city” environments for something less hectic and slower paced, and with an emphasis on fresh air and outdoor activities in a natural setting. We’re also seeing increased interest from working families due to the record low interest rates currently available.” —

Vance Askew

Q: WHO IS LOOKING TO MOVE?

“Recently, a couple of my previous tours have consisted of couples that were preparing for retirement but had a couple of years left to go. However, they now have been given permission to work remotely, so they have moved up their plans and have decided to move earlier than originally planned. Also, families have decided what a great place Waterways is to live, and they see the value of the lifestyle that we offer, so they are moving from out of state and even from Savannah to Waterways.” —

Lynne Mois

People are relocating for warm weather, space, and better lifestyles.

Waterways

Waterways

Q: WHAT ARE PEOPLE CITING AS THEIR MAIN REASONS FOR RELOCATING?

“Low taxes, beaches/nature, highly rated schools, proximity to Savannah, quality lowcountry construction, active lifestyle...” — Clancy Mathews

“Interest rates, leaving urban cities and big-city congestion, time to slow down, attractive property values...” —Vance Askew

Q: WHAT CHANGES IN LIFESTYLE ARE THEY LOOKING TO FIND WHEN THEY MOVE?

“Healthy outdoor environments and related activities, social opportunities to mingle with neighbors, relaxed and slower pace of life while still being able to access the energy of a city if desired, and easy access to water activities like boating, fishing, kayaking, etc.” Vance Askew

Q: HOW IMPORTANT IS ADDITIONAL SPACE AND OFFICE SPACE WITHIN THEIR HOME TO THEIR MOVE?

“Many of my prospects may continue to work from home, so having a defined work space/office is important, or at least having a flex room that can be used for work-related activities. Technology requirements within the homes are also important for this growing segment of the market. Work from home!” —Vance

Askew

Q: WHAT ARE THE KEY BENEFITS THEY’RE SEEING UPON MOVING?

“Depending on where they’re coming from, they’re getting more house for less money and property taxes, and a lower cost of living. Their money goes further during retirement. Plus, they’re gaining a sense of community and an active lifestyle.” — Millie Knight

Waterways

Waterways

The relocation process is changing as technology makes the world smaller.

2020 has not only changed the relocation market, but it’s shaping the buying and moving process. Bethany, a social worker who now resides in Holly Springs, NC, shared her story with me.

Bethany moved with her family in June from New Hampshire. They had decided to move prior to COVID-19 because of rising property taxes year after year. Bethany had put in her research on her ideal location.

“The cost of a living was the #1 factor as to why we decided to move. We researched various areas around the country, and we wanted a healthy balance of similar job salaries, much lower real estate costs (and property taxes), as well as a great school system for our children,” Bethany said.

Moving in the Midst of a Pandemic

After living his whole life in New York, David Nola (age 59) and his wife Karen (age 58) recently decided enough was enough and purchased a home in St. James Plantation in Southport, NC, in November 2020. At the twilight of his career, and now working from home, he said, “I don’t want to deal with all of the traffic and the people anymore. There are a lot fewer people down here, and you don’t have to wait in long lines to enter stores.”

Two years ago, the Nolas had visited the Wilmington area and fell in love with St. James Plantation, a coastal community located on the Intracoastal Waterway with four golf courses, four clubhouses, a marina, a beach club, 36+ miles of biking/walking trails, tennis and pickelball, and any kind of club you can imagine. The Nolas currently live on Staten Island and plan to live between the two homes until they can make the permanent move to North Carolina.

In pre-COVID-19 times, Karen would commute via express bus or train into Times Square for work, but now she works from home as so many others do. The Nolas are confident that their Staten Island home will sell quickly when they put it on the market.

They purchased a large home on the 17th hole of the Members Club, and David can’t wait to get down and play golf. Karen is eager to learn how to play as well. They also look forward to playing tennis and pickleball. David said, “Everyone is so friendly here. It’s kind of like Mayberry. I’m already on an email chain and have been invited to a socially-distant tailgating party.” The Nolas are sure to make new friends and enjoy their new life at St. James Plantation.

St. James

St. James

When Bethany and her husband decided to move in June, the process went quickly—they closed on their New Hampshire home in just 28 days. Her process of touring homes was out of the ordinary, highlighting the power of the internet in making the world a smaller place.

To find a home, Bethany first joined a Facebook group called “Relocating to Raleigh” where she posted about moving to the Research Triangle Park area. A realtor in the group, who happened to have many mutual connections to Bethany, reached out and began to search for homes for them. The realtor and Bethany’s old friend, who had relocated to the same area, toured homes in April and May, showing Bethany over FaceTime. They saw four or five homes before putting in an offer and sealing the deal, “sight unseen.”

It wasn’t until two weeks after that Bethany and her husband were able to travel to Holly Springs to check out their new home in person. “COVID-19 did not impact the ability to sell our house just weeks after it hit. We were so grateful to be able to make our journey to North Carolina a reality! It all happened so quickly, but we will be forever grateful to our realtor – now friend – and our good friend we had known for years to help us with the relocation process!”

A Family's Journey from California to Washington

Known as the gateway to The Olympic Peninsula, Port Ludlow, WA, offers every kind of outdoor activity you can think of. From water sports to hiking and snow skiing, this area is perfect for the family or retiree. As Washington has no state income tax, it is especially appealing to those leaving California and other high tax areas.

According to Jerry, who relocated from northern California with his family, “tax planning was an important part of the plan. And even though the pandemic wasn’t the reason for the move, one of the big draws to the area was the local farms and the quality of the organic options available. It is important for our family to know where our food comes from and for our children to know how the animals are raised. We wanted a slower pace of life without crowded, grid-locked streets. This area is great for our children with access to hiking and uncrowded beaches where nature is plentiful.”

Peace and Quiet on the Chesapeake Bay

“There’s a peacefulness with Bay Creek that you do not find in Northern Virginia. The contrast is dramatic. The Falls Church area is so densely populated that it was crowded everywhere you went. It’s so easy to stay socially distant here,” says Debbie Miller.

Debbie and her husband Paul recently relocated to Virginia’s eastern shore. “We had lived within walking distance to the DC Metro for a long time and had always talked about relocating. In July of 2019, we visited Bay Creek in Cape Charles, VA. We visited a small-town parade. It was a hoot! We then decided to rent for a year to see if we liked it. We were here for only five weeks, and we bought our house. We stand in awe of the beauty of Bay Creek and the area,” said Debbie.

“It’s such a friendly place. We can play pickleball or walk or bike. It’s easy to social distance here. We have golf cart gatherings where we meet a lot of people. We’re hopeful that we will be able to have people over for dinner soon,” Debbie added.

The Millers are currently building their house that backs up to a nature preserve with walking trails that run along the water. Bay Creek’s idyllic location is set on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay, allowing for a deep water marina. The Millers retired several years ago, but weren’t mentally prepared to make a move at that point. They couldn’t be happier to live at Bay Creek now.

Where are people heading?

It seems like people are looking for warm weather, lower taxes, and places with active, healthy lifestyles, and Postalley performed a study of 2020 migration patterns that backs up that assumption. They concluded: “In terms of absolute numbers, California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, and Massachusetts had the largest net outflow of people, and Florida, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina had the largest net inflow. The five states with the largest net domestic inflow of people are both warm and relatively affordable.”

Here’s a look at where people are moving from this year and where they’re heading in 2021 and beyond.

New York

New York is known for harsh winters and high taxes— and with more companies going remote, those with city jobs are considering other options for permanent homes.

According to data from MyMove, more than 100,000 people moved from New York City from February through July in 2020, a 487% increase from 2019. In addition, nearly 45,000 movers left Brooklyn, NY, making it the city with the second most movers in the country.

According to USA Today data, Greenville, SC , is a popular destination for New Yorkers this year, as it’s a metropolitan area with great weather and a cost of living that’s nearly 10% lower than the national average.

Mid-Atlantic

The Mid-Atlantic area is another region with colder winters and a higher cost of living. This year, people are moving to Myrtle Beach as a warm weather, low-tax option that’s 8% cheaper than the national average. U.S. News reported that charming Myrtle Beach is one of the top fastest-growing places in the U.S.

Florida is another popular option with a large number of fast-growing cities. Fort Myers, Sarasota, Ocala, Lakeland, Daytona Beach, and Naples top the list of the fastest-growing places in the U.S. for 2020 and 2021— and that number includes both retirees and those looking to build families there.

Baycreek

New England

New England is another area known for having higher taxes and colder winters combined with higher living costs. These factors are forcing many to consider other options. Moving company United Van Lines released data this year, showing that New Jersey experienced 68.5% outbound moves, one of the country’s highest rates. Reasons often cited include high taxes.

North Carolina has long been a popular option for New Englanders, but it’s been especially popular for warm weather, low taxes, and a great public education system in recent years.

Midwest

The Midwest has shown a significant change in recent years, with many people moving to states like Texas , Florida, Arizona , and New Mexico for better weather, cost of living, and overall lifestyles.

According to the same MyMove study, the city with the third most movers is Chicago, IL , which is often known for harsh and cold winters, despite being a lovely city to live and work in. In Chicago , more than 30,000 people moved out from February through July.

California

California is known for being beautiful, yet very expensive. With the highest cost of living in the country in some places, it’s a popular place to migrate out of in recent years. 2020 is no different—and has encouraged movement from this population further.

Californians in larger cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles have been moving to Arizona over many recent years, sparking popularity in places like Phoenix, Tucson, and Scottsdale as lowtax options with beautiful landscapes and warm weather. In 2020, the trend remains true, and Californians are also

OWNING YOUR DREAM HOME

IMAGINE

in a master planned resort community complete with worldclass inn, award-winning restaurant, 18-hole championship golf course and 300-slip marina. Port Ludlow neighborhoods are distinct villages surrounded by water and mountain views. Residents have access to 30+ miles of hiking trails, fitness facilities at the community clubhouse and over 100 social clubs. Less than 90 minutes from Seattle. Plan a visit to Port Ludlow and discover your new home.

moving in great numbers to Albuquerque, NM , and New Orleans, LA .

According to United Van Lines data, Idaho is also becoming popular for Californians who are relocating. The state saw a whopping 67.4% inbound movers this year. Small, but fast-growing cities like Boise are often on the top of the list for people who are considering relocating to Idaho.

Californians are also moving to Washington state —mainly to Seattle for work since it’s considered a tech hub similar to San Francisco —and to Portland, OR , for similar cities and culture but with a lower cost of living for a more sustainable lifestyle.

2020 was a year of change

If 2020 was indicative of a trend, it’s clear that 2021 will also be a big one for relocating and finding a new life. People are looking forward to focusing on what’s important. They want to make positive changes in the wake of a pandemic and economic turmoil. 2020 has urged us all to find our individual ideal lifestyle and to go live it.

It’s Time It’s Time

to Make Your Move

By Scott Kauffman

COVID-19 HAS SPURRED A REAL ESTATE BOOM LIKE NO OTHER

People are fleeing densely populated areas for a better quality of life

With the winter season upon us, Americans are entering the second year of dealing with a coronavirus that continues to cause significant disruption and uncertainty. Vaccines and COVID-19 cures notwithstanding, one thing clear about 2021 is that the U.S. residential real estate industry is poised for another brisk year of business with Americans continuing to flee densely populated urban locations for healthier, safer, larger, and more peaceful properties to call home.

Tellico Village

Or, simply put, they seek a place to escape the stressful grips of a global pandemic and start living the ‘dream life’ Americans have always imagined. To be sure, Americans have always been on the move, whether it be for work, family-related purposes, or the generational patterns of retiring to Florida and other Sun Belt states for this appealing time of year.

As it turns out, this desire for a sudden change in one’s real estate scenery these days, and the urgency behind innumerable residential transactions, is something still playing out from coast to coast. Despite a coronavirus pandemic that continues to disrupt lives and economies worldwide, many developers and communities are experiencing record sales volume.

LOW TAXES AND LIMITED COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS

The difference this time, of course, is the sense of urgency behind so many of the real estate moves being made by people from all demographics and all corners of the country. Just a short drive from Knoxville, at Tellico Village in Loudon, TN, an established golf and waterfront community with endless amounts of recreational amenities, 200-plus clubs, and signature Tellico Lake, the

active-adult community was wrapping up another year of significant growth in sales and demand.

For instance, in late November, marketing and communications director Beth Kuberka reported that Tellico Village had the lowest resale inventory level the sales team can “remember in years.” As a result of having only 12-15 homes available out of some 4,500 existing homes in the community, lot sales have tripled from year’s past. Kuberka says that people are increasingly discovering Tennessee’s relative tax advantages and appealing lifestyle.

When asked to explain the surge in demand, defying the economic backdrop of the pandemic, Kuberka said “folks don’t want to get stuck where they’ve been. So many can work from home now. We didn’t really shut down here in Tennessee. We had some restrictions, but they went away pretty quickly. And our (positive Covid) cases stayed relatively low besides in the big cities.

“We never shut down our golf courses. We just did different things here (in addressing the coronavirus). I think a lot of people were not going to get stuck or quarantined somewhere where they were. They wanted out.”

A GOLF AND BOATING COMMUNITY ATTRACTS BUYERS

In neighboring North Carolina, just an hour’s drive from Virginia Beach and the international airport in Norfolk, VA, Albemarle Plantation is another established, private golf and boating community experiencing surging resale interest. According to longtime Albemarle sales representative Steve Wentz, besides resort-style amenities and convenient location to bustling coastal Virginia, what continues to make Albemarle so appealing is the 166-slip marina on the pristine Albemarle Sound.

Tellico Village

Albemarle

One of the largest private boat basins on the Eastern Seaboard and not far from North Carolina’s famed Outer Banks, Albemarle residents enjoy immediate access to the open waters, which can take up to an hour of navigating time for boaters at similar communities. This is just one reason the development recorded another year of increased sales, Wentz reports.

“After we opened up again in June, we had an onslaught of business,” says Wentz. “There was a lot of pent-up demand. People were calling us from home wanting to get in. Talk about motivated buyers. Like so many others, they wanted to get out of populated places and have some elbow room.

“They were sheltered in place or pretty much on lockdown (under the mandated restricition), and we were still able to canoe, kayak, golf, and enjoy our ‘seclusion’ or ‘sanctuary.’”

ISLAND LIFE

Further down the South Carolina coastline on Callawassie Island in booming Beaufort County, resident

real estate broker in charge Joe Kearney says his fully built-out, private, golf and boating community was “incredibly busy in 2020 with not enough hours in the day” to showcase a coastal community.

Separated by a 0.4 of a mile causeway that spans pristine tidal marshes with sea egrets and blue herons often cruising along, Kearney says the beauty and tranquility of the island was the perfect escape during the pandemic for so many residents and prospects.

“We were the best private community to be quarantined in,” Kearney says with a smile. “We really checked all the boxes with the cost of living and location, being just 10 minutes from the ocean and 40 minutes from Savannah. So you still have that Southern gentility and culture.”

FLORIDA CONTINUES AS A HAVEN FOR RETIREES

Florida remains as attractive as ever for folks migrating down the I-75 and I-95 corridors for the Sunshine State’s attractive cost of living (i.e. price of real estate and numerous tax advantages) and uniquely appealing yearround lifestyles. Some of the Florida hot spots are the booming Sarasota market along the Gulf Coast between Naples and Tampa. Not to mention, growth in the heart of Florida’s “Nature Coast” and all the usual points in between from Ocala to Orlando.

The Villages of Citrus Hills, north of Tampa, is a matured, 55-plus golf community with numerous recreational amenities, clubs, and outdoor activities. According to the company’s vice president of sales Wayne Saxer, this growing demand from Americans wanting out of the pandemic-stressed city life for good is one big reason Citrus Hills had its best year of sales since 2005, and the active-adult community now numbered 1,516

Citrus Hills

Albemarle

Callawassie Island

Citrus Hills

completed homes in late November with another 61 homes under construction and 96 in the planning and design pipeline.

Saxer says buyers increasingly moved up their timetables to purchase at Citrus Hills despite the pandemic’s state of affairs, especially with the fact that 50% of the county’s land sits in some form of protected state. And just last June, another 400,000 acres became newly dedicated open land.

Overall demand is “way up,” Saxer added, and that’s despite being effectively closed for two months in the early months of the pandemic.

DELAWARE OFFERS RESPITE WITH LOW TAXES

To be sure, not everybody is driving to traditional Sun Belt locales. For example, Delaware remains another popular destination for the 55-and-older profile from nearby Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states seeking worldclass, amenitized, master-planned developments. Among the main attractions are Delaware’s relatively favorable tax structure and close proximity to major metropolitan cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York.

Heritage Shores

In Sarasota, the husband-wife realty team of Leslie and Irv Rothschild have been as busy as ever selling the Sarasota life. Still, the various quarantine policies are getting in the way of closing these ready-and-willing buyers.

“We’re dealing with mostly people from the northern states who want to get out of not only their urban locations, but the cold as well,” says Leslie Rothschild, whose Bright Realty “Rothschild Team” has been the top-selling realtor of new homes the past two years at Lakewood Ranch, which remains one of America’s bestselling master-planned communities. “We’ve had a lot of phone calls and leads from the many Ideal-LIVING shows we attend, but unfortunately, a lot of people can’t come down to visit. So we’ve had a number of cancellations. But we know they’re coming as soon as they are able.”

Brookfield Homes’ active-adult golf club community, Heritage Shores is one place showing robust growth, especially in new-home construction, according to Dottie Harper, vice president of planned community management and operations for Brookfield Residential, one of the country’s leading developers and builders of this type of age-restricted communities.

Harper notes the company was off to a great start heading into last spring when the pandemic’s effects put things to a halt. However, after 45-60 days of sluggish activity, Harper says every aspect of the company’s “marketing machine” began to dramatically come to life.

“We saw a huge increase in interest level,” Harper adds, “and everything from our web leads, direct mail, electronic communications, direct marketing, and sales campaigns were extremely successful (in 2020). We attribute this to the huge draw to move to less heavily populated areas in conjunction with improvements in their living space.

Lakewood Ranch

“Your home is perfect for you until you are confined to it for the majority of your day, including your workday. If our prospects live in an older home, it more than likely does not include a home office or separate workspace. Hobby and individual interest areas are missing as well. We repeatedly hear, ‘If I have to be trapped in my home for any longer or again in the future, I want to be sure it fits my needs.’”

MAYBERRY CHARM MEETS THE HAMPTONS IN AIKEN, SC Woodside

Betty and Michael Burke, new homeowners of the gated Woodside golf course development in Aiken, SC, had no problem quickly leaving California. They represent the perfect purchaser’s profile for the dynamic residential real estate market, showing no signs of slowing down in 2021.

After moving to San Diego 35 years ago from his home state of New York, a few years ago Michael Burke (65) started envisioning making one more move in the future. He and Betty (65), a native Nebraskan, began researching various locations, and South Carolina “displayed ideal climate and qualities for transferring our business,” Michael Burke says. But there were no plans for them to move in the imminent future by any means.

At least, that was until last March, when the pandemic broke out, and employees of Burke’s financial services company began working remotely from home. Family and friends began social distancing, and Burke recalls having the realization that now may be the time to make the move.

Through a series of happenstance events, some very good friends of the Burkes had just moved to Woodside in 2020 and invited them to see their home in Aiken, a small Southern town some describe as a place where the ‘charm of Mayberry meets the sophistication of the Hamptons.’

The minute the Burkes stepped inside the gates of Woodside, a thoughtfully planned development with four golf courses, more than 15 miles of nature trails, three onsite medical providers, and so much more, they were sold on Aiken. They purchased the “perfect lot” with expansive views, established trees, natural landscaping, and a twoyear timeframe to build.

“We both looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, this looks like a National Park,’ and felt we were home,” the Burkes remember. “There was beauty in the landscape, open spaces, the varied architectural design of homes, and a sense of a friendly community. Also, South Carolina was far less restrictive with COVID-19 regulations, allowing us to have dine-in experiences at many restaurants in and

around the Woodside community and the quaint town of Aiken.”

Once the Burkes realized the pandemic had caused a shortage in construction lumber and supplies, meaning costs were only going to escalate as time transpired, they were prompted to move more quickly than originally anticipated on construction.

Homes in the San Diego market were “selling like hotcakes,” according to Betty, and within five days of putting their home on the market, a move to Aiken was imminent. Now, the Burkes are busy working with the Carolina Signature Homes design team as they build out their new Ashley model dream home.

According to Woodside’s corporate sales and marketing team, quick-thinking moves like this were the norm in 2020 for an established community with approximately 2,150 finished homes through October, with a record-low existing home inventory.

To further describe the heightened demand coming from all parts of the country, Woodside developer Rick Steele notes the length of time a future homeowner is now taking to go from request for information to making a home purchase is less than six months on average versus one-to-two years in the past after making multiple community visits.

The Burkes hope to have their new residence ready in early May. In the meantime, they’re living in temporary housing and loving every bit of the new ‘home’ they discovered in Aiken.

'The Burkes concluded, "We're really enjoying the many facets of Southern charm, hospitality, and the sense of community Aiken has to offer. We can't wait to be residents of the charming community known as Woodside."

In many respects, it’s a life they always imagined having one day. It just so happened the pandemic helped them realize this dream sooner rather than later.

A DREAM OF A SECOND HOME BECOMES REALITY IN UTAH

For much of their lives, Jerry and Sheila Markham seemed to have the consummate Southern California existence, raising children in Westlake Village – a prestigious bedroom community of Los Angeles known for its model planned development – and commuting to UCLA where Jerry Markham worked for 30 years. For vacations, the lifelong skiers always enjoyed Park City, UT, so they focused on this world-class ski destination for their ‘second home’ once Jerry Markham, 63, retired about three years ago.

After a Park City trip in late 2019, the Markhams finally settled on Red Ledges, a private golf club development in nearby Heber City. According to Jerry, "Red Ledges is a location that featured spectacular views and beauty like nowhere else. The community has the most unbelievably nice and kindest people you're going to find."

Consequently, the pursuit of finding their dream second home was done, and everything was going precisely as planned for the Markhams with one major exception: COVID-19. Indeed, once the coronavirus became a worldwide pandemic this spring, their plans not only dramatically changed, but the timeline did as well. After immediately selling their Westlake Village home in May, they left the very next morning for the 700-mile drive to Red Ledges to buy what would now become their new permanent home.

After checking into a hotel later that night, the Markhams showed up at the Red Ledges sales center the following morning for the first appointment of the day. They purchased their new custom spec home that featured everything they always planned to design and build themselves right on the popular and peaceful 12hole golf course/dog park.

“Looking backward, we hadn’t known then what we know now,” says Jerry, an avid golfer who now spends a lot of time playing Red Ledges’ acclaimed championship

Red Ledges

course designed by Jack Nicklaus. “But just like the people who put in an offer the moment we put our house on the market during the pandemic, they were trying to get out of the city, and we were trying to get out of the state!”

Including the Markham’s sale, Red Ledges vice president of sales Joe Carter recorded $170 million in sales volume in 2020 through November, doubling what Red Ledges did in 2019. And that was after losing two months from mid-March to mid-May when most of the world was locked down wondering what tomorrow would bring.

“We sent all of our people and agents home and were wondering what was going to come of this,” says Carter, who has been representing private club communities for nearly 20 years. “Then it just started to break loose in May, and the flood gates opened. We grew three years in one this year.”

“The buyer’s attitude has been about immediate gratification,” Carter adds. “‘I need a place to move to now. I don’t want to wait.’ I usually have 50 homes on the market, and I’ve got 11 today.”

Salters Haven

COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY KICKS OFF SPECTACULARLY DURING COVID-19

At Salters Haven in Hampstead, NC, a new coastal marina community just a short drive from Wilmington, Andy Garrett’s sales team couldn’t have planned for worse timing to kick off their official sales last May. But much to their surprise and eventual delight, even being in the throes of the pandemic didn’t squelch what has turned out to be a strong year for Garrett’s Destination Realty Corp., a sales and marketing group with 130 of the 308 homesites contracted to close.

To be sure, Garrett credits much of the success to “pent-up local demand” after seeing the developer successfully sell out a nearby sister residential marina community called Helms Port.

“We were fortunate because we captured a lot of that local low-hanging fruit, if you will,” adds Garrett. “But the pandemic actually helped in a sense (with other buyers) too. People who had anticipated that they would buy in this area sometime in the future or always knew they would retire here and even those who wanted a second home in the Carolinas, the pandemic sort of escalated their plans.

“Basically, I think people thought to themselves, ‘Hey, we need to go ahead and do it; I don’t know what the future holds; I don’t know how much more time we can stand it here. Everything is so unpredictable right now; let’s go ahead and pull the trigger.’”

“We initially thought the pandemic would be a deterrent – making everything unpredictable and forcing folks just to freeze. It was the opposite, and people said, ‘You know what, what are we waiting on? Let’s just go ahead and do it.’”

Despite a global pandemic, or maybe because of it, folks like those mentioned here are actually living the life they always imagined.

Salters Haven

2021 Home Trends

Living in the age of covid

By Warren Grant

So you’ve got a Peloton on order, taken up crafting, and perfected several dozen new recipes. You’re vigilant about social distancing and wearing a mask in public spaces.

But, what about your private space?

How are you seeing your home in the age of COVID-19 this winter and beyond?

For many, adapting to the pandemic at home means reimagining spaces for multi-tasking, enhancing your livable outdoor spaces, and establishing privacy zones for a home office or just a reading nook.

We reached out to several national homebuilding companies to get their take on the new world that we’re living in at home.

Perhaps the first manifestation of change in our lives due to coronavirus is how it has served to redirect discretionary spending.

Minto Communities' Iris Great Room Glass Pocket Door

Alissa Bennett, design manager for Kolter Homes in central Florida, describes a common conversation. “We hear all the time, ‘I can’t travel or go to a restaurant, so I want to put that money back into my house,’” says Bennet. “Buyers are reallocating funds, and as a result, our design department is full speed ahead with requests for myriad of home enhancements.”

Flex space

A common denominator with many builders — even decades before COVID-19 — is the importance of flex space in home design.

At David Weekley Homes, their brand promise is to provide customers with the best in design, choice, and service. According to brand communications coordinator Corinne Giacomarro, “While we have always offered a variety of ways for buyers to personalize their home to fit their needs, our focus on choice has become more important than ever since COVID-19. We’ve continued to enhance our FlexSpace® options – which we first introduced 30 years ago – to meet the changing needs of our buyers’ lifestyles.”

“We know that for so many during this pandemic, the home has transformed into an office, restaurant, entertainment/hobby space, or daycare for kids or grandkids. For our Encore by David Weekley homebuyers in 55+ lifestyle communities, that might

Schell Brothers

Kolter Cresswind

look like adding a retreat that doubles as a hobby room, workout studio, or even a game room for their grandchildren, or incorporating a private study for video calls or a home office,” added Giacomarro.

Back in the summer, Kathy Cioffi, vice president of design for Neal Communities on Florida’s west coast, made a formal presentation to the company’s executive committee proposing numerous home design enhancements specifically targeting life during Covid.

Her recommendations took the flex space concept one step further and dedicated two guest bedrooms as office spaces. The interior design department then created a model home that showed homebuyers how the two-office concept works. Another option is a single room with built-in desk space, shelving, and storage for two.

David Weekley Homes

Lennar's Madison

Minto Communities' Isles of Collier Preserve Plumeria Casita Glass Pocket Door

Lennar's Dorchester

2021 Home Trends in

the age of covid

Creative enhancements

Other creative enhancements include enlarging the utility/laundry room to accommodate a second refrigerator and lots of extra upper cabinet storage. And with larger pantries in demand, it increased their standard pantry's size some 20% to allow for more dry good storage. All of which decreases the need for trips to the grocery store.

Neal Communities homes are also being designed with extended patios for safer outdoor living, smart filtration systems for air and water, touchless faucets and other devices, and unique delivery vestibules and covered porches for safe package drop-offs. They also have the ability to build “Aging in Place” homes for folks looking for a forever retirement home.

According to Cioffi, “Neal Communities will continue to do whatever is necessary as a builder to mitigate the challenges of life during these challenging times.”

A unique progression from flex space is the NextGen Space, a separate suite attached to the main home designed to accommodate multi-generational living.

A study from the Pew Research Center describes that 64 million people, fully 20% of the U.S. population, now live in multi-generational households. That number is up from just 12% in 1980 and reflects the large number of aging baby boomers living with their adult children. And as those in their silver years are more vulnerable to the coronavirus’s medical malaise, a separate living space can literally save lives.

Lennar, the nation’s largest homebuilder, was the first to offer homes specifically designed for multi-generational living. Next Gen® The Home Within a Home® offers innovative floorplans that accommodate the diverse needs of families without sacrificing comfort or privacy.

Neal Communities Savannah ll livingroom

Neal Communities Grand Palm Kiawah

2021 Home Trends in the age of covid

The Next Gen® suite functions as its own home, featuring a separate entrance, living room, bedroom, bathroom, and single car garage.

The Next Gen® Suite is also valuable to thousands of families with college-age children who are unable to

Outdoor living spaces

live on campus during COVID-19. The suite provides the privacy the student has become accustomed to at school, while also saving the family money on college housing costs.

Another common thread in home design in these trying days is the importance of outdoor living spaces. The 19th-century naturalist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau prophetically wrote, “There are moments when all anxiety and stated toil are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature.”

According to Minto Communities senior vice president Steve Svopa, “Minto’s communities and homes, while designed for socializing, entertaining, and houseguests, also are designed in a way that accommodates the current need for social distancing.”

Minto, which has communities in Florida and South Carolina, offers several open-concept floorplans with large great rooms that feature pocketed sliding glass doors that open completely to the lanai area and fully extend the indoor living spaces to the outdoor living spaces.

The Tamarind Grande single-family home model at Minto’s The Isles of Collier Preserve in Naples, FL,

Minto Communities

The Isles of Collier Preserve Tamarind Grande

Minto Communities

The Isles of Collier Preserve

TN Land Realty, LLC - Broker

2021 Home Trends in the age of covid

for example, features three sets of pocketed sliding glass doors that open fully to a large central interior courtyard with a luxurious pool and spa, extensive conversation and dining areas, and an outdoor kitchen. Minto offers many additional outdoor living area options, including fireplaces, decorative water features, and more.

Additionally, all public space amenities are very spacious, providing plenty of room for social distancing as needed. Restaurants have large outdoor dining areas and plenty of interior room to space out seating at bars and dining tables. Fitness facilities also have ample room for spacing residents out for social distancing as they work out, and there are numerous outdoor sports courts for tennis and pickleball.

Minto’s communities are also designed for maximum outdoor activity with miles of walking and biking paths, nature trails, large resort-style pools with spacious, spread out poolside lounging areas and private cabanas, plus kayaking and paddleboarding areas, and other open-air recreational opportunities.

With winter temperatures having set in around the country, keeping your outdoor spaces warm and toasty is the job of patio heaters, which according to retailers, are becoming as scarce as toilet paper from last spring, as more and more people look to the outdoors to expand the living space of their home.

Kolter Cresswind

There are three fuel sources for outdoor heaters: electricity, liquid propane, and natural gas. Electric models don’t generate nearly the heat as the other two (about 1/8th) but might work for small spaces and, of course, indoors.

With extended outdoor living becoming more prevalent, homeowners are looking to enhance their home’s landscaping profile, perhaps adding shade trees, tidying-up overgrown shrubberies, addressing bare spots in the lawn, or even adding a pergola for architectural interest.

Interestingly, landscaping companies are seeing a boom in business since the pandemic and are hiring more. One company saw a 200% increase in job applications in 2020.

The Reuters news service report also describes how home gardening is blooming around the world during coronavirus lockdowns.

According to the report, “People around the world are turning to gardening as a soothing, family-friendly hobby that also eases concerns over food security as lockdowns slow the harvesting and distribution of some crops. Fruit and vegetable seed sales are jumping worldwide.”

There is light at the end of the tunnel as vaccines and therapeutics come online. But in the interim, it is a critical time to take care of your home so that it can take care of you.

Kolter Cresswind

Schell Brothers

It's Virtually Possible

by Sam Crawford

TRY SOMETHING NEW TO CREATE A BETTER YOU

This winter still has many weeks to go and could be a difficult time if you let it get the best of you. So change that dynamic by doing something different for a change.

These activities may be mostly virtual, but their enjoyment can be completely real:

Shape Up. Stop blaming those extra pandemic pounds on your gym being closed. There are hundreds of fitness and yoga classes available online, some for a small subscription fee but many at no cost. And a brisk walk on a cool, sunny day is still a great way to generate some heat and burn off some calories.

Get Cooking. The other side of enjoying a healthier lifestyle this year is eating better. Take an online cooking class or watch a recipe demonstration for some new ideas. Seize this opportunity to free yourself from fast foods and bad habits for good with greater taste and more modest portions.

Be Smarter. Colleges and universities are offering most of their classes online these days, and seniors can take many of them for free. Learn a new language, explore local history, improve your computer skills, or start some seeds for a spring garden with help from academic experts.

Check Out Your Library. Every town and county has a public library and most now offer new online services for free. Download books, magazines

and music, stream movies and TV shows, attend an author event, or join a book club for some uplifting social interaction.

Take A Tour. The world’s great museums initially closed last spring, but have reopened with free virtual tours. Among the best are The Louvre (Paris), The Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam), The British Museum (London), The Vatican Museums (Rome), and The National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.).

Catch A Show. Until in-person attendance is possible again, an unprecedented number of theatrical performances and music concerts are available for live streaming or downloading. Make it a date night with your bubble partner, and even if you have to buy a ticket, at least you don’t have to get all dressed up and pay for parking.

Go To Sundance. The Sundance Film Festival is going virtual for 2021, with more than 70 movies debuting live online. Ticket packages are available starting January 7 for the seven days of world premiers from January 28 to February 3. Select theaters around the country will also host showings, including many drive-in locations.

Attend an IDEAL-LIVING Resort & Retirement Show. Our popular in-person shows are going virtual this year, and you’re invited to attend. Preview more than 50 leading resort, residential, and retirement communities in 10 states. Attend informative on-demand seminars. Live chat with local experts and schedule a personal phone- or video-conference appointment. Plan a Discovery Visit for later in the year. Register today at IdealShows.com

*TM LiveWell™ features are subject to availability for new purchase agreements and based on region, community and specific plans. Products may be changed for comparable or newly improved replacements or additions and may not be available in a limited number of completed homes. Details available. Nothing contained herein or in any related materials regarding the TM LiveWell™ included features as of a buyer’s Purchase Agreement Date is a guaranteed commitment on performance results and health benefits or independently verified and remain subject to change daily without notice by third party suppliers outside of Taylor Morrison’s control. All information (including, but not limited to prices, views, availability, school assignments and ratings, incentives, floor plans, elevations, site plans, features, brands, standards and options, assessments and fees, planned amenities, programs, conceptual artists’ renderings and community development plans) is not guaranteed and remains subject to change, availability or delay without notice. Any community improvements, recreational features and amenities described are based upon current development plans, which are subject to change and under no obligation to be completed. Maps and plans are not to scale, are not intended to show specific detailing and all dimensions are approximate. Prices may not include lot premiums, upgrades and options depending on stage of construction. Community Association or other fees may be required. This communication is not intended to constitute an offering in violation of the law of any jurisdiction and in such cases our communications may be limited by the laws of your state. Please see a Taylor Morrison Community Sales Manager or Internet Home Consultant for details and visit www.taylormorrison.com for additional disclaimers and complete licensing details per jurisdiction. For our Age Qualified Communities only: At least one resident of household must be 55 or older, and additional restrictions apply. Some residents may be younger than 55 in limited circumstances. For minimum age requirements for permanent residents in a specific community, please see a Taylor Morrison Community Sales Manager for complete details. © February 2021, Taylor Morrison, Inc. (“TM”). The TM LiveWell™ registered and unregistered marks are owned by TM. All rights reserved. ILM 02/18/21 3281

Together, But Apart

By Emily Colin

Together but apart

In these unprecedented times, we’ve all had to find new approaches to enjoying our favorite activities and spending time with the ones we love. For planned communities, which are often built around the concept of shared social and recreational activities, this can be a challenge—but these five communities have risen masterfully to the occasion.

Willow Valley Communities

set on 210 immaculate, spectacular acres in Lancaster, PA, Willow Valley Communities is a premier, 55+ senior living community.

Their mission is to embrace the possibilities of a ‘life lived forward,’ and while the pandemic has required some adjustments, it certainly hasn’t slowed them down.

“Our residents chose to come here because of the exceptional lifestyle we offer,” says chief marketing officer Brian Rutter. “We draw residents not just from our own backyard but currently from 37 of 50 states around the

nation. We’re a place that people are choosing in large part because of the kinds of amenities we offer. This pandemic has really caused us to say, ‘Not everything is operating as it usually can; how can we do the best job possible to bring an approximation to our residents during this time?’”

Willow Valley Communities has gone above and beyond to do just that. When they couldn’t open their fitness and aquatic centers, they offered fitness programming through Zoom and Facebook Live, where a class is provided every morning at 10 AM. “It’s been a real hit to bring fitness right into your own family room, to exercise alongside the team members or trainers leading that class,” says Craig Thompson, executive vice president of residential operations.

The offerings that were typically available in their cultural center, including classes and in-person entertainment, are now available virtually; Willow Valley Communities brings live entertainers to their studios and films them, then provides the recordings to residents in their homes. They offer virtual art classes and cooking demonstrations through

Zoom, providing the materials to participants ahead of time. “The culinary offerings and culinary team here are extraordinary,” Thompson says. “We’ve done a number of virtual events with our expert chefs who have instructed us on how to make something scrumptious.”

Rutter noted further that even during the pandemic with enhanced protocols in place, Willow Valley Communities’ newest residential construction project, SouthPointe Village luxury apartments, is on schedule.

Willow Valley Communities’ residents have also been getting their hands dirty via the community’s garden plots. “Residents dedicated six of these plots to a community garden group to grow vegetables for distribution to food banks,” Rutter says. “They purchased the seeds and the plants in the spring and have been making vegetable deliveries throughout 2020 safely, supporting over 500 families’ food needs through the vegetables that they’ve been growing and delivering. Willow Valley Communities is a place that gives back.”

For leadership at Eastman Communities in New Hampshire— a sustainable, intergenerational, recreational, and residential community— the goal during the pandemic was simple to envision, but more challenging to execute: keep things as normal as possible but do so in a way that reduces the risk to those living in their community.

From the beginning, Eastman took a proactive approach, working with health professionals to create protocols designed to safely operate their amenities. They required reservations for the pool, fitness center, and tennis and pickleball courts, and tee times were required for golf, including all daily and member play.

Eastman Communities

Community volunteers stepped up to the plate, making over 5,000 masks for community members and those in the surrounding area. Eastman also offers a continuing service where volunteers run errands for those under quarantine or who are compromised and unable to shop.

Eastman’s recreation staff took an innovative approach, creating a Zoom series called Distance Socializing, which features resident experts leading talks on nutrition, exercise, knitting, genealogy, cooking, and more. They also recorded videos of residents reading aloud from children’s books and included these in their e-newsletters, giving parents a much-needed distraction for their children.

Building on this success, the recreation staff took things one step further, holding previously scheduled chocolateand cheese-tastings, as well as wine-tasting tours online. During the summer, Eastman’s popular program, The Center Presents, transformed into outdoor entertainment with musical performances and a presentation on

reptiles. The community also offered community-wide programs, such as the “55 Challenge,” giving people a reason to walk, run, or bike all 55 miles of Eastman’s roads, and a “Trail Challenge” involving Eastman’s hiking and walking trails.

During the winter, Eastman’s New Hampshire location presents both challenges and advantages. Nordic skiing and snowshoeing allow residents to be outside, socially distanced but still sociable. Daily passes and rentals are handled online to help maintain social distancing in the ski shop. Instead of planning ahead, many of Eastman’s winter events will be “pop-ups” to take advantage of winter conditions as they happen. Events currently scheduled are ski jumping instruction, a ski-a-thon benefit, and a Nordic ski race.

SaddleBrooke Two Communities

Kathy Niyazimbetov, marketing manager for the master-planned community 25 miles north of Tucson, AZ. “A cornerstone of active lifestyle is social interaction—club and group activities, classes, and events large and small. Most of these activities came to a screeching halt as stay-at-home orders were announced in March of this year. Suddenly, residents had to find new creative ways of being socially connected and keeping physically active while staying safe and healthy.”

The staff at SaddleBrooke was dedicated to making this happen. They promoted virtual interactions as a socially distant, safe alternative to typical activities, sending residents emails with information on available digital platforms, ideas on group activities that can be held virtually, and how-to guides for using technology solutions to stay social. They also introduced virtual fitness workouts tailored specifically to their residents as well as virtual personal training sessions. Once it was safe to do so, they began offering outdoor personal training, outdoor group fitness classes,

and aqua classes, limiting class sizes to assure social distancing. The fitness center is now open as well, with a reservation system and safety protocols in place.

Thanks to the warm Arizona weather, Saddlebrooke’s golf courses have been able to stay open, with, of course, the necessary precautions. “Many residents took to golf as the perfect socially distant activity they can still enjoy together. Walking became the activity of choice for others, with residents getting a great number of steps both on our community walking paths and on the golf courses during allowed hours,” says Niyazimbetov. The community reopened their tennis and pickleball courts, as well as pools, when safety allowed, implementing the necessary protocols to promote social distancing.

“Thankfully, weather in sunny SaddleBrooke never gets that cold,” says Niyazimbetov. “You can’t shovel sunshine, as we say. We are planning on continuing to offer pop-up events such as outdoor movie screenings and drive-in concerts as weather permits. Once we are on the other side of the very short winter season, we will be ready with a host of other socially distant outdoor activities and events to make the most of the gorgeous Arizona spring.”

This Lowcountry gem of a gated island just six miles from Beaufort, SC, is all about community, and during the pandemic, they’ve had to discover a new way of embracing the values they hold dear.

“Of all the vocabulary we have learned (or created) in 2020, the term that makes me cringe is ‘social distance,’” says Laura McCarthy, director of marketing and communications for Dataw. “Yes, we need physical distance, but we also need social interaction to thrive. This is what has driven our programming throughout the pandemic: creating opportunities for members to feel engaged, while encouraging both physical and mental health.”

Dataw is an extraordinarily active community, and leadership was determined to keep the momentum going. In addition to instituting reservations for fitness amenities, they shifted their

On South Carolina’s beautiful Dataw Island, the phrase of the day is, ‘physically distant; socially close.’

“COVID-19 has been a challenge for all active lifestyle communities, and SaddleBrooke Two is no exception,” says

Dataw Island

annual Visual Arts Club “Mistletoe Market” to a progressive event, with artists offering their work in their driveways. Members received a map and went house-to-house by golf cart, foot, bicycle, or car. The Garden Club held a similar progressive event called “Traveling Tablescapes,” which McCarthy says was “super cute and super fun!”

For Oktoberfest, the community offered a special event, “Brats ‘n’ Beer,” which doubled as a canned food drive for a local food pantry. They offered two outdoor “Concerts on the Range,” painting big circles on the ground and assigning members to them. “They came in carts or lawn chairs to enjoy outdoor concerts,” McCarthy says.

Additional offerings include an upcoming outdoor, socially distant “Cars of Dataw” show, a weekly al fresco dining option, outdoor yoga, and a brand-new Dog Run on Oak Island, an on-site maritime nature preserve, which hosts a morning and evening dog play time— another opportunity to gather outdoors while still keeping a distance.

“Flexibility has been key, both on the operations side and from members,” McCarthy says. “Luckily, we enjoy pleasant weather year-round here in South Carolina, which we all appreciate even more these days!”

On Top of the World

Founded in 1947, Florida’s premier 55+ community, On Top of the World, has a long history of rolling with the times — and this pandemic is no exception.

“On Top of the World encourages an active aging lifestyle by describing a person’s physical, emotional, and social wellness as one age, so to our fitness professionals, age is just a number,” says Jordan Litherland, marketing account executive. “Overall wellness is so important to remaining healthy that it is a big part of residents’ lifestyles, which we encourage at our four state-of-the-art fitness centers, along with multiple tennis and pickleball courts, outdoor fitness “power” parks, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and so much more. Throughout COVID-19, our team of fitness directors and trainers rallied quickly to implement Facebook Live events showcasing fitness classes to ensure residents were still getting their heart rate pumping from the comfort of their home.”

The community’s “Fitness on Demand” program, created prior to the onset of COVID-19, became an invaluable tool. Through Fitness on Demand, residents have a library of prerecorded fitness classes for all skill levels at their fingertips. Tablets are located in On Top of the World’s gyms, and residents pick whatever fitness class they want to follow on a large-screen TV and follow the workout. The studios where Fitness on Demand is offered are large enough to socially distance six to eight people safely. “COVID-19 truly showcased the phenomenal fitness team here as they worked to create new and innovative virtual programming to keep everyone physically active and socially engaged throughout the pandemic,” Litherland says.

The community also launched a new campaign, #TogetherButApart, that focused on the idea that members and staff would get through this together, even though they had to stay apart. “It’s all about keeping people engaged with each other, so we created fun, interactive things for our residents to do, such as throwing a patio party at their home, while your next door neighbor threw a patio party!” Litherland says. “We encouraged residents to listen to music, eat, drink, and be merry on their patio as their neighbors were doing the same at the same time. Many residents submitted selfies to a specific email domain so they could share some positive happenings while seeing friends and neighbors enjoying life as well.”

Together but apart

Since 1989, ideal-LIVING has been helping thousands of people just like you to relocate to their ideal destination.

Current times make it difficult to get out and discover and compare different places, but we have a solution for you!

Visit ideal-LIVING.com where you can compare many different destinations from the Carolinas to California and many places in between.

Discover your ideal destination, lifestyle, and home in one convenient location! .com

Dr. Watson Inn - Visitor Center

Find Your Ideal... HOME

Finding your ideal home to meet the ever-changing needs of your life brings much excitement and anticipation. In this section, Ideal-LIVING provides ideas to make your new or current home a place of relaxation and enjoyment.

by Ken Updegrave

Upsize Your Lifestyle while Downsizing Your Mortgage

Despite the challenges of 2020, or maybe because of them, many people decided that it was a good year to move to a new house. Pre-retirees and retirees move to what they hope will be their last home.

Most people want homes that are easy to navigate and are low maintenance as they prepare for their future. Retirees need to purchase a home that meets their lifestyle desires but doesn’t impact their financial planning.

Two couples share what went into their decision to buy and why they chose a non-traditional financing method to help make that happen.

“What was important to us was getting a home that was a little bit smaller and that had single-floor living and low-maintenance obligations for us,” say Ed and Sandy. “We were reducing our home’s square footage, but we wanted to upsize our lifestyle at the same time. Freeing up time that we had spent maintaining a large home was liberating for us, but just as liberating was being able to free up a significant amount of our monthly cash flow that had been going to meet a monthly mortgage payment.

“Our home sales consultant introduced us to the concept of a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage [commonly referred to as a HECM for Purchase (H4P)], and we were blown away by what it would do for our lifestyle. We were buying a house that was about $250,000 less in value than what we were leaving, but we still

had about $300,000 left on a mortgage. And, we were going to need to finance a portion of our purchase. The H4P, opened up some opportunities for us that we weren’t aware of. We eliminated $1,700/month and freed up some of the proceeds from our old house’s sale to work in our retirement plan. Even better, with the recent surge in home values and lower interest rates in 2020, we were able to work with our lender again to increase the equity available to us by over $60,000 less than two years after we originally closed.

“We are so thankful that our sales consultant suggested we look at an H4P loan to buy our new home. Sandy and I have so much less stress not having to make a monthly payment and having access to the liquidity tied up in our former home. And if we get a relatively modest growth in home value, we should maintain our equity in our new home well into the future.”

Kim and Jan also bought their “new” home back in 2018 when they decided to relocate to the Triangle area of North Carolina from their Florida home. They had moved to Florida years ago to be closer to their daughter and her family, but as their grandchildren aged and were approaching high school graduation, they decided

“Our Realtor introduced us to a loan officer locally who works with the H4P loans, and we were completely sold on it even before we started the process.”

to make a move to an area that had a more seasonal climate that they were both looking for in their life.

“We were ready to make a move and decided on the Triangle area and eventually picked Cary, NC,” says Kim. “Our Realtor introduced us to a loan officer locally who works with the H4P loans, and we were completely sold on it even before we started the process.

“We had a HECM loan on our Florida house, and what we had to work with made our options somewhat limited in a hot housing market like Cary. We had to search hard to find what we were looking for, but we eventually found it, and using the HECM left us enough funds to be able to remodel and put the touches on our new home that made it ours.”

If you’re thinking about making your move in 2021, now would be a great time to learn whether the H4P option makes sense for you. Obviously, if you will have to finance a portion of your new purchase price, it’s an option. Still, increasingly we are seeing cash buyers utilize the H4P because it gives them greater liquidity and more flexibility than having the entire home value locked in the bricks and mortar of their new home.

Enjoy A New Option for Retirement

The Traditional Options:

• Pay cash for your new home and reduce your retirement liquidity

• Use traditional financing and increase your monthly expenses

A New Option:

The HECM for Purchase Program

• Bring a one-time down payment of 40-60%

• Never make a monthly mortgage payment

For more information on how to buy your dream retirement home with the HECM for Purchase Program, please contact us:

Ron Heath | NMLS: 450503

HECM for Purchase Specialist

Phone (919) 412-0686

rheath@mutualmortgage.com

5580 Centerview Dr., Suite 115, Raleigh, NC 27606

Ken Updegrave | NMLS: 109435

HECM for Purchase Specialist

Phone (919) 567-1004

kupdegrave@mutualmortgage.com

5580 Centerview Dr., Suite 115, Raleigh, NC 27606 MORTGAG

Borrower must occupy home as primary residence and remain current on property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, the costs of home maintenance, and any HOA fees. Synergy One Lending Inc. d/b/a Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, NMLS 1025894. 3131 Camino Del Rio N 190, San Diego, CA 92108. These materials are not from HUD or FHA and the document was not approved by HUD, FHA or any Government Agency. Subject to Credit Approval. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org

MOOMR.1119.11

Let in the this Winter!

Light

by Kim Henry

The year 2020 brought all kinds of changes into our lives. Along with less travel and mask-wearing came unprecedented amounts of time spent in our own homes. Things we’d never noticed before suddenly loomed large. Dark closets, grimy window panes, and gloomy hallways could no longer escape our attention. As it’s never been more important to thrive within our own space, here are 10 simple ideas to brighten up your home this winter and welcome in some festive cheer.

• Bring Me Sunshine. Literally, let more light in by minimizing window coverings during the day and make the most of the natural sunlight. Choose window treatments that provide privacy without turning your abode into a cave, and switch heavy curtains that absorb light for translucent shades or white blinds.

• Mirror Mirror on the Wall. Hanging a mirror opposite a window or sliding glass door will successfully reflect the light and create a more spacious feel. This can be particularly effective in dark corners, rooms with few windows, and hallways.

• Candles. We tend to think of candles as being just for special occasions and dinner parties, but why not light them on any given day just because they’re beautiful and we can?

• Green Thumbs. Plants automatically bring more life to any indoor space. You can choose low-maintenance plants that even those of us without so much as a green finger can keep alive. Try succulents, spider plants, or peace lilies for guaranteed success.

• Clean Your Windows. As obvious as it may sound, giving your windows a quick wipe down can make a world of difference to the ambience of any room. Watch out, though, once you go down this route, it can become a little obsessive!

• Live in the Light. Did you know that the lightbulbs you choose can make a huge difference to the quality of light adorning your space? Explore different options, and see what works best for you. A cool, white light can brighten up a dark corner, and a warmer tone may add a cozy feel to an already bright area. Experiment with uplighting, lamps, and different color shades to create the lighting you love.

• Fabulous Flowers. Nothing adds color and joy to a room like a fresh bunch of colorful flowers. Treat yourself to a delightful bouquet, and see the difference it makes to your mood.

• Accessorize with Style. Introduce bold colors in the shape of sofa cushions, picture frames, or even a colorful piece of art. Sunny colors such as yellows, reds, and oranges will be particularly effective at bringing a warmer vibe.

• Rich Rugs. If you have a dark rug, try swapping it with a lighter color for the season. This will be especially effective in smaller rooms.

• Channel Your Inner De-clutter Queen. A ton of unnecessary clutter is a sure way to make a room look and feel darker. Take just 10 minutes a day to work on one corner at a time, and enjoy your new sense of space immediately.

the daylight needs no praise, and so we praise it always

dana gioia

Naturally Beautiful

Sherwin-Williams’ 2021 Color of the Year offers versatility and mass appeal

By Colleen Crowley

In a bathroom, it creates a spa-like atmosphere. Used in a bedroom, it brings about a meditative energy, a sigh of relief. On the walls of a living room, both sleek, modern lines and timelessly classic design are complemented in equal measure.

Urbane Bronze, Sherwin-Williams’ 2021 Color of the Year, is a rich earth tone whose universality and functionality makes it a natural choice for new construction and design in the coming year.

Sue Wadden, Sherwin-Williams’ director of color marketing, noted that the company has seen a shift toward warmer, more welcoming hues in the home. “Urbane Bronze … is a tone with so much richness and depth that it inspires a sense of sanctuary no matter the space, and we see the color resonating with people from bedrooms to kitchens,” says Wadden.

Lauren Brown, an interior designer with Wilmington-based design firm Big Sky Design, says the color “takes you back to a place of simplicity and calm … it gives you a feeling that you want to go meditate and think about the things in life that matter to you.”

In what has been a chaotic year, incorporating the shade in the home can offer respite and new design opportunities.

“A fresh way to use the hue is to paint all four walls and be a little adventurous by also painting the ceiling to create a cocoon-like atmosphere that sets a meditative tone,” says Wadden. If you make that choice, consider incorporating lighter window treatments, area rugs, or throw pillows to soften the look.

Brown says that using it on an accent wall or the kitchen cabinets can still achieve that on-trend look if you’re not one to take the plunge and completely wrap yourself in color. The color is particularly beautiful when used as a backdrop to showcase pottery and larger pieces of artwork.

Brown recommends pairing the shade with organic materials like natural stone, wood, marble, or even travertine. Brass and complementary rust tones enhance Urbane Bronze’s roots in the living world.

“It doesn’t matter your age with this color,” says Brown. “It’s so versatile that you can incorporate it with a cleaner, contemporary look … I can also see it with the beautiful wood tones used in traditional furniture elements.

“Don’t be afraid to go out of the safe zone and use this color. It pairs so well with so many other colors that it would most likely surprise you how well it works with your existing color scheme.”