When Chuck Fink and his wife, Cindy, decided it was time to retire and leave the Midwest, they toured the country looking for a new place to call home. Their travels took them from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Ore., and plenty of places in between.The last stop on their itinerary: Asheville. It was the right size, the right environment, and we liked that it was full of people of all ages, Fink said. We didn t want to go somewhere for retirees only. Since moving there in December 2008, Fink,
Oakley Sunglasses Outlet, formerly a training and development expert for Fortune 500 and family-owned businesses, and Cindy, previously a professor at the University of Cincinnati,
Oakley Frogskin Glasses, haven t looked back. And North Carolina is laying the groundwork to attract many more people like them.Our columns have often focused on developing and leveraging the talent of our state s young people. But retirees continue to play a critical role as well in the health of our communities and they have the potential for even greater impact. Collectively, retirees bring years of professional experience, vast networks of friends and contacts, tens of millions of dollars in purchasing power and enthusiasm for civic involvement.Highly rankedWith thousands of baby boomers reaching retirement age every day,
Oakley Eyeglasses Frames, a 2010 national survey by homebuilder Del Webb found that North Carolina was the most popular state for those 64 and older who are considering an out-of-state move. At the same time, an analysis of U.S. Census data by personal finance website NerdWallet ranked the Top 20 fastest growing metro areas in the United States for retirement. North Carolina claimed three spots Raleigh-Cary at No. 5, Greensboro-High Point at No. 16 and Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill at No. 20. Together, these areas added nearly 100,000 residents who were 65 and older between 2007 and 2012.North Carolina also routinely earns high rankings on media lists of the best places to retire. Last year, citing its temperate climate and thriving economy, Huffington Post named Raleigh the No. 1 retirement destination in the country. Charlotte, meanwhile, made Forbes list of the Top 25 retirement cities.State officials are attempting to build on these favorable trends. A report released in December by the N.C. Economic Development Board featured an array of recommended strategies for driving economic growth through 2024. Among them was the need to build a platform for retiree attraction and business creation. Recommendations included conducting an economic impact study on the costs and benefits of a growing population of seniors, creating a strategy for marketing the state to pre-retirees and helping communities with high potential for attracting retirees develop plans for recruiting them.Some of that work is underway already. In 2008, the General Assembly created the N.C. Certified Retirement Community Program. Smaller and, many times, lesser known cities can earn this designation by demonstrating that they offer a high quality of life for retirees. Once certified, these cities are promoted nationally through the state s RetireNC marketing program.North Carolina is one of about 10 states across the country with a retirement certification program. So far, nine communities across the state have earned a retirement certification Asheboro, Eden, Lumberton, Marion, Mount Airy, Pittsboro, Sanford, Edenton and Tarboro. Unique resourcesMeanwhile, unique resources, such as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UNC Asheville, are already luring retirees here in large numbers. Known previously at the N.C. Center for Creative Retirement, OLLI has a prominent reputation for fostering lifelong learning and community service among older adults.It was one of the assets that appealed to Chuck Fink when he was scouting Asheville. Then, after closing his business and moving there, he found himself struggling with a sense of purpose the frequent curse of what he calls PIPs, or Previously Important People, whose days are no longer filled by work obligations.Noticing that other men were experiencing a similar lack of connection and focus in retirement, he launched Men s Wisdom Works to encourage candid discussions among men about retirement and aging. Since starting with 10 men in 2009, the organization has now grown to more than 125 members spread over 11 discussion groups that meet twice a month. Retirement isn t about reinvention, Fink said. We re not machines. We re people who continue to grow and change, and retirement is all about nonstop growth. For North Carolina, the challenge is sustaining its growth in retirement popularity and, more significantly, maximizing the talent and resources that come with it. Christopher Gergen is CEO of Forward Impact, a fellow in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Duke University, and author of Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives. Stephen Martin, a director at the nonprofit Center for Creative Leadership, blogs at . They can be reached at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
and followed on Twitter through @cgergen.