March 29, 2024
Letter

Affordable retirement

As a 50-something “boomer” attempting to chart a smooth course to a safe retirement “harbor,” I enjoyed a chuckle at the advertising supplement titled “50 Plus – The Best of Times” (BDN, Dec. 12).

It would seem by those ads that the best retirement communities in Maine are reserved for those with bulging stock portfolios and a yen for ocean views. The polarization of wealth across the nation has long been evidenced in the Pine Tree State and will become even more so as many of my “boomer” brethren invade Maine shores via their “golden parachutes.”

It would be interesting to know how many native Mainers, in a state ranked 35th in per-capita income, could walk into one of those ocean retreat contracts. Granted, they are well-managed affairs with all the amenities for a comfortable repose, and the costs are probably in line for the level of services provided. Basic one-bedroom apartment units average $2,500 per month, from a sampling of those in the supplement. I know the intoxicating lure of constructing high-end retirement homes for the revenue they generate; the demand is there.

Witness the ubiquitous glass-faced structures that abound up and down our cherished Maine coast, encroaching upon even the most humble of our harbors. Those of means should enjoy their good fortune. However, this is not everyone’s idea of retirement nirvana and I have yet to see tasteful retirement communities developed for those of us whose needs fall a good deal south of the Gucci set.

Timothy Harriman

Winterport


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