Have you considered India as a retirement setting?
Originally published at allaboutestates.ca on July 27, 2015:
I had the pleasure of watching the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel last week. For those of you who have not seen either the First Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (full title The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly & Beautiful) or this sequel, I found it to be a lighthearted and provocative film. Provocative because the premise of the movie got me thinking. Is this an idea that could actually work? The movie was based on the 2004 book by Deborah Moggach, These Foolish Things.
In the movie, a group of British pensioners move to a retirement hotel in India based on pictures on its website. Each of them, strangers to start, move to India for different reasons. In this residence they find friendship, romance, excitement, new careers and new adventures. Instead of retirement and getting older being the end of the journey, it is portrayed as the beginning of a new journey.
The outsourcing of seniors (care) to another country that offers good quality medical care, an inherent respect of elders and new opportunities at an affordable price point, is very interesting.
The average age of individuals choosing to move into retirement residences in Ontario is mid 80’s. At a symposium I attended recently on Seniors Housing, one of the points raised was how to make retirement communities more appealing to younger and more active seniors. Perhaps this is one way.
Being able to afford and enjoy a certain lifestyle, especially while in good health, is a reasonable goal. Perhaps we should widen our perspective as we explore our next steps for retirement locations. Here are some places to consider.
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