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VOL.22, NO.7
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More than 125,000 readers throughout Greater Baltimore
JULY 2025
Author finds humor everywhere
By Lisa Gerstner Thinking about moving to a 55+ community? Once limited to the Sunbelt, these developments, designed for people 55 and older, can now be found throughout the nation, from Washington state to right here in Maryland. And more of them are popping up, like Bloomfields in Frederick, Maryland. Its single-family homes and townhouses surround a pool, clubhouse, potting shed and pickleball courts. Residents often have a built-in social life. Marilyn Burke, 60, and her husband, Martin, 66, sold their five-bedroom home in California and purchased a three-bedroom contemporary in Cresswind Wesley Chapel, a 55+ community in Monroe, N.C. Now they fill their days with trivia contests, happy hours, community concerts, pickleball and mah-jongg games. “We wanted a community that had activities because we were moving somewhere where we knew no one,” Burke said. “We’ve met so many people from different walks of life, but with similar interests, and all from our same age group.”
and fitness centers are always busy.” Many builders create developments that are akin to country clubs, with large and glitzy clubhouses, full-time lifestyle directors, on-site entertainment and dining venues. These facilities make it easy to meet new friends, socialize, get exercise, and avoid the isolation and loneliness that older adults often face. Although many people think of a 55+ community as a place to land after they retire, you can move in before then. Residents can enjoy a low-maintenance lifestyle, with the homeowners association (HOA) handling landscaping and snow removal. Some communities offer transportation to nearby grocery stores or medical facilities for residents who don’t drive. Keep in mind that 55+ communities differ from those that offer supportive care, such as assisted-living, memory-care and skilled-nursing facilities. These communities typically provide healthcare, dining and other services that vary as the needs of the residents evolve. Many of these communities also offer independent living and lots of amenities and activities.
The pros and cons
Amenities included
Like the Burkes, many older adults are drawn to 55+ communities because they want to live an active lifestyle — playing tennis or pickleball, meeting friends for coffee, joining clubs, attending educational or cultural activities and more — and they want to have plenty of amenities at their fingertips. “They’re seeking the ability to host family and friends, explore hobbies, and maybe get into a sport they always wanted to play,” said Karl Mistry, executive vice president of Toll Brothers, a luxury builder that constructs 55+ communities under the brand name Regency. “These are active communities. The clubhouses
Depending on the market and the development, you may pay more to buy a home in a 55+ community than a similar home in a place that’s not age-restricted. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the median price of an age-restricted, single-family home on which construction started in 2023 was $500,000, compared with $422,000 for one that wasn’t age-restricted. That’s because the cost of the amenities is built into the home’s pricing. You should also be prepared to pay fees. Not only do 55+ communities charge monthly HOA fees to cover operating expenses, but such communities also often charge new homeowners an up-front “initiation fee” or “entrance fee.” Fees at even the best-run HOAs are es-
INSIDE Smart renovations
PHOTO COURTESY OF BLOOMFIELDS
Rowe’s book publishing journey was sparked, in a way, by social media. She happened to relate an anecdote to one of her
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Cut your household clutter
New housing communities designed for people over 55 are popping up all over the country. Bloomfields in Frederick, Maryland, is selling new homes built by NV Homes and Ryan Homes.
calating as associations struggle to keep up with increases in operating costs, particularly insurance premiums. According to an August 2024 report from real estate brokerage Redfin, which examined HOA fees in Florida over a three-month period, the median monthly fee in the Tampa area jumped 17.2% compared with the same period a year earlier. Other areas had similar increases, including Orlando (up 16.7%) and Fort Lauderdale (up 16.2%). Many 55+ buyers finance their purchases by selling the homes they raised their families in. Some use the home equity they’ve built to pay cash for their new home; many homeowners are sitting on a pile of cash that could be available to use toward a new home when they sell.
Caution: costs may rise Although older adults commonly assume that their living costs will decline when they downsize or move into a 55+ community, experts say that isn’t always true. “There are a lot of extra expenses that
they may not have thought about,” said Michael Silver, a certified financial planner with Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors in Boca Raton, Fla. “If they’re living in a community with a lot of amenities, the costs to maintain them have become astronomical, and there have been all sorts of assessments and extra fees.” Roberta Lee knows that firsthand. Lee, 77, a retired real estate broker, purchased a house in a 55+ development in Lake Worth, Florida, in September 2022, paying $395,000. When she moved in, her monthly HOA fee was $728. Two years later, it was $961. Additionally, she paid an upfront membership fee of $10,000 for access to the on-site golf course. Back then, the monthly golf membership fee was $628; now, it’s $900. “My home expenses, including taxes, insurance and my mortgage payment, were OK when I bought, and I thought it was a great deal,” Lee said. “Well, it turns out it’s not such a great deal.” See 55+ COMMUNITY, page B-2
Plant your own herb gardens
And more!
SEE SPECIAL INSERT Housing & Homecare Options following page 8
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Celebrity son
Makes a great gift!
Is a 55+ community right for you?
Always a writer
Writing has always been a part of Rowe’s life. She grew up in Baltimore and attended Towson University in the 1950s, when it was still called Maryland State Teachers College at Towson. She met her husband, John, there and went on to become a third-grade teacher. One year, while gathering material for a class, Rowe couldn’t find a poem to match her vision, so she wrote her own — and the children loved it. She fondly recalls hearing a group of girls chanting her poetry at recess while jumping rope. “I felt like a celebrity,” she said. From there, Rowe continued writing outside the classroom: She wrote poetry for friends’ parties, articles for her church newsletter, and stories of all genres for college courses and critique groups. When she was 64, Rowe published a short, humorous piece of fiction in a small magazine, and she was hooked. As an older adult, she explained, writing gives her a freedom that many female writers don’t have at younger ages, when looking after children, for example, takes precedence.
BALTIMORE BEACON — JULY 2025
PHOTO COURTESY OF PEGGY ROWE
By Hannah Collins Since author Peggy Rowe turned 80, she has published three New York Times bestselling books, proving that it’s never too late to start something new. “Don’t sit back and say, ‘I’ve had my time; I’m going to sit back and watch other people now.’ Because it really isn’t too late,” Rowe said in an interview with the Beacon. Her most recent book, Oh No, Not ‘The Home:’ Observations and Confessions of a Grandmother in Transition, was published last October. The memoir details her move to Oak Crest Senior Living Community in Parkville, Maryland, and the people she met there. “I am surrounded by people who are facing [the] end of life, many of them, with dignity and courage — and humor. It’s been very inspirational for me to witness that,” she said.
I N S I D E …
Baltimore author Peggy Rowe wrote three New York Times bestsellers after turning 80. Her most recent book is about the unexpected pleasure of moving to a Baltimore retirement community.
three sons, Mike Rowe, who famously hosted the Discovery Channel television series “Dirty Jobs” and “Deadliest Catch” and the CNN series “Somebody’s Gotta Do It.” Her son asked her to send the story in writing and then shared it with his Facebook followers, garnering 70 million views. Though publishers thought Rowe’s first book, About My Mother: True Stories of a Horse-Crazy Daughter and Her BaseballObsessed Mother would be a tough sell, Mike Rowe published it himself in 2018. It sold 10,000 copies in three weeks. Soon after, Simon & Schuster acquired and distributed the book, which went on to hit the New York Times Best Sellers list. (That list typically includes books that sell more than 5,000 copies in a week.) Two years later, Rowe published her second book, About Your Father, and Other
Celebrities I Have Known: Ruminations and Revelations from a Desperate Mother to Her Dirty Son. In 2023, Vacuuming in the Nude: And Other Ways to Get Attention came out. At the request of Simon & Schuster’s publicity department, Rowe began writing Facebook posts for her new fans. She continues to write two 200-word stories a week for her Facebook followers, who she says are her best critique group. Rowe also has written multiple children’s books as well as comedic poetry. The secret to writing so consistently? Rowe reported that she takes copious notes and journals daily. She occasionally wakes in the middle of the night with an idea she knows she’ll forget See PEGGY ROWE, page 12
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