There's no question, life inside these white walls surrounding Sun City AZ is a little like living in the biosphere. But reality tells us it's foolish to pretend the trends impacting the age restricted marketplace aren't influencing us. Google news this week had a couple of articles worth note for those who like to get their arms around what's happening outside the community and those buying into our way of life. This one is timely given Sun City's Life Long Learning Club will be holding its fall meeting in October: FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- While lifelong learning opportunities are being embraced by universities across the country, many confine their classes to traditional classroom settings. Others are more progressive and see learning opportunities and their ability to reach students beyond the campus. There are partnerships with senior living communities which offer lifelong learning to residents at their communities while also expanding lifelong learning opportunities to the general public. You can read the rest here. The second is more in tune with what is happening societally and clearly will have broader implications on Sun City as a whole: Don't let a little thing like age keep you from doing what you want to do, especially when it comes to your life's passion. A career doesn't have to stop when reaching retirement age or even when you're residing at a retirement community. In the article, "Why seniors are on the job and staying," on www.nationaljournal.com, participation rate for people ages 75 and older in the workforce is projected to rise from 7.6 percent to 10.5 percent in the next 10 years. Again, copyright infringement keeps me from posting the entire article but you can find the rest of it here. It is almost beyond belief when you think about an increase over the next 10 years of nearly 3% more people working past the age of 75. Why that is important to Sun City is obviously based on the fact we are a community built around retirees having more leisure time. Nothing wrong with seniors still working buying into a "better way of life," it actually makes more sense to have all the amenities so close a proximity to where they live. The challenge will be to shift the Sun City structure around those who move here and continue to work, and to recognize there may be less available volunteer hours simply because more people are working later in life.
