Give me your elderly, your retired, your senior citizens

It’s well known that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does buy a nice place to live – which is a step in the right direction. It’s also well known that the elderly, with mobile pensions, tend to seek out places that offer the best senior living arrangements for their buck. This means having a comfortable, maintenance-free living space in an attractive and safe environment with some interesting things to do and locally accessible health services to address the inevitable wearing-out of the human body.

Geographically, this has usually meant a move to the east or west coast of Florida, central Arizona, or perhaps Tennessee or the Ozarks. To say the least, when a relatively well-heeled senior leaves his or her longtime home, it represents a considerable loss to the community – not only in material and financial assets, but in the loss of knowledge and a future income stream that is likely to continue for many years.

For that reason and because American’s population is aging at a rapid rate, communities should take seriously the needs of their elderly and do all they can to get them to stay. Likewise, any new retirees to a community represents a significant gain that allows for the growth of social and economic capital. Elderly people not only bring a lifetime of accumulated financial wealth (some more than others) but a significant bank of experience and talent. Contrary to the popular notion, older people within communities are not burdens to be endured, but are important engines for community sustainability and growth.

Today, Michigan is hemorrhaging senior citizens. What can Michigan do to retain its seniors and attract new ones? A lot! Michigan can promote and invest in walkable retirement communities; safety and easy public transport; accessible social, recreational, and entertainment facilities that accommodate older people; and subsidized health and medical benefits. Given the uncertainty of life expectancy for the elderly, local governments might maintain high-quality rental housing to attract seniors.

Many elderly enjoy living is coastal areas and, indeed the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coast states have long enjoyed a net influx of free-spending seniors. Interestingly, Michigan has the longest coastline of any of the lower 48 states which, with improving winter weather (thanks to global warming), could be a powerful magnet to America’s 78 million aging babyboomers looking for coasts that don’t routinely have hurricanes, floods, fires, and earthquakes.

All this is to say, Michigan (including metro Detroit) could be doing much more to support and attract senior citizens. To do so, would reduce our economic dependence on a maturing auto industry, promote a broadly based service economy, and perhaps, reverse the downward economic spiral that seems to be gripping our State. Our new motto should be: “Give me your elderly, your retired, your senior citizens yearning for a beautiful, safe, and low-cost environment for their remaining years and I’ll give you a prosperous State”.

Sssh... Michigan has a gold coast!

Perhaps one of our best kept secrets is that the west coast of Michigan is a “gold coast”. What’s a “gold coast” you may ask? A gold coast is a strip of land adjacent to a large body of water that has the potential to develop in a big way and generate a lot of income (gold) for lots of people. Needless-to-say, this is something that Michigan’s economy needs at the moment.

Why is it a secret? Many of the good folks who already live along the eastern shores of Lake Michigan are not anxious to share their good fortune with others. Long time residents remember the time the Federal government came in and made them give up some of their prime shoreline property for our nation’s 1^st national seashore, the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The Michigan retirees who have recently moved there, see potential new residents as competitors for the good stuff: lakefront property, well-stocked fishing and boating lakes and rivers, and uncrowded local services. They’re not about to advertise to “foreigners” the fact that the west coast of Michigan has beautiful dunes and harbors, good weather (becoming better with each passing year), diverse year-round recreation, unlimited fresh water, and a remarkably low cost of living.

What would happen if the prosperous but overcrowded peoples of Chicago and other mid-American states and cities got wind of the remarkable charms of western Michigan? They’d pour into the region, renting and buying up vacation properties, settling into sprawling gated retirement communities, make demands on construction, retail, and health services, and generally spend money like mad. The quaint coastal towns and villages would explode in population and be transformed into vibrant communities – much to the chagrin of those already there.

Who are the people who would bring all this gold and prosperity to western Michigan: Well-healed Chicago-area commuters and seventy-eight million retiring Baby Boomers (with mobile pensions) all desiring to stay and recreate on a coast where hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, floods, pollution, and unending droughts don’t happen.

The main limitations at the moment to the growth of Michigan’s gold coast are its snowy, but not bitterly cold, winters and poorly integrated transportation. Regarding the former, western Michigan’s winters are in fact getting milder while its summers remain pleasant due to the lake-effect of Lake Michigan (far better than the other side of this big lake).

Regarding transportation, effective growth is retarded by the lack of a passenger rail line, safe airports, and a scenic coastal highway. Indeed, one of the best investments the State could make would be in a high-speed rail linked to Chicago speeding vacationers and others to Traverse City in two hours, Charlevoix in three, and Petoskey in four. Unfortunately, Lansing appears quite oblivious to the remarkable opportunities afforded by western Michigan’s unique gold coast. Well, that’s because it’s a secret. Sssh!