Leland, NC- At 7:30 on a Monday morning, 68 year-old Anne Burkhart is about to go for a swim. She will do laps for close to an hour. Her goal is to get out to one of the many pools in her Brunswick Forest neighborhood three of four times a week.
“It’s funny all those years you’re working,” said the retired school teacher, “and you think when you reach retirement you’ll get to sleep in. But I still set the alarm clock. Sometimes I have to laugh about it- that I am actually forcing myself out of bed just to dive into the water.”
Many mornings Anne’s husband George tags along. He doesn’t get into the pool. He typically stays in the adjacent clubhouse and gym doing cardio and light weights.
Swimming and working out are just a few of the options that the Burkharts have open to them. There’s tennis, and pickle ball, miles of walking trails and golf to name a few. There are no rocking chairs in this retirement. The couple that moved down here four years ago from Ohio are now more active then ever before.
“We were looking for warmer weather, like everyone migrating from the north” said Anne. “But the point to the warmer weather is to get out and enjoy it- to do something- to keep moving.”
Anne and George are part of an America that is getting much older.
In just a few years, by 2030, 1 out of every 5 people in this country will be 65 years or older. Just a few years later, by 2034, it is projected that for the first time in history, there will be more Americans older than 65 than the number of Americans below the age of 18.
Advocating for seniors has long been the mission of the AARP. In recent years the organization has launched efforts to team up with towns and cities across the country preparing them for the growing retirement boom. The goal is to help them become more “Age Friendly” communities. Participating municipalities get feedback to become, among other things, more walkable, to provide more key services, and to create more activities that get folks up and moving.
Across the nation the AARP is working with 760 towns and cities, but only one of them- Leland- is located in southeastern North Carolina.
The Brunswick County town teamed up with AARP starting in May of 2022. As part of their partnership the organization ranked Leland with what it calls a Livability Index score of 50 points, which puts the town in the top half of age friendly communities throughout the country.
Leland’s highest score in the survey was a 78 under the Engagement category, which measures the variety of physical actives for retirees. Its lowest rating was for public transportation where the town scored a 41, well below the national average.
In addition to analyzing public services, AARP also looked at private options offered by local companies and neighborhood. Leland scored high for its several amenity rich communities built for the active senior, (including Brunswick Forest, Compass Pointe, Waterford of the Carolinas, Magnolia Greens and Bluffs on the Cape Fear River.)
“If we would have moved to another community, we could have very easily become complacent,” said Anne. “This will sound lazy but if I had to get into a car, drive across town to find a pool or gym, I’d probably miss more days than I make. It’s having it all within walking distance, all of it just outside your door, that keeps you going.”
And keep going she does. Later this week Anne has plans to meet up with a friend and go kayaking. That’s pretty impressive for a 68-year-old on a Thursday morning. But as AARP and towns like Leland are proving, just because America is getting older… doesn’t mean it has to slow down.