Centre for Policy on Ageing



Life on the margins of a Florida retirement community — the experience of snowbirds, newcomers and widowed persons
Author(s)	Deborah Kestin van den Hoonaard
Journal title	Research on Aging, vol 24, no 1, January 2002
Pages	pp 50-66
Keywords	Residents [care homes] ; Integration ; Isolation ; Widows ; Widowers ; Retirement communities ; Social surveys ; United States of America.
Annotation	This article presents the situation of three groups who live in a 10-year old Florida retirement community: "snowbirds", newcomers, and widows and widowers. While such communities are assumed to be homogeneous with high levels of social integration, the members of these three groups live on the social margins. "Snowbirds", for example, spend a significant part of their lives elsewhere, and only migrate to avoid cold winters in the north. This article examines both the structures within the community and the social processes that create an invisible boundary that puts marginal residents on the outside. It concludes that increasing diversity is inevitable, and that homogeneity or lack thereof is in the eye of the beholder. Findings are based on participant observation and in-depth interviews. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-020416222 A
Classmark	KX: TO: TP: SP: SPA: ROA: 3F: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.