Move over Florida

There are a couple of news worthy items today that are worth discussing. One is about a new coal power plant You can click on the link and read the story but I have to agree why use an ancient technology that will foul our enviornment here that does not even provide power for us. They can not build it in California, because the regulations won't allow it. I agree use modern Technology wind or geothermal instead of polluting coal. The other story is about the growth of retirees here. I especially love the coment that you can still find affordable housing in the $300,000 range. That is affordable to someone coming from California. The no State Tax is one of the things that brought me here but let us keep in mind that us older folks require services and if you want people to provide those services you will need to do one of 2 things. Provide a much higher wage for those workers and keep cost of living within reason for them. Average workerat a Casino, fire dept., teacher cannot afford the $300,000 houses. Do not turn this into another Calfornia. Retiree's are going to Utah too but alas no job there for Old Army..... YET! End of Rant!!!

A state of growth
Steve Timko

Nevada will be the fastest-growing state between 2000 and 2030 and its senior citizen population could more than triple, according to estimates made public today.
While Nevada’s population is projected to increase 114 percent in that 30-year span, its population of people 65 years old and older is expected to increase 264 percent, also the highest in the nation, the U. S. Census Bureau said.
It’s a combination of people who live in Nevada growing old and people retiring here that contribute to the expected increase, State Demographer Jeff Hardcastle said.
Job opportunities have been spurring Nevada’s growth for more than a decade, Hardcastle said.
“So they end up aging in place,” Hardcastle said.
But many people also are selling their homes in California and moving to Nevada because it is more affordable, Hardcastle said.
“California is just such a big population base that any out-migration from there tends to affect the whole West,” he said.
Stan Pedersen of San Jose was looking at homes Wednesday at Sierra Canyon by Del Webb at Somerset. Pedersen said he and his wife are ready to move and could make the Reno area their new home by the end of the year.
“It’s becoming cost-prohibitive down there,” Pedersen said. “Everything is outrageous.”
Plus, he sees a better quality of life in Nevada.
“Traffic is getting to the point where a normal Sunday drive is stress-filled,” Pedersen said.
“You can still buy something in the 300s ($300,000 range) that are really very nice,” Pedersen said. “Price is a major attraction here.”
Cost was a major reason Cary Dyer moved to Dayton from the San Francisco area about 18 months ago.
Dyer bought 30 acres of land that overlooks Dayton Valley and that’s where he’s building his 6,000-square-foot Well of Worship Church. Dyer is pastor of the new church. He’ll start construction “as soon as I can get permits approved by the county,” Dyer said. “I hope by the end of the summer, anyway.”
It’s only by moving to a place such as Dayton that Dyer could afford to buy the land on which to build the church and live on his retirement income while he builds church membership, Dyer said.
He lived in Antioch, Calif., for 39 years, but it wasn’t for him anymore.
“Too big. Too crowded. Too much gridlock,” Dyer said.
Vince Riccabona and his wife, Nora, sold their home in Santa Cruz, Calif., and moved to Wingfield Springs in Sparks in 2001. Riccabona is retired from law enforcement and is a regular at Redhawk Golf Course. Nora Riccabona is still working, he said.
Just about all of their friends are people who moved to Nevada from California, Riccabona said.
“The big thing is no state income tax, so people who are selling (their homes) and retiring don’t have to worry about that,” Riccabona said. “They just pay federal tax.”
Riccabona said they chose the area also because of the outdoor recreation activities available. They can be skiing in an hour instead of the four- to six-hour drives they faced in Santa Cruz.
Marketing studies show recreation, jobs and the lack of an income tax are major reasons many people are moving to the Reno area, said Judy Bennett, director of public and community affairs for Del Webb that’s building Sierra Canyon.
“We have known for a good while that Nevada would be a top destination for baby boomer retirees,” Bennett said.
Of about 242 Del Webb sales in the area, 94 were to people already living in Nevada, Bennett said. The rest were mostly from California, with Placer and Nevada counties as the top counties of origin, she said.
The area needs to start planning now for the increasing senior population, said community activist Bertha Mullins.
Mullins was on the original board of directors that built the Washoe County Senior Citizen Center and also helped establish the community health center that has clients including senior citizens.
As the population ages there will be special needs for food, shelter and medical care, said Mullins, who works as assistant vice president and community development officer for Wells Fargo Bank.
With the Senior Citizens Center, seniors who are able to get around will have a place to eat, Mullins said. There’s a Meals on Wheels to deliver food to those unable to get around, Mullins said. That is a program that will need to be expanded, she said.
Mullins also named two senior citizen housing projects that opened recently and a third that just had a ground-breaking.
“There’s been more affordable senior citizen housing being built,” Mullins said. “I think we’re trying to keep up with that need.”
She had more concerns about medical needs. Many senior citizens are on fixed incomes and already their income is not keeping up with increases in the medicine costs, Mullins said. Groups are focusing on meeting the medical needs of a growing senior population, Mullins said.
“We’re all living longer because of the better quality of life that many have been able to enjoy,” Mullins said. “You don’t want to wait until the crisis. The time is now to plan for new facilities and to begin implementing those plans.”
Despite the huge growth in its senior population, Nevada will still be a relatively young state in 2030, according to Census Bureau estimates. An estimated 18.6 percent of Nevada’s population will be 65 or older in 2030, the bureau estimates. That compares with the national average of 19.7 percent.


Copyright © 2005 The Reno Gazette-Journal