By retirement, seniors have spent years growing in their careers, raising families, developing lifelong friendships and making many memories — and they are far from ready to slow down. For retirees eager to embrace the next season in life with a fun, active, engaging lifestyle, welcome to Greater Gainesville. Here, seniors enjoy living in a healthy, active community with diverse activities, whether it is continuing a lifelong passion or trying something new. Exceptional health care, vibrant downtown districts, sunny skies and a welcoming community await.
See Why Retirees Choose Gainesville
No. 2
7 Great Places to Retire in Florida
Gainesville took the No. 2 spot for its opportunities to learn, its location at the heart of the state, sporting events, plethora of museums and galleries, thriving downtown and health care systems.
No. 3
10 Best Places to Retire in Florida
Gainesville’s affordability, access to health care and quality of life factors for seniors earned it this top spot.
Best Places to Retire in Florida
Gainesville earned its place on Florida Guidebook’s list due to its proximity to springs and beautiful nature attractions, low cost of living, warm climate, intellectual and cultural opportunities, dining options and overall atmosphere.
Being a college town, outsiders might be under the impression that seniors are left out of all the fun and flurry of activity — but this could not be further from the truth. College towns are sought after for their affordability and abundance of fun things to do, and Gainesville certainly has both — and not just for younger demographics.
Seniors enjoy many of the same recreational opportunities as young adults, such as a varied and strong dining scene, cultural attractions such as live music venues and the arts, learning opportunities at museums and educational institutions, charming walkable downtown districts and more.
Active Recreation
With an overflowing calendar of events and festivals, Gator Nation’s nationally ranked sports teams to root on, dozens of nature and water attractions to dip into and miles of paved trails, Greater Gainesville continues to promote an active lifestyle for every age group, especially seniors.
Nine municipalities within the region provide countless parks, natural springs, waterways and hiking and biking trails. In addition, there are several senior recreation centers in the area, such as Gainesville’s Senior Recreation Center, the Cone Park Senior Recreation Center and Senior Recreation Center and Eastside Recreation Center.
Gainesville Health and Fitness is a gym designed for everyone from the first-time gymgoer to the lifelong fitness junkie. GHF offers a club seniors program with classes geared toward seniors — in the pool, on land, in a chair and even “on the streets,” a walking class. GHF’s ambassador, Billie Bob, is the face of the fitness center’s senior programming. She just turned 97 this year, and GHF always celebrates her with a birthday party.
Connecting Through Volunteerism
Volunteering is an important way for retirees to stay active and connected. Being relied upon can give seniors an added sense of purpose and responsibility, while also encouraging social engagement and creating friendships.
“When we look at a lot of the cultural museums and their activities in our area, you’ll see many seniors are the ones that volunteer as docents and more,” Godet said. “We’re noticing seniors are taking over those volunteer positions, and many others, because they get great enjoyment from them. Programs like the Reading Safari at the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo are especially appealing to seniors.”
For information about how to get involved in the community and volunteer, check out the Community Impact story.
10 Factors to Consider When Retiring to Greater Gainesville
- Cost of Living
- Quality of Life
- Health Care
- Housing
- Taxes
- Climate
- Transportation
- Activities
- Maintenance
- Pet-Friendly
Silver Sneakers
The Silver Sneakers program gives seniors access to multiple gyms and fitness centers, with full access to amenities and classes with professional instructors, all for free for qualifying members. The program also includes free online classes and workshops from home. Seniors ages 65 or older are eligible through select Medicare plans.
Here is a list of participating fitness centers in Greater Gainesville:
- Crunch Fitness
- Youfit
- North Central Florida YMCA
- Anytime Fitness — Alachua
- Anytime Fitness — Gainesville
- Hawthorne Wellness Center
- Silver Sneakers live online classes
For more information, visit tools.silversneakers.com.
Never Too Late to Learn
Florida citizens can attend classes for free at certain colleges and universities in Florida, as long as they are at least 60 years old and meet certain requirements.
A Florida State Statute has allowed seniors to be audited into classes at certain public colleges and universities since 2010. Senior students can enroll for free on a space available basis.
Local participating institutions:
By Jewell Tomazin