Coastal Alabama Retirement Guide

(Paperback)

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Description

This book gives his thoughts about retiring in Coastal Alabama based on his 34 years of researching retirees and retirement communities. It includes all the details necessary to follow-up on the information in this book. This book provides answers to the questions of would I enjoy retirement in Coastal Alabama and how can I enhance my retirement experience in Coastal Alabama.

This book can be used as a resource for current residents who plan to retire in the area, current tourists to the area who want to learn more about the area, possible future tourists, possible future retirees, current seasonal residents, future seasonal residents, second homebuyers, people in Mobile County who are looking to relocate to Baldwin County, and for people living in Baldwin County to learn more about regional resources in Mobile.

There is a summary of the factors important for retirement destinations. It includes detailed information on such topics as climate, housing healthcare, money matters, safety, outdoor recreation, and cultural attractions. It includes what retirees want in a retirement location.

The common issues for Coastal Alabama such as taxes, demographics, and transportation for Mobile and Baldwin Counties are presented. It includes a brief description of each municipality along Coastal Alabama.

There is a general discussion about the residential options in Coastal Alabama. It covers homeowners' insurance and provides data on housing stock in Baldwin County and Mobile County.

Details are provided about the hospitals in Coastal Alabama. There is a description of the services provided at each hospital. It covers the assisted living and other long-term care facilities in Coastal Alabama.

The outdoor activities available in Coastal Alabama are described. There is information about each park and outdoor facility. There is also information about golf courses, boat launches, marinas, and campgrounds.

It includes details about the museums, arts, and entertainment in Coastal Alabama. Information is provided on the venues. It covers the annual festivals in Mobile County and Baldwin County.

Books, articles, websites, and other literature used during data collection for this book are listed. There is a list of links to the websites of the entities (not listed in the chapters) mentioned in this book.

Current residents in Baldwin and Mobile counties can use this book as a resource on healthcare, housing, long-term care, cultural activities, and recreational attractions. The compiled information summarizes the above factors and provides succinct information including directions and photos.

Tourists and snowbirds who spend their summer or winter vacations in Coastal Alabama could use this book to help them choose varying activities for their time. There are many organizations that have annual conferences in Coastal Alabama. These visitors could use this book for ideas on how to spend their free time during their attendance at conferences. These people could use this book to plan their visits and guide their activities during their visit.

Seasonal residents stay from one to three months each winter in Coastal Alabama. They could use this book as research for assessing Baldwin County and Mobile County as a possible retirement location for them.

Many people own second homes in Coastal Alabama and spend free time at these properties. These property owners could use this book to learn more about Coastal Alabama.

This book is tailor-made for those interested in retiring to Coastal Alabama. It presents all of the important information for them to consider during the choice of their retirement location.

Author Bio

Mark Fagan earned his doctorate in Social Policy, Planning, and Administration at The University of Alabama in 1981. He is Department Head Emeritus at Jacksonville State University in Alabama where he taught from 1981-2014. He has researched retiree migration and retirement communities for 37 years. He is also the author of Attracting Retirees for Economic Development; Retirement Development: A How-To Guidebook; The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: Its History and Economic Impact with a Foreword by David G. Bronner; Coastal Alabama Economic History; Alabama's Public Pension Fund Growth and Economic Expansion Since 1973; and History of the 60 Commercial Buildings Developed by the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

I have been writing about economic impacts, economic history, and economic development for 38 years. Most of my 182 publications and technical writings since 1981 have focused on the economic impact of retirees and retirement places. My publication categories are books-7; technical publications-48; newsletter/magazine articles-71; newspaper specials-8; technical white papers-6; agency publications-6; bound booklets-12; academic journals-4; websites/Facebook Series-4; topic encyclopedia entries-17; and book chapters-2.

I have coordinated 4 Governor's Conferences, made 65 major presentations, and 103 minor presentations around Alabama and the nation about retirees and retirement. I have assisted the RSA since 1992 with The Trail. This work includes negotiations for 3 sites; projected economic impact studies for 5 sites and access roads for 4 sites; booklets on RSA's 2 resort communities; 35 articles; 11 professional presentations; 17 topic encyclopedia entries; 24 news stories; 10 TV programs; and 4 radio programs.

While at JSU, he worked half-time from 1988 to 1992 as a program developer for the Alabama Program to Attract Retirees. He assisted The Retirement Systems of Alabama on various aspects for the development of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail for the last 30 years. His work on the economic impact of retirees was cited as a contribution toward the conceptualization of the Trail. He was intimately involved in the negotiations for three sites; did projected economic impact analyses for five sites; provided the justification for four sites for access road funding; assisted with the housing components around three sites; and has written 17 articles about the Trail that were published in some form.

He has coordinated 4 Governor's Conferences, made 57 major presentations and 96 minor presentations around Alabama and the nation about retirees and program development to attract retirees. He has been a consultant to Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Arizona concerning the attraction of retirees for economic development. In 2016, he presented at the HSBC (Hong Kong Banking Corp) 13th Annual World Golf Business Forum where attendees from the far east, middle east, Europe, Africa, and South America heard Fagan discuss the use of pension funds to finance golf courses.

He has been consulted by CBS News, NBC News, CNN News, ABC News: "Good Morning America," The AARP Bulletin, Time Magazine, Governing Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, New Choices for Retirement Living magazine, Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, Money magazine, Business Week, Golf Digest magazine, Smart Money Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, and National Public Radio for news stories on retirement. He has been quoted and appeared in the following media concerning retirement and retirees: 34 television programs (including The Golf Channel), 248 newspaper articles, and 86 magazines and periodicals.

He has visited and lived in Coastal Alabama for 50 years. He retired to Baldwin County in 2012 and has been writing books and researching Coastal Alabama since then.