Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
Audiobook7 hours
Leisureville: Adventures in a World Without Children
Written by Andrew D. Blechman
Narrated by Johnny Heller
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
When his next-door neighbors in a quaint New England town suddenly pick up and move to a gated retired community in Florida called The Villages, Andrew Blechman is astonished by their stories, so he goes to investigate. Larger than Manhattan, with a golf course for every day of the month, two downtowns, its own newspaper, radio, and TV station, The Villages is a city of nearly one hundred thousand (and growing) missing only one thing: children.
In the critically acclaimed Leisureville, Blechman delves into life in the senior utopia, offering a hilarious firsthand report on everything from ersatz nostalgia to the residents' surprisingly active sex life. But this is more than just a romp through a retirement paradise; Blechman traces the history of the age-segregated retirement phenomenon, and travels to Arizona to show what has happened to the pioneering developments after decades of segregation. A fascinating blend of serious history, social commentary, and hilarious, engaging reportage, Leisureville is an important book on a major, underreported trend.
In the critically acclaimed Leisureville, Blechman delves into life in the senior utopia, offering a hilarious firsthand report on everything from ersatz nostalgia to the residents' surprisingly active sex life. But this is more than just a romp through a retirement paradise; Blechman traces the history of the age-segregated retirement phenomenon, and travels to Arizona to show what has happened to the pioneering developments after decades of segregation. A fascinating blend of serious history, social commentary, and hilarious, engaging reportage, Leisureville is an important book on a major, underreported trend.
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Reviews for Leisureville
Rating: 3.2948717948717947 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
39 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great book about the banalities of retirement.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The plural of anecdote is not data, but in this case it seems to be "book."
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting read. Amazing what people give up for a sense of predictability and control, without really being aware of the fact that it is they who are consenting to BE controlled.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Having lived for 2 years in Ocala, the closest city to The Villages, much of this book was old news to me. However, Blechman does an excellent job of describing the surreal retirement community to those on the outside. And I couldn't agree more with his main points -- removing seniors from the community hurts everyone. While I can see why segregation would be attractive to seniors, it just doesn't seem like a good idea.