As reported in Laurie Orlov's blog, a recent survey about community well-being, by Gallup-Healthway, found Naples, Florida, the top place to live. People aged 18 and older scored towns by factors related to 'Purpose, Social, Financial, Community, and Physical'.
I read most of Laurie's blog postings but having just returned from Naples, Florida I looked at this one in more detail.
I was not surprised by what she said. The median income for a household in Naples is $66K and for those over age 75, it is $71K. In Naples, the median age is 60 and 42% of the population is aged 65+. Want to know what the more affluent parts of the UK are going to look like in a few years time then go Naples.
The point she is making is that if you view the town from another perspective, the numbers of younger people to provide care (the Caregiver Support Ratio) you come to a worrying conclusion that there are not enough people to provide support to the older population.
One of the things about Naples is that there is a transient population of older people (like me) as well as zillions of younger people who come to work in the hotels and restaurants. The figures that are quoted don't reflect this holiday population.
We all know, or should know, that the market for premium quality domiciliary care is the no brainer of all no brainer business opportunities. For this reason, I don't agree with the concept that the Caregiver Support Ratio is a 'given' and fixed by the local demographics. If there is a demand and a well paying demand, then people will come to provide care services - certainly they will in the US.
Not only will places like Naples have great restaurants and hotels it will also have matching medical and care facilities (for the the few).
The US faces the same desperate state of affairs in its care industry as the UK. If you don't believe me read this extract from the Wharton Business School blog. Dick Stroud
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