The Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce, through our tourism program, participates in the State’s “Retire Tennessee” program. As part of that program, Anne Ross, our Director of Tourism attends conferences and retirement living shows to promote our area. Recently Ramay Winchester, the State Director for Retire Tennessee met with some of the planned retirement communities across Tennessee to develop a survey to the leads they received at a recent retirement living show. They sent out 2,000 surveys and received 1,910 back. Ramay recently shared the results of this survey with our Chamber.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Ages of those answering the survey ranged from 45—65+ with the largest percentage being 65+ (37%)
- Household income ranged from $100,000-$150,000 (62%) to $300,000+ (5%)
- The #1 factor in the relocation search was lower property taxes (78%) followed closely by cost of living (76%).
- Mild winter weather (72%) was third. Other factors specified were more opportunities for outdoor recreation
(53%) and less traffic & congestion (46%). - In answering: “where would you like your next home to be” the overwhelming answer was “on a lake (41%) followed
by “in the mountains” (22%) - The top four amenities in relocating were: 1-Hospitals/healthcare providers (57%); 2-walking trails (53%); 3-
wellness/fitness center (47%); 4-sense of community (45%) and access to water (45%). - When asked what retirees like to spend their free time doing, top answers were 1-walking/hiking (77%); 2-
traveling(65%); 3-dining (57%); 4-socializing (56%); 5-golfing (49%); 6-exercising (47%); 7-spending time
with family (46%) ; 8-giving back to community/volunteering (38%) - Forty percent of those surveyed are 2-4 years out from purchasing their retirement home
- Forty percent of those surveyed heard about Retire Tennessee on-line.
For a complete copy of the survey, contact Anne Ross at tourism@morristownchamber.com.