Gays here, elsewhere look to retire among 'like-minded'

By M.S. Enkoji - menkoji@sacbee.com

Last Updated 6:09 am PDT Thursday, March 13, 2008
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1

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"It's not as though prejudice and discrimination have gone away. There will be places where an older gay or lesbian will face discrimination," he said.

Aging gays and lesbians encounter other disadvantages, such as no inherited Social Security for couples, and compounded legal expenses to ensure inheritance and other status issues, Herek said.

Even with disparities in the states' protections, when it comes to retirement, gays and lesbians seem to mirror the general population by clustering in Florida, the arid climes of Arizona and Nevada, and the Oregon coast, said Gary Gates, a senior research fellow at the Williams Institute at UCLA.

The institute conducts public policy research on sexual orientation and advocates for more federal data collecting, such as the U.S. census.

Gates has gotten at least a half-dozen calls in the past year inquiring about the market for gay and lesbian retirement developments, he said.

Still, gauging the demand is not precise enough to draw big investment dollars, he said. It's unclear which services, from active living to nursing homes, will draw the most appeal, he said.

Peter Lundberg has been trying for 12 years to attract entrepreneurs for a market-rate development in Northern California. Lundberg, who is active in San Francisco's gay community, has researched, surveyed and honed the concept into a science. But one with no takers yet.

Not enough deep-pocket investors see beyond a niche market, Lundberg said. He's convinced it's not niche, but quite particular. "We want to sit out on the walkways and street with other people. That isolating, suburban model is not set up to provide the social services and the community interaction that we need," he said. "You can't have a developer say, 'I'll just slap a rainbow flag on it.' It doesn't fly."

At Head Hunters, Reynolds finished her beer as an evening crowd began drifting in. She said she feels vital enough to crank out another 15 years at work.

But it's not too early for a wish list.

"It's like everyone else," she said. "You want to have the same culture and lifestyle so you can go on the way you always have."

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Call The Bee's M.S. Enkoji, (916) 321-1106.

Ruth Cadway, left, jokes with grandson Rory and daughter Tisa Cadway on Thursday at the facility in Fair Oaks. "It's nice to have a loving, warm place without prejudice," Ruth Cadway, a lesbian, said about the gay-sensitive retreat. José Luis Villegas / jvillegas@sacbee.com

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Last October, Tisa Cadway opened Camellia Assisted Living, a bed-and-breakfast-style retreat on a secluded hilltop in Fair Oaks that is gay-sensitive. She hopes to welcome her first client in May. José Luis Villegas / jvillegas@sacbee.com

Click on photo to enlarge

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