Unique Retirement Communities: Nalcrest

With a listing of all the senior living options in North America, SeniorAdvisor.com’s in a good position to spot those doing something special. In our monthly Unique Retirement Communities series, we feature senior communities doing something that stands out from the pack. This time, we take a look at NALCREST!

Throughout our lives, there’s always a drive to find a community that feels welcoming and comfortable. If anything, that desire only increases with age. When your work community largely falls off after retirement and your kids are grown and busy with their own lives, it’s important to find other people to connect with to keep your social world from shrinking.

In our new series looking at senior living communities that offer something unique, interesting, or fun to residents, we now highlight Nalcrest, the retirement community specifically built for letter carriers.

Nalcrest is located in Central Florida and is open only to those who are members of the National Association for Letter Carriers. For those who qualify, the community provides affordable housing ($365-$520 per month) in a beautiful area next to a couple of lagoons residents use for fishing and boating. And, of course, a stay there offers instant access to a community of fellow seniors that immediately have something in common they can bond over – their many long years spent as mail carriers.

Perhaps suggesting some truth to the cliché of a mailman being chased by angry dogs, Nalcrest bans all pets. Residents never have to worry about being bothered by territorial pooches within their community again. Those that have their own pets they love need not apply. Not too many former mail carriers seem to be put off by the ban though – Nalcrest has a waiting list. If you think you might be interested in a stay there after retirement, best to look into it sooner rather than later.

The retirement community brings just about everything a resident would need into one place. They have the usual amenities like a fitness center (which is well equipped, partially due to residents donating their personal equipment when they found it didn’t fit in their apartments) and exercise classes. Residents have their pick of a number of social activities as well, like weekly Bingo and local clubs and organizations that give like-minded community members an opportunity to gather.

Residents also enjoy some nice perks, including an Olympic-sized swimming pool and access to local tennis courts. Oh, and no one delivers the mail. There’s a local post office made up of P.O. boxes where people often congregate to gossip, so everyone can still get their mail without anyone having to do the work they all left behind.

Working as a mail carrier doesn’t bring with it too many perks throughout a long career, but Nalcrest is one thing the union got very right. Residents can enjoy a quaint existence with plenty of social activities, relaxation and fun at a price few senior communities can beat. The net result is a sense of a comfort, community, and rest available as a reward for a long career of hard work.  

Kristen Hicks

Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based copywriter and lifelong student with an ongoing curiousity to learn and explore new things. She turns that interest to researching and exploring subjects helpful to seniors and their families for SeniorAdvisor.com.