This entry was posted on Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 at 9:51 pm and is filed under Quality of Life, Real Estate News, Real Estate Trends, San Diego Luxury Homes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Uptown Ruppies and Their Urban Retreats
Two years ago, I met a wonderful couple who lived in a lovely custom home overlooking La Costa Resort and Golf Course. The view from their Carlsbad, CA home was picturesque and their home seemed to suit them perfectly. They were both successful writers, worked from home, and appeared to enjoy an idyllic lifestyle.
Their luxury home was on the market, and I was surprised to hear they were moving about 30 miles to downtown San Diego.
In response to my questions, the husband explained that they wanted to live where they could walk and feel the energy of the city. They wanted to trade the view of the golf course for one of San Diegos harbor. They wanted to walk to coffee shops, restaurants and markets. They wanted the opportunity to hop on San Diegos trolley whenever they felt like it. They wanted to be close to the Civic Center, museums, Petco Park for Padres baseball games, and San Diegos Gaslamp District.
They wanted to trade the gentle pulse of suburban living for the heartbeat of the city.
Today we would have a name for this middle-aged couple. We would call them Ruppies, short for œretired urban people, a term coined by urban planner Kyle Ezell in his 2006 book, Retire Downtown: The Lifestyle Destination for Active Retirees and Empty Nesters. Ruppies represent a growing number of boomers who no longer have to worry about school districts or lawn care and are happily trading suburban soccer fields for city parks.
Real estate choices for Ruppies in central downtown San Diego range from the low $200s for a small condominium or loft, to $2+ million for a luxurious Park Laurel high rise residence, to $4 million for the historic and fully restored Britt Scripps Residence. The choices between these extremes number in the hundreds, with a buyer-friendly level of inventory.
Other retirement-friendly cities also offer wide choices in housing. Some of Ezells favorites include Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Madison, Ashville, Austin, Providence, Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, Miami, Columbus, Denver, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Chattanooga, Oklahoma City and Omaha.
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:54 pm
[...] YouTube Link to Article yahoo Uptown Ruppies and Their Urban Retreats » Posted at LuxuryHomeDigest on Sunday, June 24, 2007 Uptown Ruppies and Their Urban Retreats by Roberta Murphy [ San Diego Harbor and Urban Life]Two years ago, I met a wonderful couple who lived in a lovely custom home overlooking La Costa Golf Course. The view from their Carlsbad, CA home was picturesque and their home seemed to suit them perfectly View Entire Article » [...]
June 23rd, 2007 at 10:55 pm
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June 23rd, 2007 at 10:55 pm
[...] YouTube Link to Article google Uptown Ruppies and Their Urban Retreats » Posted at LuxuryHomeDigest on Sunday, June 24, 2007 Uptown Ruppies and Their Urban Retreats by Roberta Murphy [ San Diego Harbor and Urban Life]Two years ago, I met a wonderful couple who lived in a lovely custom home overlooking La Costa Golf Course. The view from their Carlsbad, CA home was picturesque and their home seemed to suit them perfectly View Entire Article » [...]
June 24th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Ruppies? I understand wanting to be in the city center within walking distance of everything and not having any major home maintenance to attend to. I’ll have to pick up the book. It sounds like an interesting read. We are seeing some of that in Denver. People also want to travel and be able to leave without scheduling major property oversight.
June 24th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Jennifer: It is fun to imagine a life where a morning walk could take you to a museum, a coffee shop or to the harbor–and so much in between. It would be a dream to just lock up and go….
July 7th, 2007 at 8:27 am
St. Petersburg, Florida, has an exciting downtown, too. Many Ruppies are moving to new luxury highrise condominiums with wonderful water views of Tampa Bay. They like walking to restaurants, museums, shops, art shows, parks, and more. Most of the condos with water views start in the $500,000s and go up to $6,000,000. Smaller condos within a few blocks of the water start in the $200,000s.
April 17th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
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