Lifestyles of Belief: Narrative and Culture in a Retirement Community

This paper examines the culture & narratives occurring in a purpose-built retirement community. It is argued that in order to understand the effects that such a community can have on well-being, it is necessary to analyze the interaction of a variety of interweaving narratives used to sustain a secure microcultural base. These narratives include formal representations, daily life as experienced by tenants, & imaginative associations within community culture. Retirement communities for older people have been represented as containing the positive features of both residential care & neighborhood life. They have also been criticized as promoting exclusivity & negative attitudes to outsiders. Tenants reported experiences of a high level of interdependence & peer support. They saw the community as a positive alternative to nursing homes, continued residence in their local neighborhoods, & reliance on family support. It was found that this retirement community was perceived to have a positive effect on well-being, which was attributed to peer culture & was sustained by imaginative narratives of miracle & progress. However, certain groups were excluded from this dominant reading. 38 References. Adapted from the source document.