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Celebration, Florida
| Celebration is
situated just outside of Orlando, Florida and is a
master planned community developed by The Walt Disney
Disney Company as a place that embodies the Disney
spirit of life as a bowl of cherries. the current
population is approximately 9,000 people and the town
has cool since it's initiation in 1994, growing by more
than 200% during the last decade. It is definitely
a popular place, and retirees make up much of the
citizenry, but Celebration has also received criticism
for looking like a neighborhood in the movie The Stepford
Wives (the original, not the badly done
remake). Of course, not everyone thinks Stepford
Wives neighborhoods are a bad thing.
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The city is divided into villages, some with lakes,
rivers and even homes with concierge service.
Housing varies between condominiums, townhomes and
single family residences. It is a walkable community,
well laid out, and is designed to feel like the
quintessential, traditional American small town.
The cost-of-living is 50% above the national average,
and the median home price is roughly $550,000
(quintessential Americana does not come
cheap). The residents leaned to the left
politically, which is somewhat surprising since this is
Florida, and the median household income is
significantly above the national average. Of the
population, 32% is age 45 or better.
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crime rate in Celebration is below the national average,
and residents are educated. Nearly 93% of them have at
least a high school diploma, and 35% of them have at
least a bachelors degree.
Celebration has lots of festivals and events to keep
retirees busy, including the Great American Pie Festival
and the Posh Pooch Festival. The downtown is
lively with restaurants and boutique shops, coffeehouses,
bookstores and other retailers. There is, however,
no local public transportation.
Celebration Health is the local medical facility and
it is technologically state-of-the-art, meeting or
exceeding national averages in most areas . It is a
teaching hospital with about 65 beds. Further medical
facilities are in Orlando.
Florida is a friendly state when it comes to
retirement taxes. The state has no income tax, and
so retirement income is not taxed. Real estate is taxed
at its full valuation but owners received a
homestead exemption of up to $50,000. There is no
estate tax or inheritance tax.
When
it comes to climate, it's Florida. Summers are hot
and muggy and winters are mild. The average
January high temperature is 72° and the average July
temperature is in the mid-90s. The area receives roughly
50 inches of rain each year, and on the comfort index, a
combination of humidity and temperature, celebration
comes in well below the national average. The sun shines
270 days of the year.
Celebration
has a bit of a manufactured feeling about it, but it is
clean and well managed. In many ways, it has what
retirees are seeking: a safe community with pretty homes
nestled in the warm Florida climate. It is a place
to consider for retirement.
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