Audiobook7 hours
Leisureville: Adventures in a World Without Children
Written by Andrew D. Blechman
Narrated by Johnny Heller
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
When his next-door neighbors in a quaint New England town suddenly pick up and move to a gated retired community in Florida called The Villages, Andrew Blechman is astonished by their stories, so he goes to investigate. Larger than Manhattan, with a golf course for every day of the month, two downtowns, its own newspaper, radio, and TV station, The Villages is a city of nearly one hundred thousand (and growing) missing only one thing: children.
In the critically acclaimed Leisureville, Blechman delves into life in the senior utopia, offering a hilarious firsthand report on everything from ersatz nostalgia to the residents' surprisingly active sex life. But this is more than just a romp through a retirement paradise; Blechman traces the history of the age-segregated retirement phenomenon, and travels to Arizona to show what has happened to the pioneering developments after decades of segregation. A fascinating blend of serious history, social commentary, and hilarious, engaging reportage, Leisureville is an important book on a major, underreported trend.
In the critically acclaimed Leisureville, Blechman delves into life in the senior utopia, offering a hilarious firsthand report on everything from ersatz nostalgia to the residents' surprisingly active sex life. But this is more than just a romp through a retirement paradise; Blechman traces the history of the age-segregated retirement phenomenon, and travels to Arizona to show what has happened to the pioneering developments after decades of segregation. A fascinating blend of serious history, social commentary, and hilarious, engaging reportage, Leisureville is an important book on a major, underreported trend.
Related to Leisureville
Related audiobooks
The Chocolate Money Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Leaving When?: Adventures in Downward Mobility Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Downeast: Five Maine Girls and the Unseen Story of Rural America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Being Texan: Essays, Recipes, and Advice for the Lone Star Way of Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A $500 House in Detroit: Rebuilding an Abandoned Home and an American City Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ladysitting: My Year with Nana at the End of Her Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Girl in the Middle: Growing Up Between Black and White, Rich and Poor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making?: Letters of Love and Lust from the White House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOh, Florida!: How America's Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?: A Story of Women and Economics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Food, We Need to Talk: The Science-Based, Humor-Laced Last Word on Eating, Diet, and Making Peace with Your Body Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTears of Salt: A Doctor's Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHillbilly Highway: The Transappalachian Migration and the Making of a White Working Class Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Our Prime: The Invention of Middle Age Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Just Checking Scores: TV Anchor Publicly Shamed by Husband's Secret Sex Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fishing!: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Our Prime: How Older Women Are Reinventing the Road Ahead Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarred by Congress: How a Mormon, a Socialist, and an African American Elected by the People Were Excluded from Office Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChanel Bonfire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gray Area Drinker: Uncorking the Problem & Examining Your Drinking Habits (Quit Lit) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHella Town: Oakland's History of Development and Disruption Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwilight in Hazard: An Appalachian Reckoning Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Fundamentals of Play Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Ought To Do a Story About Me: Addiction, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Endless Quest for Redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If You Lived Here You'd Be Famous by Now: True Stories from Calabasas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Relationships For You
I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You’re Not the Only One F*cking Up: Breaking the Endless Cycle of Dating Mistakes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lonely Dad Conversations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let’s Hang Out: Making (and Keeping) Friends, Acquaintances, and Other Nonromantic Relationships Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Games People Play: The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talk to Me Like I'm Someone You Love, Revised Edition: Relationship Repair in a Flash Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Moms Are Not Alright: Inside America's New Parenting Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dad at Peace Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hit and Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All About Love: New Visions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5ADHD is Awesome: A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Summer of Fall: Gravity is a bitch, but I'm still standing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dad on Pills: Fatherhood and Mental Illness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be the Love You Seek: Break Cycles, Find Peace, and Heal Your Relationships Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Leisureville
Rating: 3.2948717948717947 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
39 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great book about the banalities of retirement.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The plural of anecdote is not data, but in this case it seems to be "book."
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting read. Amazing what people give up for a sense of predictability and control, without really being aware of the fact that it is they who are consenting to BE controlled.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Having lived for 2 years in Ocala, the closest city to The Villages, much of this book was old news to me. However, Blechman does an excellent job of describing the surreal retirement community to those on the outside. And I couldn't agree more with his main points -- removing seniors from the community hurts everyone. While I can see why segregation would be attractive to seniors, it just doesn't seem like a good idea.