Most older people "age in place" -- they do not move out of their communities -- but about 10 percent of them moved between 1995 and 2000, and many opted for rural communities, say two development sociology researchers at Cornell. Some rural communities can expect to attract even more retirees as the baby boom generation continues to retire.

David L. Brown and Nina Glasgow, professor and senior research associate, respectively, at Cornell, detail these trends in the new book, "Rural Retirement Migration" (Springer).

The book, based on the researchers' nationwide study, looks at historical trends in rural retirement migration and migration from the perspectives of retirees who have moved in as well as community leaders in their destination communities. It discusses the kinds of environments that promote or hinder opportunities for "productive living during older age" and details the positive and negative effects of older people moving into communities.

On the one hand, older people moving in are considered "grey gold" because they boost local economies, but the newcomers also drive up housing prices, making it more difficult for teachers, first responders, allied health professionals and other service providers to afford housing in the rural retirement communities in which they work. Older in-movers may also require additional services as they age from "younger-old" to "older-old," and hence may eventually strain local governments' budgets.

The book also looks at the process through which older "in-migrants" become socially integrated in their new communities and the kinds of social and civic relationships they develop. In a few short years, older in-migrants are involved in a variety of community organizations and volunteer activities, and a third of them moved to places where one or more of their adult offspring also reside. The book, which is intended for academics, policymakers and planners, university staff and government agency personnel, concludes with policy lessons learned from the research.

The research was supported primarily by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.