Retirees
Advertisement for the Casta del Sol retirement community in Mission Viejo; courtesy the Mission Viejo Public Library, Mission Viejo Heritage Committee Planned Community Collection
To Southern California
California has long been a destination for those seeking to retire in a warm, sunny climate. Many of the well-to-do who arrived in Southern California after the completion of the Santa Fe railroad in the 1880s fit this description. But another 70 years would pass before the concept of retirement itself would become a national phenomenon.
Retirement — A New Nationwide Phenomenon
The first significant wave of U.S. retirees came in the 1950s. The postwar increase in life expectancy and the rise in pension funds such as Social Security suddenly made it possible for people to imagine a different kind of life after age 60. Following decades of hard work they sought to spend their golden years away frpm the cold northern winters of populous states such as New York and Michigan. They looked to warmer places such as Arizona, Florida, and Southern California for new homes, and the nation's first retirement communities were established.