Washington offers a high quality of life and lots of outdoor recreation. The climate is wet and cool on the western edge but drier and warmer east of the Cascade Mountains. Overall, the cost of housing in Washington is higher than the national average.
Jubilee at Hawks Prairie
Jubilee at Hawks Prairie is an age-restricted retirement community located in Lacey, just north of Olympia. This tidy, manicured neighborhood that is not far from the southern beaches of Puget Sound and has gathered a number of design awards. It will have 1,100 single-family homes with nearly 2,000 residents when it is completed in 2010.
This development has 15 different floor plans, and they each have an open, airy feeling with lots of light and standard 9 ft. high ceilings. It is roughly eleven months from original purchase to the finished home. Call 1-866-ENJOY55 for information.
Jubilee Lodge is the 18,000 sq. ft. recreation center where residents enjoy a swimming pool, a game room, an exercise room, a multipurpose room, a spa, bocce ball courts, pool tables, a kitchen and views of Mt. Rainer, as well as dances, movies, fitness classes, potlucks, holiday events and lots of parties.
This is great country for retirees who enjoy the outdoors. Miles of walking trails and bicycle paths stretch from the community through dense forests to a beach overlooking Puget Sound. This trail is open only to residents of Jubilee. The 3,700-acre Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is 5 minutes down the road.
This community is adjacent to 2 public golf courses, and Jubilee homeowners are given annual rate specials to both courses.
The town of Lacey is home to St. Martin’s College, a small (1,500 students), private, Catholic institution, where many annual events take place, including the Lacey Spring Fun Fair, the Dixieland Jazz Festival and the Capitol Food and Wine Festival, giving retirees at Jubilee even more to do.