55 Plus Communities: The Ideal Communities To Relocate To When You Retire
Today’s “55 Plus” Communities or “Retirement” Communities mean more than a collection of residences in the same neighborhood or geographic area. Communities set a yardstick for design and development and provide an impression of sureness your investment will be protected and preserved. It does not so much concern the community being “gated” as much as it concerns the fact that they are “planned.” Whether you have a guard house or gate or not, inhabitants feel more protected living in a community with compatible individuals with similar interests and these are becoming very popular especially with retired individuals. Most all communities are deeded real estate. These days, there are many different sorts and modes of “communities” which have different kinds of amenities.
An “Active Adult Community” is an age-restricted community requiring that at the least one household resident is age 55. No teenagers or children can live permanently. Residents are normally occupied with community pursuits and are retired, occupied in some fashion, or run their own business. Many Adult Communities do the maintenance of the property for the residents. I choose to refer to them as Active Lifestyle Communities since, essentially, the spotlight these days seems to be more on lifestyle and conveniences, and not on age. Several communities concentrate on horses, boating, golf, fitness or some other outdoor activity. They have some dash to them.
“Private Residence Clubs” are deeded real estate ownership (fractional ownership) devoid of the added responsibility of owning. The cost changes with the dwelling and number of weeks in your plan. With “Destination Clubs” you don’t own any of the real estate and for only a membership fee and year on year charges, provide access to houses throughout the world. The 2 categories present premium accommodation at resort destinations with first-class services.
“New Urbanism” communities tightly bunch together a wide variety of home types, encourage interface with people living there that are diverse, starting from the retirees to young families. These communities present accessible Main Street shopping, eating establishments and a mix of commercial development. They discourage the use of a motor vehicle, and maintain undeveloped shared “green space” and attract people of all ages and social classes.
“New Ruralism” fosters a link with nature, solitude, and community involvement only as wished. Houses are large and segregated by farm land, nature sanctuaries and natural features. It is distinguished by unbuilt areas shared by everyone.
“Co-housing” is a fresh sort of community real estate where people are committed to helping each other and getting accepted by the age-group that were responsible for the commune. Residents have a townhome or condo and share in a “common house”, join in the design, operation and maintenance of the community. The common facilities frequently include a living room, a room for kids, a kitchen, recreational facilities, meditation room and workshops.
There are plenty of different types and modes of “communities”. Whether you’re a retiree or want to relocate to your fantasy home, communities provide an extensive range of lifestyles. There is no better method to find out more about communities than going on a tour to visit them. Several of them present “discounted” weekend packages. Also, many provide a videotape or digital tape of their community.
Visit www.PlacesOfValue.com for more articles on best places in North Carolina and South Carolina, relocation and/or retirement made easy, top retirement communities, cost of living, and designing and building your Dream Home.
To get your FREE REPORT on “Affordable Best Places In The Carolinas”, and find your Best Place to Live in the Carolinas: http: http://www.PlacesOfValue.com/page/best_places.php
I’ve spent over 30 years finding the best real estate locations for major corporations. These companies have made hundreds of millions of dollars based on the locations I’ve selected.
I’m a professional real estate site locator and location analyst. During the last 5 years, I’ve been researching the growth of towns in North and South Carolina, for the relocation of my family.
I’ve studied hundreds of towns to find those areas which are still affordable, have a high quality lifestyle, and the potential for future growth.
My purpose is to share what I’ve found with you and help you find your Best Place to Live in the Carolinas.
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Tags: Communities, Ideal, Plus, Relocate, Retire
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Become a Master Communicator
Jul 30
2010
Become a Master Communicator
One key factor for you to have more happiness in your life is to work to improve your communication skills. By improving your communication skills, you will more effectively receive what you want in life.
The reason why most people have unsatisfactory results in their life, is because they have poor communication skills. People get frustrated when they don’t get what they want,and often times don’t realize it is because they did not communicate clearly, what it is they wanted.
Poor results come from poor communication, not only in personal communication, but also in metaphysical communication. Many times people do not get exactly what they want in life because their communication to the Universe or the Higher Power and to themselves is unclear.
You must be very clear on exactly what it is you want when communicating with another person, The Universe, or yourself.
I know you may be thinking, what do I mean with yourself. A lot of times we are wishy washy with what we want. We tell ourselves “I kind of want this,but I also kind of want that.” or “I guess that would be alright.”. We need to be very specific with ourselves of exactly what it is we want. We cannot express clearly, to someone else, what we want if we are unclear, about what we want, ourselves.
First we will discuss how to communicate with your Higher Power to get what you want, then we will discuss how to communicate with other people. I am using the term “Higher Power” or “Universe” because I do not want to offend any one’s religious beliefs. You can replace the term Higher Power with God or whatever name you believe the creative source to be called. The principles for communication will be the same.
To manifest what you want in life, from a metaphysical standpoint, I would highly encourage you to sit quietly with a pen and paper, and write exactly what it is that you want to create in your life. Write what you want in great detail. The more detailed you are, the better. Remember, this is about being extremely clear about what it is that you want.
After you have written what it is that you want, I would highly suggest that you read what you wrote one to three times a day out loud. This will benefit you in two ways. First, it will help your mind get extremely clear and focused on exactly what you want. Your mind being clear will help you stay focused, take proper action and communicate to others in a more clear, concise and effective manner. The second benefit is, the two most powerful ways to communicate with the Universe, to manifest, is through writing and speaking. Writing creates the most energy, with speaking creating the second most energy. Writing and speaking to the Universe are your two most powerful ways to create what you want.
Now let’s talk about our everyday communication with other people. There are many elements that go into positive effective communication. There is verbal and nonverbal communication.
The words that we use only make up 7% of our communication. The other 93% is voice tone and body language. What that means is, before you have even said a word, you have already said a lot.
It is very important to practice paying attention to your body language and voice tone. It is important to be aware of your voice tone, when you speak. Have you ever had someone ask you for something in a whiny sounding voice; or how about in a very demanding tone of voice? Think back to when someone has approached you with either of these voice tones. Did you really want to give them what they were asking for? Probably not, you were probably pretty turned off by their approach. Focus on having a friendly confident tone.
Body language is huge! So many people are giving the wrong signals and they don’t even realize it. Your words and voice tone may be saying one thing, but your body is saying something very different. The non verbal speaks louder than the verbal, always. The person that you are communicating with will most often not even realize that they are being effected by your body language, however they are, it happens on a subconscious level.
Pay attention to your body language. First of all make sure you are standing up straight with your shoulders back. Good posture communicates confidence. Everyone is attracted to a person who is truly confident. You are much more likely to have someone say yes to you, when you exude self confidence, than if you do not. Another tip is to avoid standing with your arms folded in front of you. Arms folded communicates that you are stand offish and blocking the other person from getting through to you. It also communicates disinterest.
Eye contact is so important, because of so many reasons. I will just cover a few reasons here. For one thing, it shows strong self confidence. It also allows you to have a strong connection with the person you are communicating with. A lot of people do not trust a person that avoids eye contact and building trust is the number one component to effective communication. Eye contact can be hard for some people. If you are someone who has difficulty with maintaining eye contact, begin practicing now. It begins with awareness, then practice, then mastery. One of the most important skills that you can practice and master is maintaining good eye contact.
Next comes the words that we use. Even though words are only 7% of our communication, they are still extremely important and require conscious awareness to use them effectively. There is so much to cover, when it comes to the words we use. I will share some resources for you to study on your own, that will help you with everything that we just covered. First let’s cover what I believe to be one of the most important things to be aware of when it comes to the words you use.
Most people’s main focus when they communicate is on themselves. They use the word “I” over and over again. Understanding that most people’s main interest is themselves can be a very valuable tool for you. One of your greatest tools to be a great communicator is to stop using the word “I”, “Me” and “My” so often and start using the word “You”, “Your” and “Yours” much more often. People love to talk about themselves, and if you let them do it, you will be their most favorite person in the whole world, because most of the people they talk to are talking about themselves most of the time.
Another important thing to realize is that people love the sound of their own name. Use a persons name often during a conversation with them. They will be putty in your hands.
Remember, God gave us two ears and one mouth so talk less and listen more. And really listen, a lot of times when another person is speaking we are caught up in our head thinking about how we are going to respond or just waiting for our turn to speak. Listen with you complete focus and attention on what they are saying then trust that you will be able to respond organically. The best communicators are the best listeners, not the best talkers.
To really master these skills and take your communication to a whole new level, I would highly recommend that you begin to study NLP. NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming. By mastering NLP, you will become a master of influence. NLP will cover the best way to use your words, how to build powerful rapport, how to read other people and so much more.
Here are a couple of tips on how to build powerful rapport. First when talking to someone on the phone or in person, match their speaking style. It is a good idea to match the voice tone and speaking speed of the person that you are talking to.
Another powerful tool is to mirror the body language of the person you are communicating with. Don’t mimic them, just subtly mirror them. When you do this you are sending them a subliminal message that you are just like them.
Remember, no matter where your communication skills currently are, you can always be better. To be a better communicator it just takes self awareness, the desire to be better and practice.
Ryan Pearson is a Master Life Coach, Author and Inspirational Speaker. As a student and teacher of Metaphysics and Spirituality for over 14 years, he has helped many people experience more inner peace, joy, prosperity and love in their lives.
http://www.lifecoachryanpearson.blogspot.com
Tags: Become, Communicator, Master
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Nonverbal Communication: What?s it All About?
Jul 20
2010
Nonverbal Communication: What?s it All About?
Communication is critical to continued human development throughout our life span. It is what allows us to share thoughts, feelings, wonderings, and knowledge with others. Whether you are a verbal or nonverbal communicator, the vast majority of communication we do is through nonverbal channels.
So if nonverbal communication makes up a substantial portion of our communicative experience, what does it involve? Many of us associate facial expression and gestures with nonverbal communication, but these are not the only two types involved. There are, in fact, eight different types of nonverbal communication:
Facial Expression This makes up the largest proportion of nonverbal communication. Large amounts of information can be conveyed through a smile or frown. The facial expressions for happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are similar across cultures throughout the world.
Gestures Common gestures include pointing, waving, and using fingers to indicate number amounts.
Paralinguistics This includes factors such as tone of voice, loudness, inflection, and pitch. Tone of voice can be powerful. The same sentence said in different tones can convey different messages. A strong tone of voice may indicate approval or enthusiasm, whereas the same sentence said with a hesitant tone of voice may convey disapproval or lack of interest.
Body Language and Posture A person’s posture and movement can also convey a great deal of information. Arm crossing or leg-crossing conveys different meanings depending on the context and the person interpreting them. Body language is very subtle, and may not be very definitive.
Proxemics This refers to personal space. The amount of space a person requires depends on each individual’s preference, but also depends on the situation and other people involved in the situation.
Eye Gaze Looking, staring, and blinking are all considered types of eye gaze. Looking at another person can indicate a range of emotions including hostility, interest, or attraction.
Haptics This refers to communicating through touch. Haptics is especially important in infancy and early childhood.
Appearance Our choice of color, clothing, hairstyles, and other factors affecting our appearance are considered a means of nonverbal communication.
By the time most children are one year old, they are experts in nonverbal communication. They have spent the whole first year of their lives making their wants and needs known, as well as sharing their experiences through nonverbal channels. Around the time of their first birthday, they add the next layer to their dynamic communication repertoire with the verbal piece. Even with the addition of verbal communication, nonverbal expression continues to be the main mode of communication for children as they add more and more words to their vocabulary. Even after children are talking in sentences, nonverbal communication continues to add meaning and structure to the messages being sent and received.
This use and understanding of nonverbal communication becomes automatic for ‘neuro-typical’ children. It is so automatic that many of us are completely unaware that we employ facial expressions and gestures, or that we are using this information to enhance the words we are hearing from our communication partner. We continue to use this mode of communication throughout life.
Think about the word “no,” which can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the nonverbal communication that is being conveyed along with the word. If we say “noooo” with a wrinkled nose and a questioning tone or funny voice, this could convey that we are unsure or don’t really believe what we are hearing. If we hear someone say “NO!” with a loud, or harsh voice, we can interpret that they person is angry or wants an action to be terminated. If someone asks you if you would like a drink, you may answer with “no”; but your tone of voice will most likely be even with little inflection, and your face may just be neutral. In each of these examples the person was saying “no,” but there were three different meanings being conveyed. Without nonverbal communication, it would be difficult to know how to interpret the word.
Many children with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty interpreting multiple modes of communication, and because of this they often miss the nonverbal communication piece that allows accurate interpretation of what is said. In the examples provided above, most children with autism spectrum disorders would only hear the word “no” but miss the nonverbal pieces which help to interpret which “no” is being communicated. This misinterpretation can lead to frustration on the part of both the communicator and the child who is struggling to understand what is happening. At other times, the child may interpret a facial expression, tone of voice, or gesture but not hear the words that went with the nonverbal, which again results in miscommunication. These breakdowns make it difficult for the child to make sense of his/her world.
Working to improve the use and understanding of nonverbal communication is essential for a person with an autism spectrum or neurological disorder. In most cases, working to improve nonverbal communication is the best place to begin improving communication abilities. Expanding the ability to use and understand nonverbal communication provides the necessary foundation for building meaningful dynamic communication. Just as a neuro-typical infant begins by communicating nonverbally, going back and teaching this mode of communication for children who may have missed this step is the foundation for productive communication throughout life.
Teaching nonverbal communication should be done in a natural way that makes sense for each individual child. Telling a child, “look at my face,” or showing a child several pictures of people’s faces and having him/her identify the emotions he sees is not a natural way to work on nonverbal communication. Spending time doing activities with the child where the adult uses very little verbal communication, but is communicating through nonverbal channels, is an effective way to begin introducing nonverbal communication. Playing games where you have changed the rules slightly so as to use only nonverbal communication can also be a fun and more natural way of working on nonverbal communication. For example, you might play Simon Says, using a made up signal for when Simon says to do something. Playing charades can also be a fun way to work on nonverbal communication in a natural context. Take a walk with your child; but instead of saying, “hey look at that dog,” you might pause, point and vocalize, “oh” with a rising inflection to draw attention. There are many ways to work on nonverbal communication that can be explored and used to build this critical foundational piece of communication.
About the Author: Helping children on the autism spectrum to begin using nonverbal communication is one of the ways that RDI® works to remediate this core deficit of autism. Improving the ability to communicate meaningfully improves a person’s quality of life. For more information on communication issues and the RDI® program, visit our website at www.HorizonsDRC.com
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