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Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2011, more than 7,000 people will turn 65 years old every single day. An AARP's survey of boomers turning 65 in 2011 found that many of them are generally satisfied with their lives and optimistic about the next third of life. 

According to this survey of adults age 45 and older, about 75 percent of respondents want to age in place. The primary reason for most of the respondents is to remain in their community near friends and family. This suggests that the market for aging-in-place residential remodeling is likely to remain strong.

The survey, whose results were released late in 2010, was conducted mid-year by the AARP. It revealed that more than eight in 10 Boomers ages 45 and older – and effectively nine in ten people 65+ – report they want to stay in their current homes for as long as possible.

When asked about seven different community aspects and the level of importance they have for them, two-thirds of respondents said that being near friends and/or family and being near where one wants to go (including grocery stores, doctors’ offices, and the library) is extremely or very important to them. Nearly half of the participants noted that being near church or social organizations or being somewhere where it’s easy to walk are extremely or very important to them, while somewhat fewer said the same thing about being near good schools or being near work.

Other findings include:

• Boomers turning 65 are largely satisfied with their lives. Seventy-eight percent of those turning 65 in 2011 say they are satisfied with the way things are going in their lives today. This is almost identical to the 77 percent of boomers turning 60 in 2006 who said they were satisfied.
• About 4 in 10 respondents feel they are about where they expected to be at this point in terms of their financial security and health. However, more people feel they are worse off than feel they have done well in these same areas.  Slight majorities feel they are about where they expected to be in their relationships, at work, and in their spiritual lives.
• Overall, 7 in 10 boomers turning 65 say they have achieved all or most of what they wanted out of life, and 26 percent say they have achieved some of what they wanted.  Only 3 percent say they have achieved little or none of what they wanted out of life. 
• Boomers turning 65 expect to live about the same number of years as they want to live. On average, boomers turning 65 in 2011 expect to live until they are 85.2 years old. This is only 3 1/2 years short of the average length of time they want to live — 88.7 years.

You can read the entire report at http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/general/approaching-65.pdf.