Shreveport is among eight Louisiana cities to be named as Louisiana Retirement Certified Areas.

The other cities on the list are:  Lafayette, Lake Charles, Natchitoches, Ruston, Toledo Bend, and Homua and Thibodaux are included. Lincoln, Sabine and Terrebonne Parishes are also listed. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says the communities were selected for their quality of life for retirees.

"Housing availability, public safety, crime, public transportation, medical services, health care, volunteer opportunities for seniors, recreational areas, fairs and festivals."

Nungesser says this segment of the population can bring big money to our state. 76 million baby boomers are closing in on retirement age and several states and cities are trying to lure them in. One of the reasons Louisiana is attractive to seniors is our mild weather and low cost of living.
Nungesser says "as we work to continue to improve the quality of our state parks and connect bike trails across the state of Louisiana, we're always keeping in mind those communities we are promoting as retirement communities."
The Lt. Governor wants to get a bill passed to create a specialized scratch off lottery ticket which would bring in money to be used toward retirees and improvement of their communities.
"In other states, I've seen people actually that don't buy lottery tickets, will buy them because the money won't get lost in Baton Rouge.  It will go to a group of people that will serve the needs of those people."

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