STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 47
With small-town charm and ample amenities, the city has much to offer seniors and retirees.
There is much about Stillwater that makes it attractive to people looking for a place to settle. It’ s especially attractive to seniors looking for an active but supportive lifestyle in a community that’ s easy to navigate.
It was attractive enough to become the pilot for a Certified Retirement Community program offered in the early 2010s by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, based on factors that make a city senior-friendly:
• Housing availability and cost
• Climate
• Personal and community safety
• Opportunities for work, volunteering and community service
• Healthcare and emergency medical services
• Educational opportunities
• Recreational and leisure opportunities
• Entertainment like cultural and performing arts, sporting events and festivals
• Availability of services and facilities to assist retirees as they age
Although the state program is no longer active, the things that made Stillwater Oklahoma’ s first Certified Retirement Community remain assets. The addition of new amenities like Block 34, which hosts open air markets, free concerts and community festivals; Oklahoma State University’ s McKnight Center for the Performing Arts, which brings in performers you wouldn’ t expect to see in a town Stillwater’ s size, national touring companies of Broadway plays, internationally renowned musicians from classical to rock and a variety of special events, only enhances residents’ quality of life. And of course, there’ s always the excitement of Oklahoma State University’ s NCAA Division 1 athletics.
Stillwater annual Christmas parade
But beyond that, Stillwater offers ways for people to get connected and engaged through programs like the short courses, travel programs and special interest groups offered by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and art instruction and studio space at Prairie Arts Center, as well as numerous civic clubs. Oklahoma State University allows people 65 and older to audit academic classes at no cost if space is available and the instructor agrees.
A plethora of organizations make it easy to match your interests and volunteer your talents for a good cause, so many that some older residents say they’ re in danger of being busier in retirement than they were before.
Stillwater and the surrounding area are home to many churches with social programs and groups focused on special interests or stages of life, like being an empty nester or being 55 and older.
This community offers residents the chance to be as plugged in and busy as they want to be.
Stillwater Medical Center’ s constant improvement of facilities, including a new campus along the 12th Avenue health corridor; new orthopedic, maternal child health and cardiology units; and recruitment of specialists is another draw. The city will soon have even more to offer in terms of wellness with construction of a new YMCA underway near SMC on 12th Avenue.
Shannon Cowan, a Broker Associate Realtor with Fisher Provence, says she enjoys taking people around Stillwater when they come to town for things like job interviews and wants to help them fall in love with the community.
Making the city more pedestrian friendly and creating more gathering spaces is something that makes
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 47