Being Out at 65

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As for developers Razete and Groene, they are out to capitalize further on the trend that they helped start. In August 2000 the duo purchased 165 acres in the mountains near Boone, N.C., for a proposed retirement village of 94 homes to be called Carefree Cove. Last summer they started selling one-acre lots for about $40,000 each. So far, 20 of the 35 have sold.

This time around, however, they have taken a different marketing tack. Gone is the secrecy that enshrouded their first project. Carefree Cove is billed front and center as a lesbian and gay community. But its promise of upscale rustic living might be too pricey for some. Homes start at $200,000. Still, Razete is confident that she has got another hit on her hands. "The country is ready for this now," she says. And so too is a whole new generation of gay adults.