Long Island has a lot to offer seniors considering their retirement options. The island boasts plentiful art and culture, miles of beautiful beaches, mass transit, world-class health and educational facilities, a diverse economy plus easy access to New York City and major transit hubs.

The following list offers a look at just some of the retirement communities worth considering, right here on Long Island.

55+ DEVELOPMENTS FOR SALE OR RENT

Beechwood Homes

The nationally recognized Beechwood Organization, also known as Beechwood Homes and founded in 1985, has built more than 9,500 homes in 70 communities across Long Island, New York City and Saratoga Springs, New York, and is currently expanding into North Carolina. They like to say, they’re “not just selling a home, but a lifestyle.” On Long Island, Beechwood is currently selling Country Pointe communities in Plainview and Yaphank, Meadowbrook Pointe and Meadowbrook Pointe Gardens communities in East Meadow, Marina Pointe in East Rockaway, and both Country Pointe Estates and Oneck Landing in The Village of Westhampton Beach. The Rental collection includes luxury residences at The Selby and The Vanderbilt in Westbury, and The Tides at Arverne by the Sea in Queens. Among completed communities are Meadowbrook Pointe in Westbury and Meadowbrook Pointe Links and Spa in Medford, Country Pointe communities in Bellmore, Coram, Dix Hills, Kings Park, Lake Grove, Manorville, Melville, Miller Place, Ridge and Smithtown. Award-winning communities in Southampton Village are The Latch, Bishops Pond and Bishops Grant.

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What recent project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of?

Steven Dubb: "The Latch Southampton Village. In 2016, we bought the historic Village Latch Inn. From 2017-2019, during the application process to convert the 67-unit lodging on 5-acres to a 20-home luxury condo community, we operated it as The Latch Pop-Up Inn. In 2020, after consultation with 15 agencies, neighbors and Village Board of Architectural Review & Historic Preservation, approval was granted. It included our commitment to restore exteriors of two early 20th century structures designed by Stanford White. Then came COVID. Last June, we finally broke ground and started pre-construction sales. By 2021, half the homes sold off floor plans. Four designer-decorated models open in April. First occupancy is this summer. Five years on, I’m so proud to have brought together the best of Hamptons old world charm and new construction. The Latch is just beautiful."

Owners of new or extensively renovated homes in Nassau County could spread out up to $750,000 in new valuation over eight years under a tax relief legislation approved this week in the State Legislature.

Under Nassau's first countywide reassessment in a decade, homeowners can phase-in valuation changes — up or down — over five years.

But the exemption did not apply to new homes, or those with major renovations, because the properties essentially were being assessed for the first time.

Those homeowners effectively had to pay their full assessed valuations right away, while most properties were allowed to catch up to their new values over a five-year period.

Many owners of newly constructed homes, or those with extensive renovations, complained of exorbitant tax bills .

They said they were shouldering a disproportionate share of the property tax burden because so many other properties received the phase-in exemption.

"This bill protects taxpayers and encourages both new construction and job growth during this much-needed coronavirus pandemic recovery period," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said in a statement.

Sales for two new condominium complexes from the Beechwood Organization are underway in East Meadow, with one-third of one of those communities already sold in pre-construction phase.

Prices for units in both complexes start at around $619,000.

Meadowbrook Pointe Gardens, on the site of the former Oberle’s Florist and Greenhouses, is now available as pre-construction sales at 845 East Meadow Ave. The 48-home community is made up of 2-bedroom, 2-bath villas. The lower floor is 1,200 square feet with a full-sized basement and patio. The upper floor units are 1,600 to 1,700 square feet with a loft area and foyer entrance. The loft or basement give extra space for flexibility, says Beechwood Homes CEO Michael Dubb. Condo fees are about $357 a month. Speno Park is right next door, and within walking distance. Already one-third of the homes in Meadowbrook Pointe Gardens are sold via floor plans.

"You’ll have empty nesters and some starting out," says Dubb of the buyers for those homes. "There’s pent-up demand, so people are willing to buy early… By buying early, they are getting a good deal and saving money."

Meadowbrook Pointe East Meadow, a "Golden Age" community for those 62 years of age and older, will be an "active lifestyle community" with amenities such as a clubhouse, heated pool, fitness center, and a bar/lounge. The 104-home plan has both single level and multi-level villa-style homes of 2 bedrooms, 2 baths ranging from 960 square feet to 1,394 square feet. The monthly condo fees for this community, at 123 Merrick Ave., will be about $390.

If you’re looking for all the good stuff — quality food, fun and high-achieving schools — East Meadow has it all. That’s how businessman Jim Skinner, past president of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce, sees it. "Eisenhower Park, in particular, has three golf courses and an Olympic-size swimming pool that’s among the largest in the Northern Hemisphere," Skinner said. "It was built in 1998 for the Goodwill Games."

Named in the 1700s for pastures east of a waterway that were deemed ideal for grazing cattle and sheep, East Meadow today stretches between two highways, the Meadowbrook and Wantagh State parkways. The community is home to some 12,800 families, both young and aging, with at least three age-restricted developments (and two more under construction), several popular parks, and nine schools.

The Beechwood Organization is developing two new communities of villa residences in East Meadow, one with 48 units and the other with 104 units, with first occupancy for both developments anticipated for summer 2021.

According to 2019 data, East Meadow had a 93.7% high school graduation rate, a 78.1% graduation rate for students with disabilities and a 92.3% graduation rate for economically disadvantaged students, with 68.3% students earning advanced Regents diplomas and 24% earning Regents diplomas.

To boost local retail businesses, the chamber is planning a "reopening" car parade in August with business owners’ cars festooned with banners advertising their wares. A drive-in movie and business "villages" are planned after the parade, according to Skinner who calls East Meadow a "red, white and blue" community of hardworking people.

Home styles in the area include Capes, ranches, Colonials and split-levels, says Nancy Jarvis of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty. "Homebuyers like the schools, the proximity to parkways and the convenience of shopping," she said. "And the taxes are reasonable."