Like any other prospective home buyers, John and Betty Jean Rife considered location a top priority in their search for a retirement home. 

They found their ideal in Oak Hammock, a new retirement community with ties to John's alma mater, the University of Florida. Aside from standard amenities, it offered campus privileges similar to those of university faculty, an assisted-living center, small nursing home, massage therapy and a computer lab. 
Even as boxes sit waiting to be unpacked, 80-year-old John is looking ahead to taking computer classes. His wife wants to learn how to paint. 
"So far, we are quite impressed," he said. 

In recent years, about 60 retirement communities have sprouted near college campuses to house the growing number of older Americans who are living longer than in the past and looking for a place that will continue to stimulate mind and body. In addition to Florida, the University of Michigan as well as Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke and Stanford universities are happy to accommodate them. 

The Rifes paid a $1,000 deposit in 1999 to reserve a two-bedroom, ground-floor apartment in the neighborhood of single-family homes and apartments that opened in March just west of Gainesville. It has its own banking center, convenience store, post office and ice cream shop. 

"We looked at retirement places pretty much all over the South," Rife said. "We wanted to stay in Florida for tax reasons" and Gainesville is also near their two children, who live in South Florida and Georgia. 

University of Michigan alumni Margaret and George DeMuth, both 78, didn't just buy into their community near the campus, they were part of a group that worked to get it off the ground. Since moving into University Commons in Ann Arbor about three years ago, they have found a neighborhood that allows ample opportunity to socialize with other active older people. 

"It's a nice mixture of people," George DeMuth said. "We have people active in business or the faculty, or totally retired." 

DeMuth, who retired as Michigan professor emeritus of pediatrics and communicable diseases, is taking a course in Chinese history. His wife, who worked in the journalism school, is taking a physical education class. Recitals, musical performances and lectures consume much of their leisure time. 

Unlike Oak Hammock, University Commons doesn't have any long-term medical care. "We didn't want this to be the last station before death," DeMuth said. 

These housing options appeal to aging baby boomers primarily because of the university affiliations, said Marc Freedman, author of "Prime Time: How the Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America." 
"A lot of people have fond memories of their university days," he said. "It's a chance to gain a sense of community." 

For all the allure of these communities, however, one expert advises consumer caution. 

"All college-linked retirement communities are not alike," said Ronald Manheimer, executive director of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. "Some offer health packages, others do not. Some provide unique access to campus amenities. Others offer little more than what's available to local citizens."