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Many immigrants come to America for better opportunities for their future generations, then yearn to return to their homeland in their golden years, only to find that what they left behind has dramatically changed and their American born offspring innately have no desire to join their parents in their ancestral lands … what do you do? That precise conundrum is what gave Iggy Ignatius the idea of creating a retirement community, geared to immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, in Florida. Iggy built the 55+ active community of ShantiNiketan in Tavares, Florida and it is thriving! Find out more about ShantiNiketan from our guests Iggy and Devikarani Ignatiuis, on Episode 59 of Retire There with Gil & Gene.
Check out the ShantiNiketan Retirement Community in Florida here.
Iggy’s YouTube Channel is available here.
NPR’s story about ShantiNiketan, Being With People Like You Offers Comfort Against Death’s Chill, listen here.
The Atlantic compiled a series of four videos on ShantiNiketan, The Florida Community Designed for Indians, view here.
Iggy has written the following two books:
One Square Foot Plan - Iggy explains his view of real estate and retirees.
Seeking Roots - A fiction book about 3 Indian immigrant couples in the US. It is time for them to retire and each of them is faced with different scenarios.
Iggy Ignatius was born in Chennai, formerly known as Madras, in the state of Tami Nadu in southern India. Chennai is known as the Detroit of India as all major automobile manufacturers are located there. It was also here that the British started their East India Company more than 200 years ago before they ruled India.
Iggy attended elementary school in Bombay which is now Mumbai. He studied engineering in college at Birla Institute of Technology & Science in Pilani, India, one of the leading universities collaborating with MIT. Then he came to the US and received an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a major in Marketing.
Iggy began his career working for a private consulting company and thereafter he primarily consulted for American Express, Citibank, General Motors, and Centex Homes.
In 2008, Iggy founded Shantiniketan and is currently developing its third phase. He and his wife built a home across the street from development and are living there.
His interests include gardening, making YouTube videos, and film-making. Iggy says he is a spiritual minimalist and believes in giving back to the community in terms of money and time.
Devikarani Ignatius was born and raised in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu in southern India. The city is known as the Manchester of India as it’s known for its textile industry.
She completed a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in AvinashiLingam Home Science College, Coimbatore and received a Medical Technology degree from Kankakee Community College in Kankakee, Illinois.
She came to the USA as soon as she married, stayed home for a while to raise her children, then worked as a Medical Technologist in Danville, Il. After she and Iggy married, she left her job and moved to Florida, where she is assisting Iggy with the development’s administrative and other responsibilities. Her interests include gardening, music, dancing, shopping, and exercising. Wow, someone has finally admitted to shopping as a hobby! Good for you! I feel the same!
