This book examines the migration of older persons to rural retirement destination communities in the United States. It focuses both on the older inmigrants themselves and the communities in which they settle. The purpose of the research is to gain a fuller understanding of the process of rural retirement migration at both micro- and macro-levels of social organization. The study is motivated by the following questions: • What is a rural retirement destination community? Why are some rural areas more likely to become a destination for older in-migrants and to maintain this status over time? • Who moves to rural America during older ages and how do these persons compare with similar-aged longer-term residents? What social and economic resources do in-migrants contribute to rural retirement destinations? • What social processes motivate older persons to move to rural communities and what steers them to particular locations? • How do in-migrants become socially integrated in their new communities? What personal attributes increase or decrease the likelihood that older in-migrants will become socially integrated in their new communities? • What forms of social integration are most likely to contribute to in-migrants’ health and well-being as they age-in-place in rural retirement destinations? • What is the nature of in-migrants’ social and institutional participation in their new communities? • From a community perspective, what are the pros and cons of rural retirement migration? What are the short- and longer-term implications of being a destination for older in-migrants?