Pros and Cons of living in Sun City Georgetown (Austin: lease, buying a home)

[SouthWestMichigan]

We're considering the purchase of a home in Sun City Georgetown. We're mid-60s, both retired recently as scientists in the pharmaceutical industry, good health, liberal Democrats, active in the community and craft hobbies. Would love to hear other's opinions of living in Sun City Georgetown including financial aspects.

[S6Sputnik]

SWMI-
I don't live in Sun City myself, but have a lot of customers who do and that all LOVE IT!!!
Since you have never lived in an environment like that, why not rent for 3 months and then find the right home for you or decide that the Sun City life style is not for you?

[TexasHorseLady]

I don't specialize in Sun City, but several agents in our office do. From what I've heard, you'd need to do at least a six month lease. But, aside from the time period, that's not a bad idea.

[destin04]

We took a tour of Sun City about 18 months ago. We liked the location and the activities...but then we got the "rule book" and found out that our future grandkids (don't have right now) couldn't swim in the pool except 2 or 3 hour time frame so as not to disturb other homeowners. We decided we didn't want that much restrictions. We live in a gated community now...but it's not that restrictive and we've never had a problem.

[AustinTexan]

I'd skip Sun City if I were you. My wife's grandparents just sold their home there and it was a nightmare! There are sooo many restrictions, that even adding solar screens to your home will cost you extra and you'll have to remove them once you sell. If you don't get permission to do anything to your home first, you'll be fined. Seriously, it's not worth the hassle. They tried planting some shrubs in their "garden" and had to remove them or face a stiff fine. Seems that if you're going to retire, you'd want to work in your yard or garden, right? Well, in Sun City all you can really do is watch your grass grow and even then, you're restricted to certain times of the day. Seriously, you're better off just buying a home in another subdivision in Georgetown.

[AustinTexan]

Oh, one more thing. They're about to build a huge community next to Sun City which is going to affect home prices there. The traffic is going to get ugly in the next few years and a lot of the beauty of being able to look out into open grassland will be gone. Pretty soon, like the rest of Austin/Texas, it's going to be all concrete and commercial buildings. Stay away from that area. Look into a home in "old Georgetown", you'll be much happier in the long run. A lot of developers are seeing $$$ signs all over that part of Georgetown (west of I-35) and it's become a race to see who can build it up the fastest. Not good for the city or for the area.

[SouthWestMichigan]

Well I better do some homework. We like the activities - but don't know much about the restrictions on Sun City homeowners. Thank you all for the advice.

[Vagabond7]

We're also considering Sun City, Texas. Yes, you do have to do your homework. Yes, there are lot of rules and limitations. But, IMHO, the plus's outway the minus's by miles

They have a good website (http://www.sctxca.org) (broken link) that lets you take a look at most of what's going on. I like that they don't hold anything back, unlike other similar communities.

We are headed there in June for one more look before making a final decision. We're even staying in one of the houses for a couple days with access to all the facilities and use of a golf cart. We'll be talking to some of the residents along the way and look at both new construction and resales. And, yes, asking questions about the CA rules.

[Jimrob1]

I keep hearing about this Georgetown in regard to the Austin area for retirees. What I would like to know is Austin itself a poor location for younger retirees due to what seems to be a young age population in that city. I posted this sometime ago, I did not even get one response, I felt it was a red flag the population was young and would not reply to my post. I have heard Austin compared to Portland on a number of things including the young age population. I don't want to live in Portland south, is Austin really that young and out of sync with other age groups. Georgetown sounds very nice, but I don't feel Im ready for that type of setting yet. I really want out of this climate next year, but my research on city data is really not getting me anywhere. Thanks.

[Trainwreck20]

Well, there are all sorts of retirees, so what works well for you may not work well for others. Personally, I am very familiar with a couple sets of retirees (or soon to be retirees), one of which is my in-laws.

The ILs looked at Sun City and were just a little creeped out by it. They are very relaxed, hand out and drink coffee in the backyard/driveway type of people and pretty social, but the houses were just a little too close and intimate for them. The ones that backed up to greenbelt or golf course were much nicer - and much pricier! They are coming down from the midwest in a 'no fence' sort of area, but they have quite a bit more space now than they would ever be able to get (or afford) in Sun City.

They have also looked at Austin proper, but they are really wanting to avoid the traffic on a day-to-day basis, I think, and the areas in Austin they like will be out of their price range. They are currently looking out around Marble Falls and Burnet. They have a couple of years left until they retire, so they are trying not to look too hard and getting themselves too excited (they are REALLY ready to ditch the cold winters).

As for Austin as a retirement location - personally, I think that there is quite a range of activities and options. Although I am still many years from retirement (barring a lottery win ), I plan on staying here. There are a couple of retirees on our street currently, but it is probably not a 'target' retirement area or anything. They are interactive with the young families (and vice versa) and seem to be quite content. I am not sure who they 'go out with', but they seem to get along with the younger set (30s and 40s) in our neighborhood. As for what they do during the day when they (non-retirees) are all working, I have no idea .

My biggest gripe for retirement would be traffic, but I am in a very walkable area right now and that would be a main objective for me if I was looking for a place to retire...there are a few that are affordable still....