Sun City, TX (Georgetown) (Austin, Christine: obgyn, new home, buy)

[dwelling diva]

To answer your question about finding a Dr., I live in Round Rock and have never had difficulty finding one. They are in the process of building a brand new 15 acre medical complex in Georgetown which is supposed to open Dec. 2009 and I know Scott and White has a clinic right outside Sun City as well. You might call them and ask them if they accept new patients and see how long the wait would be for an appt. Any time I've called a Dr. or specialist in the Round Rock area they've usually been able to see me the next day as opposed to when I lived in Florida, I was usually better by the time I actually made it to the Dr. because it would take them a week to even get me in the door.

[Susan2599]

Originally Posted by dwelling diva

To answer your question about finding a Dr., I live in Round Rock and have never had difficulty finding one. They are in the process of building a brand new 15 acre medical complex in Georgetown which is supposed to open Dec. 2009 and I know Scott and White has a clinic right outside Sun City as well. You might call them and ask them if they accept new patients and see how long the wait would be for an appt. Any time I've called a Dr. or specialist in the Round Rock area they've usually been able to see me the next day as opposed to when I lived in Florida, I was usually better by the time I actually made it to the Dr. because it would take them a week to even get me in the door.

Thanks for your post. I didn't realize that a new medical complex was set to open in December ... and I would think that's very good news for local residents.

I especially like the part about getting an appointment so quickly!

Thanks again.

[FiftyFiftyAboutCO]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Or maybe the retirees in Sun City don't surf City Data 'cause they are all using the facilities at the same time . Just kidding (mostly, anyway) but you can only get meaningful responses from people with some kind of first hand experience, and there probably just aren't that many on here .

Look out for the unreasonable taxes if you're considering Sun City in Georgetown. I lived there 2 years, from '98 to '00. Do not believe what the salespeople say about taxes -- go to the town and see for yourself. The locals think it's okay for retirees to get taxed to death to support other people's kids.

A couple other points:

I belonged to two groups while at Sun City: the Astronomy branch of the Nature Club, and also the Woodshop (I was one of 15 women who belonged to that). Also spent Wednesday nights with a nice group of folks in the Woodcarving group. But other than that, and the fact I enjoyed my neighbors very much, I thought the place was pretty dead. There are snob groups, as you can well imagine where there's golf, bridge, and tennis. In the summertime, the place clears out and then it's really boring. Since the OP is a native Texan, I needn't mention the hot weather, but it was one of the top 3 reasons I left and moved back to Colorado (should have never left here in the first place -- it was for a job promotion).

I've recently spoken with friends who still live in Sun City Georgetown. They say the roads around there are choked and a total pain in the neck. I wouldn't move back to Georgetown if they gave me a red carpet to walk in on and a brand new house for free. Caveat emptor. If you like high taxes and heat, then it's a great place -- for you.

[Susan2599]

we've been away, and this is my first opportunity to respond.

We have not made a definite decision to move to Sun City Georgetown or any other 55+ community at this time although we have looked at several in 3 states ... not all are Del Webb's. We find the lifestyle interesting, but that may not be the right fit for us. We are still evaluating.

The traffic is a major concern as we currently live in a very busy city, and we don't want to go from busy, especially during the season, to even busier. What fun is that?

I appreciate your post and your comments. Hearing from people who either currently live in a 55+ community or have lived in one are invaluable in making an informed decision.

Thanks again.

[RachelleAns]

I have a couple of clients that live in Sun City and I hold open houses out there quite often. I will send your questions to them and get back to you with the responses. I love Georgetown - it is where I live and raise my family. I am not able to live in Sun City yet but can tell you the people I know that live there - love it.

[bumpy_1954]

If you are retiring, why not go farther out - less crowded, traffic, taxes, etc. There are lots of nice communities out here. Look at other than SCTX. A large regional medical facility is opening up soon in Marble Falls (about 45 mi NW of Austin), a very nice small town by a part of the highland lakes system that doesn't vary 40+ feet in a year or two...there are tons of 'excercise' franchises around - that seems a bit limiting for criteria...

[RachelleAns]

I asked a friend, and client, to answer the questions for me - he lives in Sun City. Below are a recap of his answers.
The slab was poured for the new fitness center last week; it should be like the existing center with 2 pools. There is also a softball field, dog park and outdoor stage in the process of being built as well. Everything is on schedule for being done later this year - or that's the plan.
My friend uses the fitness center 3 days a week and he's never had to wait more than a couple of minutes. He says the best time is between 12-2pm because the majority of people are eating or napping and it's less busy.
Golf is usually scheduled a day or so in advance but he's gone before around 3 pm and got on within 30 minutes. Golf takes limited planning.
In his opinion, medical is better than he had in Houston. He doesn't have to wait to see doctors. Specialty doctors are plentiful and he has Scott and White as his provider.
He says he would do his move again - it is a good place to live.

[FiftyFiftyAboutCO]

Originally Posted by bumpy_1954

If you are retiring, why not go farther out - less crowded, traffic, taxes, etc. There are lots of nice communities out here. Look at other than SCTX. A large regional medical facility is opening up soon in Marble Falls (about 45 mi NW of Austin), a very nice small town by a part of the highland lakes system that doesn't vary 40+ feet in a year or two...there are tons of 'excercise' franchises around - that seems a bit limiting for criteria...

If you must stay in TX, I totally agree with the idea of going farther out, and from what I remember, Marble Falls seemed like a nice area -- and away from the congestion of the Austin area.

If one is bound and determined to live in an over-55 golf community, specifically a Del Webb Sun City, why not head for the big one west of Phoenix. They are their own city, not hooked on to some parasite like Georgetown which feeds off the school taxes of retired folks. Yes, it does get hot in that part of AZ - but only for the summer. There's little humidity and no tornado danger. I met people who had moved from the Sun City in AZ to the one in Georgetown and were very unhappy with their move to TX because of the high taxes and the humidity. All I know is that when I lived in Georgetown, I knew a lot of very unhappy and disgruntled people there in Sun City, mostly because of the tax issues. If that community could have broken away from Georgetown to become it's own town, it would have been so much better, to put it mildly. The idea was talked about all the time, but never got done, apparently.

See, people over 65 who had lived in TX for many years where they had a small school tax bill were able to freeze their taxes when they moved to Sun City, so they had it easy. Example: I, then in my 50's, was paying $2800+ to live in a tiny 1,000 sq. ft. house. The 82-year old lady across the street from me paid only $300/yr in school taxes (compared to my bill of $1900 for school taxes alone) because she previously lived in an old house in central Austin with extremely low taxes -- so she had those taxes frozen. But people like me who had not lived in TX that long -- or brand-new comers to the state were out of luck -- we paid through the nose after we'd spent our working lives paying school taxes elsewhere. Bottom line: if you love city congestion and high school taxes, then Sun City Georgetown may be your ticket. TX takes care of its native residents. If you're from out of state, too bad. Is anyone surprised by that?

[Susan2599]

in a 55+ community mainly because of the large number of activities offered as well as being among our peer group. Therefore, Sun City or another similar community is more of interest to us. So far as 'exercise franchises', I believe I only commented as to the new fitness center currently being built in Sun City which will alleviate any overcrowding in the existing one ... which by no means is limiting our criteria.

Originally Posted by bumpy_1954

If you are retiring, why not go farther out - less crowded, traffic, taxes, etc. There are lots of nice communities out here. Look at other than SCTX. A large regional medical facility is opening up soon in Marble Falls (about 45 mi NW of Austin), a very nice small town by a part of the highland lakes system that doesn't vary 40+ feet in a year or two...there are tons of 'excercise' franchises around - that seems a bit limiting for criteria...

[Susan2599]

your posts. I appreciate the information you provided. When we were there, we met several couples who already live there, either in new homes, resale homes, or in rental homes while having homes built, but of course, there are always questions you don't think to ask until you're gone! We met some very nice, friendly people who love living there.

Thanks again for posting.

Originally Posted by RachelleAns

I asked a friend, and client, to answer the questions for me - he lives in Sun City. Below are a recap of his answers.
The slab was poured for the new fitness center last week; it should be like the existing center with 2 pools. There is also a softball field, dog park and outdoor stage in the process of being built as well. Everything is on schedule for being done later this year - or that's the plan.
My friend uses the fitness center 3 days a week and he's never had to wait more than a couple of minutes. He says the best time is between 12-2pm because the majority of people are eating or napping and it's less busy.
Golf is usually scheduled a day or so in advance but he's gone before around 3 pm and got on within 30 minutes. Golf takes limited planning.
In his opinion, medical is better than he had in Houston. He doesn't have to wait to see doctors. Specialty doctors are plentiful and he has Scott and White as his provider.
He says he would do his move again - it is a good place to live.