55+ Communities (relocating to, trees, builders)

[drnorman]

We go Tuesday for our first meeting with Jeff, the project manager. Got lots of snow yesterday...about 5". Wish is was June!

We live in Spring Arbor in Middletown. It is also a McKee development and Jeff is also a project manager here. We have all learned to depend on him here. He is an incredibly hard worker, very thorough, very detail-oriented, and very professional in every way. McKee has some very talented people.

Also, McKee is changing the types of homes available here for anyone interested in the Americana series.

[SerenityWriter]

Originally Posted by takin'theplunge!

Thanks Frank, fellow artist...no wonder we think like this!

Now, for the next question:
After making the decision to move, retire to one of these communities...how are you coping with the emotion involved? I was doing fine, very focused and optimistic...until my husband did a flip flop and is wrestling with selling our home of 35 years, even though this delivers #1 on his wishlist: to be right down the street from great fishing!

Making the decision is not easy, but was made easier for us by friends and family who had moved to 55+ communities, usually as soon as they turned 55, and never regretted it for a minute. My wife is a teacher and has had way too many years of kids being around her all day long. Remaining in a family neighborhood just didn't appeal to us. Plus, we've got beer-drinking, cigarette and cigar-smoking teens and college students on one side of us who sit out front drinking and smoking until four or five a.m. almost every day -- they aren't noisy (no music), but we come out in the morning to beer cans and cigarette butts all over the place and there are 5 to 8 extra cars on the street at any one time. The neighbor on the other side is a single man in his late 40s. He plays his stereo so loud that the siding on his house vibrates. And, no, the police don't want to do anything about all of this.

We moved here for my last assignment with the military and have no attachment to the town or county. Most of our family, including our daughter, is in NJ, so moving north actually works for us. My wife's school also underwent a principal change this year and many teachers are talking about leaving. So, for us, there was no real reason to stay here.

Every year for several years now I have said I'm not doing yard work next year and after 30+ inches of snow in the last week, I know I don't want to shovel that stuff anymore. We're due for another 8 to 12 inches Tuesday night into Wednesday.

In short, the decision to move to a 55+ community for us was easy. The hard part was deciding which one. We can only hope we have made the right decision. Emotion hasn't entered into it for us because we have no attachment to the town or even the house. We traveled the world in the Air Force and no one home stands out as a favorite. We will miss the lake behind our house with all the geese and ducks, but we'll find a local park. Most of our friends have moved, so we're only giving up a couple of friendships.

Today was a day off school because of the snow, so my wife and I went out to lunch in the town where she teaches. While eating, one of the students came in the restaurant and ran over to her to get a hug. My wife teared up a bit and said that was the part of teaching she would miss the most. She has no regrets, though, about giving up the challenge of teaching kids who want everything spoon-fed to them, who don't want to take tests, and who don't want to study or do homework. Of the 24 fifth graders in her homeroom, she has four to whom she cannot assign homework or even write true comments in notes home about the problems the kids might have had that day. The parents have agreements with the school administration that their children cannot be treated negatively in any way. Too often now, this is what teachers are dealing with.

Not much emotion for us in moving -- just worry about getting jobs in this economy!

Frank

[NapaJoe]

[quote=drnorman;12793778]We go Tuesday for our first meeting with Jeff, the project manager. Got lots of snow yesterday...about 5". Wish is was June!

We live in Spring Arbor in Middletown. It is also a McKee development and Jeff is also a project manager here. We have all learned to depend on him here. He is an incredibly hard worker, very thorough, very detail-oriented, and very professional in every way. McKee has some very talented people.

You are right, they do have some great people working for them. We just finished up with Susan yesterday. She is a pleasure. We see Jeff on the 15th. We were surprised he will be available on a national holiday, but it's very convenient for us. I'm running out of vacation time.

I can't say the process up till now hasn't had any surprises. I guess there are always surprises, but nothing to make me regret my decision to buy at CC. But there are disappointments. Mostly storage. But we're OK.

So how did things go for you today. What can I expect on the 15th? Joe

[susieC]

Napa, Jeff will go over the construction timeline for your home. He's really a treasure, so knowledgeable and caring. The structural options will be discussed and any questions you have will be answered. I think the entire meeting lasted about 2 hours.
More and more I feel our choice of CC was the right one. McKee really has their act together! Now if it would just stop snowing!

[from PA]

I took a ride around the block the day after our Saturday blizzard. Champions roads were done and Planedealing Road was completely dry and clear. State street was also clear. CC residents had easy access to Happy Harry's the local pharmacy , shortly after the storm.

Anyone know where to find official snow totals for Magnolia?

[SerenityWriter]

Originally Posted by from PA

I took a ride around the block the day after our Saturday blizzard. Champions roads were done and Planedealing Road was completely dry and clear. State street was also clear. CC residents had easy access to Happy Harry's the local pharmacy , shortly after the storm.

Anyone know where to find official snow totals for Magnolia?

Try this Dover AFB, DE weather, powered by WeatherBug it's the weather station for Dover Air Force Base and is probably about as accurate as you're going to get.

[cant wait to retire]

My husband is beginning to agree that there is no sweeter verbiage in the English language than HOA docs that state "all yard work and snow removal are included!" He no longer cares what the monthly HOA fee is; whatever is, he will be thrilled to pay it after this winter!

[Gone-2-Beach]

Originally Posted by cant wait to retire

My husband is beginning to agree that there is no sweeter verbiage in the English language than HOA docs that state "all yard work and snow removal are included!" He no longer cares what the monthly HOA fee is; whatever is, he will be thrilled to pay it after this winter!

As I get ready for another day of moving snow off of my driveway, all I can say is "I AGREE!!!" If I never lift another shovel in my life it will be too soon.

[elizamary]

Make sure they remove the snow from your driveway and walkway too.

Here they advertise snow removal but thats just off the roads....not your driveways and walkway.

We still have tons of shoveling. Also, helping some of our older residents. The other day we shoveled our driveway plus 4 others.

Of course......DE never gets that much snow and if they do, its gone the next day. Yeah right!! LOL

[little eggplant]

Good morning from Maine, where we haven't had any new snow in over 22 days! That must be some sort of record. A mini-Olympics was planned this weekend in Portland and it had to be cancelled for lack of the white stuff. On a serious note,we have been watching the DE news intently and hope that residents come through these two historic storms with their backs intact.

Thanks from PA for your drive around CC to comment on the roads.

Nice to see elizamary back on the board!

All hubby can say is he hopes DE gets this "storm thing" out of its system before we come next year

We are thinking of you all.............