Sun City: Some New, Some Revisited Questions (Phoenix, Sun City West: houses, promotional)

[liverpoolwalrus]

Hi. This City Data Forum sure is a great resource. Thank you all for contributing so much useful information. I'm considering moving to Sun City (the original) from Florida and I have these questions:

1. I'll be visiting Phoenix on a fairly regular basis, so I'm looking for the largest, most active retirement community that's closest to Phoenix. Would that indeed be Sun City?

2. Speaking of driving to Phoenix, does Route 60 have a series of traffic lights or is it more like an interstate?

3. Ahwatukee looks like it may be a bit closer to Phoenix, but its Rec Center doesn't appear to be centrally located. It looks like it's separate from the community and only the houses on the first few nearby streets would be within a 15 or so minute walk. Is that right?

4. I have a car, but I prefer not to use it. I'd be getting around Sun City on foot, bike or my manual scooter, so this raises the question of terrain slope. Is Sun City fairly flat or is it hilly in parts?

5. I saw a picture of someone paddle boarding on a lake in what I think was Sun City. Is paddle boarding allowed there?

6. Here in Florida, the universities and community colleges sometimes bring classes to the larger retirement communities. Is that the case with Sun City?

7. I'm an avid pickleball player and could probably play every day, but for me it's got to be indoors if it's above 85 or so degrees. Glad to see that Sun City seems to be the pickleball capital of Arizona! I read somewhere that Sun City has, if memory serves, eight outdoor courts and six "covered" courts. Does anyone know what "covered" means? Are they fully enclosed, i.e., "indoors"?

8. Does Sun City have a gay/lesbian group? I saw that Sun City West was trying to start one up. Are there many LGBT people in Sun City? Are gay people pretty well integrated and accepted?

Thanks for any and all input!

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by liverpoolwalrus

Hi. This City Data Forum sure is a great resource. Thank you all for contributing so much useful information. I'm considering moving to Sun City (the original) from Florida and I have these questions:

1. I'll be visiting Phoenix on a fairly regular basis, so I'm looking for the largest, most active retirement community that's closest to Phoenix. Would that indeed be Sun City? Yes or Sun City West.

2. Speaking of driving to Phoenix, does Route 60 have a series of traffic lights or is it more like an interstate? Series of traffic lights spread out.

3. Ahwatukee looks like it may be a bit closer to Phoenix, but its Rec Center doesn't appear to be centrally located. It looks like it's separate from the community and only the houses on the first few nearby streets would be within a 15 or so minute walk. Is that right? Don't know.

4. I have a car, but I prefer not to use it. I'd be getting around Sun City on foot, bike or my manual scooter, so this raises the question of terrain slope. Is Sun City fairly flat or is it hilly in parts? Flat as a pancake. A lot of people use golf carts for getting around within the Sun Cities

5. I saw a picture of someone paddle boarding on a lake in what I think was Sun City. Is paddle boarding allowed there? There are 2 lakes, one private and one public. Both have paddle boaters.

6. Here in Florida, the universities and community colleges sometimes bring classes to the larger retirement communities. Is that the case with Sun City? Those educational places are nearby, sometimes classes are offered in the Sun Cities..

7. I'm an avid pickleball player and could probably play every day, but for me it's got to be indoors if it's above 85 or so degrees. Glad to see that Sun City seems to be the pickleball capital of Arizona! I read somewhere that Sun City has, if memory serves, eight outdoor courts and six "covered" courts. Does anyone know what "covered" means? Are they fully enclosed, i.e., "indoors"? Covered means a shade screen cover or metal cover on an outdoor court to help keep the sun off of the players..

8. Does Sun City have a gay/lesbian group? I saw that Sun City West was trying to start one up. Are there many LGBT people in Sun City? Are gay people pretty well integrated and accepted? Have no answers for these questions. If they do they're not very open.

Thanks for any and all input!

See answers in bold.

[thinkalot]

3. 7 rec centers spread throughout Sun City. Go to sunaz.com for more info.

6. Sun City has Lifelong Learning Classes 5 months a year. Some instructors are people with an interest in the subject and some are retired college professors. Rio Salado which is a couple miles away also has Lifelong Learning classes. For Sun City the cost is $20 a year and you can take up to I think 15 classes or lectures a semester.

7. There is a pickleball dome. It is a building but the sides are open and sometimes/ sometimes not covered with a tarp like material. 8 courts are indoor. It is at the Marinette Rec Center. That just reopened this year. There are also more outdoor courts there and at another rec center. Go to robertporterconstruction.com. Click on blog for pictures of the indoor courts.

8. There are gay people here but I am unaware of any group. I only know a few gays and they don't really talk about it good or bad.

[liverpoolwalrus]

Originally Posted by thinkalot

8 courts are indoor. It is at the Marinette Rec Center. That just reopened this year. There are also more outdoor courts there and at another rec center. Go to robertporterconstruction.com. Click on blog for pictures of the indoor courts.

Wow! That pickleball complex is amazing! I've never seen anything like it!

[liverpoolwalrus]

Clarifying paddle boarding: Paddle boarding involves standing on a board and paddling side to side. This is different from pedal boating. Any sightings of paddle boarders yet in Sun City?

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by liverpoolwalrus

Clarifying paddle boarding: Paddle boarding involves standing on a board and paddling side to side. This is different from pedal boating. Any sightings of paddle boarders yet in Sun City?

If this is what you are describing as paddle boarding then I have never seen this on the lakes in Sun City. I've seen surfboards where people lay on them and paddle with their arms.

[William Gordon]

Yes, a few years back we passed paddle boarding as an accepted practice. In one of the promotional video's you must have seen, former RCSC board member Larry Klein, who lives on Viewpoint Lake, was shown on his paddle board so we figured we better get cracking and made it one of the things the lake can be used for. There's also folks who like to kayak on the lake as well.

The Pickleball Pavilion is spectacular and is drawing rave reviews from users. Several major tournaments have been held there since opening and it stays amazingly cool during the hotter summer months. Just staying out of the sun makes a world of difference.

The numbers of both single and gay couples is growing. No clubs yet, but they integrate into the community with no problems. Sun City is all about becoming a part of the community and the biggest solution is to join in and simply be a part of it.

We moved here 12 years ago and there clearly are more bikes and motor scooters than there were back then. W-n is spot on, golf cars have always been a popular mode of getting about, but the evolution to even cheaper modes like the scooters and motorized bikes is growing.

The Sun City visitor center runs a bus tour that has become very popular for visitors to get a quick look at what we have to offer. Not sure of the schedule but you can sign up for it on their website.

[observer53]

Ahwatukee is not an age restricted or "retirement" community, I'm not sure what led you to think so.


You are already getting good info on Sun City from people who are familiar with it. Good luck to you!

[AZgarden]

Ahwatukee has a retirement village for seniors over 55.

Ahwatukee Retirement Village | Phoenix, AZ | 55 Places Retirement Communities

[observer53]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

Ahwatukee has a retirement village for seniors over 55.

Ahwatukee Retirement Village | Phoenix, AZ | 55 Places Retirement Communities

I understand, but it's not the same as Sun City by any means. especially since the houses are "spread throughout the Ahwatukee Foothills" and therefore must be interspersed with non-55+ residents. Not even close to comparable to Sun City, though it is closer to central Phoenix.