Northwest Peoria Retirement Communities (Sun City, Surprise: transporting, condos, appliances)

[Kenshiro]

Hi All! I'm new to the forums, and was wondering what the best 55+ retirement communities in the Peoria/Sun City area are.

My wife and I are moving to Vistancia, and I'd like to move my mother close by. We've already checked out Trilogy by Vistancia, which seems great!

My Mom doesn't drive, so we're wondering if any of the retirement communities offer van services or something similar to take her to places when I'm not available to help out. Trilogy didn't offer this service, which was it's only downfall.

I'd like to keep her within 15 or 20 minutes away from Vistancia if possible.

Thanks in advance!

[MotleyCrew]

I live in Vistancia as well and give a big thumbs up for Trilogy. A bus/shuttle service would be wonderful. I do know that the Peoria Senior center does come up to pick up an elderly woman living with her daughter in Vistancia, but they only go to the senior center. You might want to call Dial a Ride and see which communities they service. I believe they will pick up and deliver in Sun City and there are many senior condo's available for reasonable prices. Best of luck

[wit-nit]

Sun City probably has all the requirements you'll need for your mother. They have every amenity there is to fit everyones needs. All the assisted living services have vans for transporting to doctors, shopping etc. Sun City has a general van service also. There are 100's of nice condos or small homes for those wanting their independence. You'd be about 10 minutes from Vistancia.

[Kenshiro]

Originally Posted by MotleyCrew

I live in Vistancia as well and give a big thumbs up for Trilogy. A bus/shuttle service would be wonderful. I do know that the Peoria Senior center does come up to pick up an elderly woman living with her daughter in Vistancia, but they only go to the senior center. You might want to call Dial a Ride and see which communities they service. I believe they will pick up and deliver in Sun City and there are many senior condo's available for reasonable prices. Best of luck

Thanks so much for the great idea! I just called and CONFIRMED that Dial-A-Ride services Trilogy as well!

[Kenshiro]

Originally Posted by nitram

Sun City probably has all the requirements you'll need for your mother. They have every amenity there is to fit everyones needs. All the assisted living services have vans for transporting to doctors, shopping etc. Sun City has a general van service also. There are 100's of nice condos or small homes for those wanting their independence. You'd be about 10 minutes from Vistancia.

I'll definitely visit Sun City and Sun City West to see how they stack up to Trilogy. Any preference between Sun City and Sun City West?

How about Westbrook Village and Ventana Lakes?

[MotleyCrew]

I believe Sun City is the oldest development and then Sun City West was next to be developed followed by my personal pick of the three, Sun City Grand. Even though Sun City is older, the homes appear to be kept up. I had heard from a realtor that the ones built in the 60's need to have the electrical redone. please confirm that as it was just hearsay.
Westbrook Village is also a nice little spot with the homes well kept. They do all seem to look the same to me, same color stucco and same roof tile. I am not familiar with the V.Lakes development.

[wit-nit]

I prefer Sun City, since I live there. Sun City West would be my next choice. SC Grand has too many problems as it is in the City Of Surprise and is more expensive with lots of traffic issues.
Sun City would be closer to you, and like I said before, it has all the amenities you'll ever want.
As far as the electrical. There are no problems per se. Some homes in the early 70's were using aluminum wiring, and that has not been an issue, nor have there been any problems. That being said, yes the electrical was installed for the time period. If you are going to have a lot of new appliances installed and many of the new electrical demanding gadgets, then you may have to add some 20 amp service or run a new line or two to accomodate those units. A GFI is recommended as the older homes do not have them. We ran some 20 amp service and installed several GFI's and the cost was minimal. All you need to do is have a reliable electrician test your system and see what, if any, changes are needed. Sun City West would be the same as it was a continuation of Sun City when Sun City was built out.

[WantingoutofAz]

Originally Posted by Kenshiro

Hi All! I'm new to the forums, and was wondering what the best 55+ retirement communities in the Peoria/Sun City area are.

My wife and I are moving to Vistancia, and I'd like to move my mother close by. We've already checked out Trilogy by Vistancia, which seems great!

My Mom doesn't drive, so we're wondering if any of the retirement communities offer van services or something similar to take her to places when I'm not available to help out. Trilogy didn't offer this service, which was it's only downfall.

I'd like to keep her within 15 or 20 minutes away from Vistancia if possible.

Thanks in advance!

I would recommend Westbrook Village. It would only be about a 15 minute drive from Vistancia. I live right around the corner from there. I am a home health PT and just had a patient in Westbrook village and I couldn't believe all the people out walking in the morning. My patient lived next to the clubhouse which has tennis courts. It seems like a really nice neighborhood.

I would pick that over the Sun city areas.

[Great Joy]

Originally Posted by MotleyCrew

I live in Vistancia as well and give a big thumbs up for Trilogy. A bus/shuttle service would be wonderful. I do know that the Peoria Senior center does come up to pick up an elderly woman living with her daughter in Vistancia, but they only go to the senior center. You might want to call Dial a Ride and see which communities they service. I believe they will pick up and deliver in Sun City and there are many senior condo's available for reasonable prices. Best of luck

I agree with MotleyCrew. Another big thumbs up for Trilogy as it is one of the nicest ones in the area (and all of AZ for that matter).

About the Peoria Senior Center shuttle service, I know that is a free service that Peoria provides to all senior citizens residing in Peoria. And, I know that elderly woman looks forward to the days she goes to the Peoria Center as it is a lot of fun for her.

Trilogy, Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Grand, Westbrook, and Ventana Lakes are all nice. I believe Sun City and Ventana Lakes are the oldest of them, but still very nice. There are also nice retirement communities called Arizona Traditions and Sun City Festival that are worth checking out too.

Since you're moving to Vistancia, I would definitely choose Trilogy. Welcome soon to the Vistancia community family!

[Kenshiro]

Thanks all for the wonderful suggestions!

There's a free shuttle service for seniors in Peoria?! What's it called?