Sun City Unbiased Opinions (Sun City West, Youngtown: sales, condos, crime)

[CLEOPATRAZEUS]

Yes its me again. Long story short. Elderly family memeber with us in Florida so we can not visit Sun City yet. Been looking off and on for 3 years for possible relocation in the next year. Noticed prices have come down a lot and inventory is a lot higher. Asking a realtor may get us a biased answer. Anyone have some unbiased knowledge? Is crime worse? Is homeless interaction a problem there? Was covid the reason no one was selling in 2022?..Thanks for any input...

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by CLEOPATRAZEUS

Yes its me again. Long story short. Elderly family memeber with us in Florida so we can not visit Sun City yet. Been looking off and on for 3 years for possible relocation in the next year. Noticed prices have come down a lot and inventory is a lot higher. Asking a realtor may get us a biased answer. Anyone have some unbiased knowledge? Is crime worse? Is homeless interaction a problem there? Was covid the reason no one was selling in 2022?..Thanks for any input...

I live in Sun City West, but for various reasons drive through Sun City about once a week.

Sun City is getting dated looking.

Homelessness IS a growing problem. A lot of homeless live down by the Agua Fria River/US-60 area and Youngtown. That's just a short walk away from the southern boundary of Sun City, and there have been quite a few break-ins and even some invading snowbird homes...as shows up somewhat often on NextDoor forum.

Although I wouldn't describe myself at the time as being elderly, when I was looking to buy in Sun City West 5 years ago, I noticed that availability was very uneven throughout the year. It really seemed to ebb and flow.

If you really want Sun City, I would at least stay in the northern half of Sun City (which would put you closer to Bell Road where you will probably go for most of your shopping. If you can afford a step up to Sun City West, I would recommend that; we are newer, better looking community, and while homeless people can be anywhere, their sightings here are RARE.

[Mike from back east]

Ya'll regulars on here help me out if I'm off the mark, but generally Sun City West, aka SCW, has lower taxes as they don't have a school system to support. They have amazing rec centers, a bowling alley, about 30 pool tables, an auto shop with a paint booth for their car club and much more. By all means, if you can afford SCW then I'd go with that.

[CLEOPATRAZEUS]

Thanks all.I like vintage homes so I was captured by Sun City at first but I have too many recommendations for SCW and wil look at that more.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by CLEOPATRAZEUS

Thanks all.I like vintage homes so I was captured by Sun City at first but I have too many recommendations for SCW and wil look at that more.

IIRC Sun City is the original SC and as such the housing stock is older and may not have much in the way of updates, some updates may not have been done properly, and some homes may have no updates at all. Use realtor.com to search on homes in SCW and note the taxes which may be well lower. I see some priced below $300k, like this one, with taxes of only $899/year.

I'm not a realtor nor am I in the business in any way at all. I always urge people to work with a BUYER'S AGENT who puts YOUR best interests first.

[wit-nit]

Sun City, anything north of Grand Ave (Phase 2) to North of Bell Rd Phase 3) is desirable. There are a few nice pockets below Grand (Phase 1) that are very nice also. Prices right now are good and there are many nice remodeled homes to select from. Ppty taxes are very low, sales tax is lowest in State I believe. Both SC & SCW have Sheriff posse patrols to keep a watchful eye out for strange activities.
There are numerous rec centers with hundreds of various clubs to join and one bowling center at the Bell rec center.
Plenty of shopping with 4 grocery stores to choose from and numerous medical and retail shops. Banner hospital is directly in the center of town. And at nearby Arrowhead Center there are tons of shopping, eateries and other venues to check out.
Yes there is a small homeless area adjacent to the city of Youngtown up to the Agua Fria River as well as there are homeless also adjacent to Sun City West near the Agua Fria River.
Crime activities are much lower than surrounding areas.
People in general are quite friendly, not snooty, and after 5pm the town rolls up after cocktail hour an is extremely quiet.

[thinkalot]

Sun City doesn't pay school taxes.

Many homes have been completely updated, down to the studs. Some have some work done and some are close to original. Some people like those so they can remodel their way.

Some newer homes, about 185, were built a few years ago.

The homeless situation is getting better. The businesses on Grand have hired security and that has helped quite a bit. Increased Posse patrols has also helped. They haven't left, just moved farther away.

Up to 2 deeded property owners get a Rec Card. It's $525 a year. It is a property assessment so not optional. 8 Rec Centers, 8 golf courses, Amphitheater., dog park, softball field, 2 lakes. Only The Villages has more amenities and clubs.


A lot depends on how many people die and when. Home prices are lower now but select properties will still cost more. Most people I know sold a house and used that money to buy here so interest rates don't matter for many of the buyers.

More people here work than before. Lots more younger people.

Traffic is terrible. Too many cut through on Grand, 99Th, and Bell. Increase in traffic enforcement coming soon. Many SC drivers shouldn't be driving.

Definitely an early riser area. A lot has to do with the heat. You can go to a Rec Center at 5am but not at 9pm. There is talk about keeping a few open longer since so many people here work now.

Not many good restaurants in Sun City but not far from Arrowhead and Westgate.

There are over 5 million people in the metro so there is lots to do a short drive away.

There are 385 condo associations in SC. Many are underfunded. If you would be interested in a condo make sure you check their reserves, what they cover, and history.

I'm still glad I moved here. It's not perfect but fine for me. Always something to do. Lots of great people here. Very easy to make friends.

There are 3 fire stations. That is the largest amount for property taxes. One station answers the most calls in Arizona. A firetruck always goes with an ambulance.

Hospital right in the middle of SC. All kinds of healthcare here.

Everyone here is from someplace else. That is good for meeting people but bad in that everyone has their own ideas about what is acceptable behavior. Too many cars parking on the street in some areas. Very weak HOA.

[Dewey59]

When I was looking to move to the PHX area, I was focused on SC or SCW... didn't matter at the time. I lined up 8 houses to look at - 4 in SC and 4 in SCW. Made the trip down and ended up buying one in SCW only because it had most everything I was looking for. At that time, the city did not matter much, although, I did notice that SC was a little more run down than SCW.

Now that I have lived here for almost 8 years, I can say that I am glad I ended up in SCW, for the following reasons:

1. Less through traffic. SC has 3 major roads that run through it that are connectors to other cities (99th, Bell, and Grand). This makes for a very hustle and bustle feel within the community. SCW has no through connectors, although some use RH Johnson as a bypass to get on to Grand from Bell - this has diminished, however, since they built the new overpass at the Bell / Grand intersection.

2. There is more of a homeless / crime problem in SC, but SCW is certainly not exempt.

3. SCW has more clubs in general, and more / better equipped clubs that fit my interests specifically.

4. On average, the houses are bigger in SCW (if that is important to you).

5. The houses are newer in SCW, but you stated you liked the older models. The oldest houses in SCW were built in 1978, and some of them are showing their age! But definitely not the 60's look like some have in SC, if that is what you are looking for.

[thinkalot]

I left something out.

We have 3 pot stores in Sun City.

[JohnZ963]

I'd avoid the part of Sun City within about a half mile either side of Grand Ave and any home fronting on a major through-street due to the aforementioned homeless/vagrant loitering and crime issues, though the situation seems to be improving recently in 2023. The condos north of Grand around Thunderbird Blvd had lots of issues with burglaries in 2020-2022.