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The neighborhood right next to mine is 55+ and I'd say the average age there is early 60-mid 60s. Probably because the area here is new development. No golf courses on the property, but a large community center and pool with a LOT of activities. Everyone who lives there seem to really like it. Their HOA is not outrageous by any means, and it pays for their cable TV and all lawn care. You wouldn't be interested in my state as it does tax pensions, BUT, the average yearly taxes on our homes are under $1000. Therefore, for the people receiving pensions (many) it's a lot better than other states that don't tax the pensions but you pay much higher rates of taxes. I love where I live and am so thankful we found our little slice of heaven!
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I am sure the fact that Sun City doesn't pay school taxes would cancel out the tax on most pensions.
As in all threads on 55+ communities there are some that mention places that are not Active Adult. Even if you don't golf or play tennis you will want the courts and courses. For one thing you may play in the future and for another they draw a younger crowd. Most new people I meet are in their 50's. Some are under 55 and they bought and are waiting to move in like my 2 newest neighbors and like some of my other neighbors had done before.
I see there are still the posters that say they have been to ONE or know someone that lived in ONE. They are not all the same. I know more people that have left other places like Green Valley and other Sun Cities, to move to Sun City. We probably have 5 to 15 people moving in every day! We will keep getting younger.
Sun City is old enough that we have 3rd generation people living here, some in the same house that the grandparents lived in. We have new houses and completely rebuilt houses. Some that need some work and some that are ok. There are 27,000 houses and condos here.
Believe it or not, our 55+ community actually accepts a limited number of 45+. But they are required to do a new build and not purchase a resale. We moved here in 2015 when we were both 62 and saw many people who were (or at least looked) younger than 60. But being an "active" community, people probably look younger than their age.
Of course, our community is growing like wildfire, with several new neighborhoods being built, and it seems like all of the new residents are in their upper 50's.
I live in Sun City Anthem in Henderson, NV -- love it. I would say the average age is mid-60s but it seems to be trending younger as older residents die off.
I agree with this. Our parents generation is dying off and the boomers liked the lifestyle the parents lived in these communities.
Some of the 55+ guys are married to 30+ year olds, who have a right to live in these communities. So it brings younger blood too. However if a baby comes along, they need to sell and move out.
I have an 80 year old friend who would run circles around some 40 year olds. She spends 75% of her time traveling the world by herself.
While I am reluctant to ever give advice, this is one subject that I feel strongly about. Am now age 80, and have lived in senior communities since age 53.
The only way to know if a community is right for you, is to be there... not just talking with the sales agent, but spending time talking to the people who are living there, and visiting the amenities. We spent a month, looking on line, then a month in Texas and Florida... narrowing down what was right for us.
It paid off in our having nearly 28 years in retirement and being totally happy with the homes and the people who became friends as well as neighbors.
My parents lived in a 55+ retirement community for 30 years.
The community was built in sections over more than a decade. So, the first section to be sold became the oldest one demographically, while the later sections were younger and younger.
But, the first sections to be sold also had the biggest greenbelts (almost park like) between the homes, the big wide walkways so one did not have to walk near the streets, and they were the nearest ones to the rec center. The later sections had homes squeezed in much closer, smaller greenbelts and they did away with the walking paths that connected the sections with each other without having to walk near and on the streets. Many people had drive to the rec center because the walk just takes to long.
We live in a community that is not age restricted, but it does work out that the majority (about 80%) who live here are 55+. It started as a resort community but was promoted heavily to retirees in the northern states as a retirement destination, so we have a lot of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois retirees. I'm 57 and moved here 3.5 years ago. DH is 62. We have friends in all age groups, but I think, because we are on the younger end and from CA, we tend to click a bit better with the 50's to lower 60's crowd. The humidity is definitely higher than CA, but definitely NOT like FL. It's definitely do-able. I'm very much affected by heat and humidity, and even I find that there are very few days in the summer when I wouldn't be happy outside.
We are in eastern Tennessee, there is no state income tax, property taxes are about 1/4 of what they are in CA for the same priced home, and the home prices are much lower for what you get, although in this particular community they are above average prices for Tennessee, but we really like the lifestyle and opportunities. A lot of our friends and family felt that we would be moving to a neighborhood of old, decrepit people or something. They also knew nothing about the area and were apprehensive that we would not fit in. They've never really experienced an active adult community, so they don't know. The people here are FAR more physically active and involved than anyone we ever knew in CA. There are way too many activities to be able to participate in even 1/4 of them, if you even wanted to. There are clubs for everything from kayaking and hiking, to motorcycle riding, from tennis and pickleball to woodworking, to sports car enthusiasts and fishermen. Literally something for everyone of every age. In the summer we have youth camps for the children and grandchildren of residents, even golf camps. Our HOA ( we call them POA) fees are low (approx. $120/month).
Check it out An Active Senior Living Retirement Community | Tellico Village All communities are not created equal. If you would even consider the south east check out this website that lists numerous communities Best Gated Communities | Real Estate Scorecard NOTE: For some reason this link uses the name "gated communities". Our community is NOT gated, don't know why this website assumes that. Click on "learn more" and scroll down the page to read pages and pages of reviews from residents.
Last edited by TheShadow; 01-13-2017 at 11:12 AM..
Looks expensive. Site doesn't mention housing prices or HOA fees.
Texas does not have state income tax, as you said, and also doesn't tax groceries (food). But the property taxes are VERY high, and the break given seniors on property taxes isn't great. You get a small add'l exemption, but the value of the home as well as the tax rate will cont. to go up, like everyone else's.
The HOA fee is $93/month. I think that's reasonable for what you get. Houses range from around 190K-ish (small around 1050 sq ft) to half a mil for very large/fancy homes.
I forgot to mention that if you buy a new build, the age limit is 50. For all other resales, the age limit is still 55. Not sure why the diff.
But yes, the property taxes in Texas are high. Probably why I won't retire in Texas when the time comes.
While I am reluctant to ever give advice, this is one subject that I feel strongly about. Am now age 80, and have lived in senior communities since age 53.
The only way to know if a community is right for you, is to be there... not just talking with the sales agent, but spending time talking to the people who are living there, and visiting the amenities. We spent a month, looking on line, then a month in Texas and Florida... narrowing down what was right for us.
It paid off in our having nearly 28 years in retirement and being totally happy with the homes and the people who became friends as well as neighbors.
I could not agree more! You need to spend some time making a decision like this, so devote a little time to visiting several communities, preferably for a week or more at each. There are usually short term rentals (from a night or two to several months) available in many communities.
I hope you enjoy going to funerals and hearing about what operation your neighbor needs or what is wrong with them. My parents lived in a 55 plus community and it was depressing, when we retired we moved to a university town, kids keep you young!!
I agree that if you're freaked out by death or illness, a retirement community may make you feel uneasy. But for me, being just over 55, hearing of a neighbor's death does make me sad for the loss, but on the other hand, death and illness are a very natural part of life that our society tries to ignore as much as possible. I have not been exposed to death much in my life up to this point, and I have feared it as much as the next guy. But I'm learning to accept it now as the natural end to a hopefully well-lived life. I know as I age, illness will become a larger part of my experience too, and it's been good to witness how people cope in their daily lives with dignity & grace.
Being relatively young living in a retirement community has given me a greater awareness of not only death, but also of the many challenging factors that are a natural part of aging, yet we fight tooth and nail to deny, fix, escape, or genrally avoid. I feel better being exposed to these issues now, rather than being blindsided later on when they happen to me. It's been a good lesson in learning to gracefully let go.
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