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I've never understood the "lawn care" angle as a reason to move to a retirement community. Every place I know of, has an abundant supply of people for hire, that are willing to cut grass. And it's not that expensive.
[quote=ss20ts;48269741]How on earth could basically a housing development for seniors ever support a grocery store? There are entire towns with thousands of people that don't have one! How could a full church or multiple churches survive? How could shops survive with 100-200 residents? They would never be able to pay their rent, utilities, insurance, taxes, payroll, etc.
I know a few communities in Florida that run 40 minute service all day long to the grocery stores (which I don't believe I ever said should be inside the complex) and nearby malls. I think this sort of thing is ideal, but too few places offer it. The service is provided by the association and is part of the association fees. I really don't know of any newer places offering this kind of thing, tho.
The Sun City Arizona places are all older well set-up and organized places. If you can take the desert heat they are still a good choice. I believe the newer places in Arizona tend to be more house-oriented and less activity-oriented.
Sorry about the quote mess - must have deleted too much of the original verbage.
I wouldn't mind a community being in the suburbs or in the country. In fact, I would prefer it not to be in an urban area. But I would love a place like The Villages, with its own shopping, town square, clubhouse, etc, that you could get to on a golf cart (I really love the idea of being able to drive a golf cart everywhere I need to go inside the community and get a lot of what I need or want inside the community), but in Arizona or California, not Florida. I don't want to live in Florida.
You might not want to live in Florida but good luck are trying to find anything in California unless you are a multi-millionaire. The cost of anything unless your in the desert is so crazy. Texas or Arizona might be your best bet if you don't like Florida. All depends on what type of weather and terrain you like. I love water and plants so Florida suits us find.
I think there are communities of every sort available, maybe not every type in every place however. Not everyone wants to be carted about on a community van. I see that as something necessary in an assisted living type place, or for a few folks who are "aging out" of an active adult community. Now that there are Uber and Lyft, transportation needs should be easier than ever for seniors. Our neighborhood also has a volunteer ridesharing service. This is something that could easily be established by any HOA. Alternatively, one could make arrangements with a neighbor or friend that still drives to reimburse them for gas and their time. I'm sure most would refuse the money. Lawn service is available everywhere, usually for a flat weekly or monthly rate that is probably cheaper than the dues that people pay for it in some senior communities.
I guess what I'm saying is if you don't like what a community offers, don't buy there, or make arrangements to fill the gaps by paying for those items the usual way people do.
I guess they build what they can sell.
In general you could be correct.
Their are communities that are as you describe in the past and present. They have transportation for residences (but limited so might not be all that useful) full outside maintenance of homes and other sections where the home owner does everything. Monthly fees varies by the services your section gets. Guess you have to do some searching.
One of the retirement communities in my town has everything you could possibly want. You have a choice of a single family home, a duplex, townhouse or condo. They also have so many things to do I couldn't believe it - everything from woodworking to dance lessons, pottery classes, kayaking groups, cards, a full gym, swimming pool, Jacuzzi and shuttles that will take residents to doctor's appointments, grocery store, etc. I can't imagine anybody would be bored there.
However the HOA fees are around $500 a month. Not too many seniors on Social Security can afford to live there and the place is not new. Some of the condos don't have a washer/dryer in them so you have to go to the laundry room. Totally don't think of that as much fun when you're a senior, or any age for that matter. But it serves a group of people who are "active seniors". If I can recall correctly they even have a small section for seniors who need some assistance.
How on earth could basically a housing development for seniors ever support a grocery store? There are entire towns with thousands of people that don't have one! How could a full church or multiple churches survive? How could shops survive with 100-200 residents? They would never be able to pay their rent, utilities, insurance, taxes, payroll, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
I know a few communities in Florida that run 40 minute service all day long to the grocery stores (which I don't believe I ever said should be inside the complex) and nearby malls. I think this sort of thing is ideal, but too few places offer it. The service is provided by the association and is part of the association fees. I really don't know of any newer places offering this kind of thing, tho.
The Sun City Arizona places are all older well set-up and organized places. If you can take the desert heat they are still a good choice. I believe the newer places in Arizona tend to be more house-oriented and less activity-oriented.
Sorry about the quote mess - must have deleted too much of the original verbage.
Those services are not the norm and never have been except in assisted living! Very few places have enough actual retirees who want to live like retirees from 1960.
The retired folks I know are more active than everyone I know except toddlers! How? They have the TIME and MONEY. They don't have jobs that suck up 8-10-12 hours of their day.
One couple took up walking which lead to running which lead to marathons! Yup, the started running marathons in their 70's. That was unheard of a few decades ago.
If these are the types of communities you want, then you're going to have to relocate to where they exist and be prepared to pay for them. Those services are free nor are they cheap.
It's like the golf course communities. Everyone is stuck paying for that grassy knoll. Meanwhile, typically only about 25% of the community actually uses it. For many folks, there's no value in paying for that so they won't live there. Things like this are why I won't live in a development community that has all of these amenities. I don't want to pay for things I won't use. I'd rather spend my money on things I will use.
I've never understood the "lawn care" angle as a reason to move to a retirement community. Every place I know of, has an abundant supply of people for hire, that are willing to cut grass. And it's not that expensive.
Because some of us hate the multiple phone calls to find someone and check references, and the multiple phone calls to find another one when the first just doesn't show up while the grass continues to grow. In more populated areas you might find "companies" that are reliable, but in more rural areas you end up having to find an individual person. Then there is snow removal, weed pulling, spreading mulch, fertilizing, etc etc etc. I would much rather have an HOA to deal with all this hassle.
If they are not what people want then the market place should take care of it by itself.
Reading down through this thread, one might get the impression that older folks were being forced to live in sterile environments that did nothing, but, provide profit for the developer.
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Quite different than most areas.
Reading down through this thread, one might get the impression that older folks were being forced to live in sterile environments that did nothing, but, provide profit for the developer.
