Looking for Information concerning 55+ Communities (move, states, relative, movies)

[kstoretire]

I would love to hear different opinions on 55+ "retirement communities." My wife and I are in our early 50's and have recently moved from California to Kansas. We wanted to experience a different part of our country (boy, have we and get of the extremely fast-paced living conditions of Southern California. We are in process of researching different 55+ communities and the positives/negatives of different states now for a move in a couple of years.
We are looking for information on communities from coast-to-coast. One thing that attracts us to the possibilities of these kinds of communitites are the potential relationships...folks in basically the same stage in life.
Thanks in advance for your opinions!

[pinusconus]

Las Cruces New Mexico has new +55 communities and is continuing to build more

[gigi927]

Here are the communities/areas I know of:

* Sun City/Surprise, AZ - there are several 55+ communities, Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Grand and Arizona Traditions. Sun City and Sun City West are older communities, and Sun City Grand/Arizona Traditions are newer communities. All have golf course and all of the other 55+ amenities. All but Arizona Traditions are Del Webb communities; Arizona Traditions is owned by Continental Homes.

* Peoria AZ - there is a community called Trilogy at Vistancia that has been built in the last 3 years. Very nice golf commuity.

* Chandler/Gilbert, AZ - another Trilogy Community at Power Ranch. Check Shea Homes website for info on both this and Vistancia.

* Georgetown, TX (near Austin) - Sun City Texas at Georgetown. Operated by Del Webb.

* Hill Country Retreat, San Antonio, TX - brand new Del Webb community. Opened in the last 6 months.

Actually, you can check Del Webb's website for all of their retirement communities - there are many more in many other states. Also check Robson Homes, Shea Homes, and Engle Homes who all build smaller active adult communities in the Southwest and other places.

I think your biggest locations will be in the southwest and Florida; however, I know that Del Webb also built in Huntley, Illinois if you're willing to put up with some cold!

My parents are building a home right now in Arizona Traditions and are very excited about the friends they'll be making and all the golf they'll get to play! Good luck with your search!

[businessperson]

Del Webb has a Sun City in Lancaster, SC. It's a very nice community within a couple hours of the SC coast. SC taxes are very low comparatively and make it an attractive buy. SC also has a Homestead Act which discounts the first $50k value of your property for tax purposes. If you'd like to see some homes there you can go to my website, found under my profile and do a property search. If you have questions let me know.

[ontheroad]

Great Retirement Spots (Dot) Com has a newsletter they send out regularly with interesting retirement cities/towns around the country and a few outside the US.

[MarJ]

There are 3 great mobile home communities for over 55 where you own the land in Southern California. One is Rancho carlsbad in Carlsbad (about 5 miles inland). Another is The Groves in Irvine which is totally inland and can get hot in the summer. And last, but in my opinion, the best is Shorecliffs Terrace in San Clemente. Only a mile from the ocean with prices running from about $325,000 to $450,000. Remember, these prices include the land which is a bargain for San Clemente where the average home price is almost a million dollars. Homeowners fees are low and you don't need air conditioning because of ocean breezes and a year round temperate climate. Look up Shorecliffs Terrace on the internet. I think you'll like what you see. By the way, I live in Shorecliffs Terrace and I can truly say we have a great community.

[baylovers]

One more vote for Del Webb... my folks (mid 60's) just moved to Sun City Hilton Head and I was really impressed. The community has just about everything you could ask for on the compound except for shopping. There are a ton of activities, clubs, movies and entertainment events. The developers seem to have just about everything thought out... they must have worked for Disney at some point.

Good luck on your search.

[jco]

* Sun City/Surprise, AZ - there are several 55+ communities, Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Grand and Arizona Traditions. Sun City and Sun City West are older communities, and Sun City Grand/Arizona Traditions are newer communities. All have golf course and all of the other 55+ amenities. All but Arizona Traditions are Del Webb communities; Arizona Traditions is owned by Continental Homes.

I live right by this place. Wherever you go in this area, you'll be in a community of others your age where there is a strong community. You can buy a big house, a little house, a condo, a shared yard, no yard, a private yard. Many options! Also, it's close to a lot of new shopping in Surprise (where I live) 5-10 minutes away. There are several hospitals as well, if that's a concern. You can PM me if you have any other questions. My grandmother lives in Sun City.

[yellowsnow]

I went and looked at a few 55+ communities in the Las Vegas area. The HOA fees were relatively high but the amenities were good and all the properties appeared to be well maintained. To me, it was kind of scary in a Stepford way. No cars in the driveways, no people out and about. Quiet and almost seemed abandoned. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Maybe I went at the wrong time or all the people come out at night. It didn't seem like Las Vegas at all.

[Johnan]

We came to Sun City Hilton Head almost two years ago from AZ. I wished I'd stopped people in their yards to see what they thought of this place. One thing to remember is that Sun Cities are LOADED with 'thou shalts'; 'thou shalt nots', and 'you better not do that or I'm tellin'!' There are so many stupid rules here, it makes one sick. Granted the speed limits are logical, but this place, which is gated, employs outside Security and they give tickets for one mile an hour over the limit. We can't have fences, so we have to take our dogs to a dog park. Beautiful dog park, but now too many people with way too many dogs. People don't understand dog breeds. Can't have For Sale signs, so, if you visit and you're looking for a resale, you have to 'find' the bulletin board to see what people are trying to sell. Another ridiculous rule is from the Volunteer Fair, every July. If you want to volunteer for one/some of the committees, you have to interview for the position. I think they do this to be sure everyone on their committees toes the Pulte co. line. Pulte, incidentally, builds a really crappy house here. They use illegals and don't bother to teach them to use squares or levels. Walls are crooked, floors are uneven. Then when Pulte has a major problem, they either ignore it, or try to blame someone else. Have a friend whose brown grout started turning white about 2 months after she moved in. She has been trying to get Pulte to do SOMETHING for nearly two years. They blame the flooring co, who then returns the blame to them. Pulte is very arrogant about their power. It's their way or no way. If I could have chosen another builder, I would have in a heartbeat.