Active 55+ communities in urban locations, hiking, biking, views (Phoenix, Tucson: new home, buying)

[flgafl]

Hi,
We are starting our search as to where we may consider moving into a very large active 55+ community. We are looking for one that has conveniences nearby ( restaurants, entertainment, shopping, A TOWN), hiking trails, biking, etc.......one with views would be great. And access to major highways.
WE are early 50's so we don't want to be in one that has majority over 70 years old !!!! IMPORTANT.
We don't know anything about the area, so any advice be greatly appreciated so we can narrow our search.
thank you

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by flgafl

Hi,
We are starting our search as to where we may consider moving into a very large active 55+ community. We are looking for one that has conveniences nearby ( restaurants, entertainment, shopping, A TOWN), hiking trails, biking, etc.......one with views would be great. And access to major highways.
WE are early 50's so we don't want to be in one that has majority over 70 years old !!!! IMPORTANT.
We don't know anything about the area, so any advice be greatly appreciated so we can narrow our search.
thank you

You're going to need to give responders a little more info. Where in Arizona are you looking? Budget? Weather preferences (As has different climates). You will get good info with a few more details.

[veritased]

geez... I am 55+, but I just won't think of myself this way, nor do I want to be in a 55+ community.
Sounds horribly dull. Maybe I am not imagining it right. We are in a community of mixed retirees as well as many families with varying age children. Fun to see kids playing and laughing..

[Dangerous Dave]

Look into Sun City Festival, I had a client from that area and they spend their winters there, they love it. Maybe see if that's the type of community you're interested in, and let CD Forum contributors know what area you're actually looking at. That would be the best way to start.

[Dangerous Dave]

Originally Posted by veritased

geez... I am 55+, but I just won't think of myself this way, nor do I want to be in a 55+ community.
Sounds horribly dull. Maybe I am not imagining it right. We are in a community of mixed retirees as well as many families with varying age children. Fun to see kids playing and laughing..

I'm on the fence on this but I have some time to figure it out. I guess the top concern for me will be buying something close to where I live, but I would eventually like to sell our big four bedroom house, take the equity and pay cash for a cozy 2-3 bedroom in a quiet area. Big thing for me is having a house small enough to where my kids don't try to move back in!

[grmi66]

I'm early 50's and just moved to NW Tucson a stone's throw outside of Oro Valley. My observation is that if you want to retire and play golf, move to Phoenix. But if you want to hike, ride your bike or go trail running move to NW Tucson. Live 10 minutes away from tons of trails, 5 minutes from grocery stores and 15 minutes from places like Target, Home Depot and Costco.

Our subdivision is a great mix of families, telecommuters like my wife & I as well as retired folks.

[veritased]

Dangerous Dave, good strategy!

However, it can backfire. Then instead of having them move in for cheap, you'll have to fork out cash so they can continue to live in California!

[DrDog]

Originally Posted by veritased

geez... I am 55+, but I just won't think of myself this way, nor do I want to be in a 55+ community.
Sounds horribly dull. Maybe I am not imagining it right. We are in a community of mixed retirees as well as many families with varying age children. Fun to see kids playing and laughing..

Doesn’t sound like you have looked into these types of communities. What’s dull about friendly neighbors, golf, tennis, swimming, dining out, etc .

[DrDog]

Originally Posted by flgafl

Hi,
We are starting our search as to where we may consider moving into a very large active 55+ community. We are looking for one that has conveniences nearby ( restaurants, entertainment, shopping, A TOWN), hiking trails, biking, etc.......one with views would be great. And access to major highways.
WE are early 50's so we don't want to be in one that has majority over 70 years old !!!! IMPORTANT.
We don't know anything about the area, so any advice be greatly appreciated so we can narrow our search.
thank you

Check out northwest Phoenix area - Sun City Grande, Sun City West, Trilogy.

[iStark]

I am staring to look at 55+ places in the Phoenix area too We are in our early 60s. We will be visiting the Phoenix area next month and I have a list of almost 20 that I plan to visit or at least drive by. I found there are over sixty 55+ plus communities in the Phoenix area so I have whittled the list down some. Some people who don't know better think of these as retirement home but they really are active adult communities with plenty to do.

We will probably look at a few non 55+ communities too. My mother who is in her late 80's has lived in a 55+ community (not in Phoenix) for the past 4 years. She is so busy and has so many new friends. I am looking forward to having multiple pools indoor and outdoor, gym facilities and clubs to join.

We will probably be snow birds for a few years and are not sure what our budget will be but we will find out more next month.

We plan to visit:
Encanterra Trilogy, Encore at Eastmark, Sun Lakes, Trilogy at Power Ranch, Ovation at Meridian in the South East Valley
PebbleCreek and CantaMia in the South West Valley
Victory at Verrado ,Trilogy At Vistancia, Sun City, SCW, SCG, Corte Bella, Four Seasons at The Manor, Westbrook Village in the West Valley
Terravita, Scottsdale, Desert Mountain in the North East Valley

While I have to get the feel for the many communities it seems one could find a nice home for between $300K-$550 depending on what one is looking for. Some communities are gated, homes vary from 1000 sq ft. to over 3000 sq ft. Homes are available from those built in the original Sun City in 1960 to ones you can have built for you now. Most communities have pools, some have indoor pools too, walking paths, and parks. I am particularly interested in Victory at Verrado as the larger Verrado community has over 70's parks and Victory is part of the larger mixed age Verrado community and it's tucked nicely near the White Tank Mountains.

There are several good threads on this forum by I think GeneR (I think, I'll try to find some) about his search for a 55+ community a few years ago. He was very detailed and his search was interesting, he ended up buying in Sun City Festival.

While Sun City probably has an overall higher age group the taxes are amazingly low and that may be another option for us especially since we may be buying two homes once we leave our current one. Though Sun City would not be a scenic or as anywhere near a new home in some of the other communities there are many between.