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I am officially 55+ since last year. I am still a few (probably about 4 years) away from making a move from the snow belt of suburban Chicago to the Sun Belt. I have never been to the Phoenix area, but I am researching 55+ communities in the Phoenix area. I have several questions specifically about Sun City, since there are quite a few SC homes in my price range.
What is the average age of the residents of Sun City? Would someone in their late 50’s who bought a home in Sun City feel out of place?
It looks like there are a lot of activities/clubs for the residents of Sun City – that is what I am looking for in a 55+ active adult community. Any comments on the variety of activities and clubs in Sun City are welcome.
How active is the singles community in Sun City?
Do many SC residents “go north” during the summer months, or do most residents stay in SC year round?
Even though Sun City is a retirement community, do many of the residents work on a part-time basis?
Do most residents of SC own golf carts?
As a single woman concerned about security and living in a safe place, how safe is Sun City, especially considering that Phoenix is fairly close by.
Is Sun City a gated community?
For a home/condo, 2 bdrms of about 1,200 square feet, what are the electric bills like in the hot weather months when the A/C is running 24/7?
Property taxes are a major consideration for me as property taxes in suburban Chicago where I have lived for many years are quite high, and will probably be too large of an expense in my “golden” years. I have looked on line at several homes for sale in Sun City in my price range, and the property taxes are usually less than $1,000. Are the property taxes so low in SC because there is not a school district within Sun City?
Some on-line listings in Sun City show a Preservation and Improvement Fee of about $3,000 -$3,500 when a new owner buys in SC. Is this fee paid by the new buyer at closing? Does this fee apply to all homes in Sun City, whether for condos or single family detached homes? If someone buys a home in Sun City, pays the fee, sells that home in a few years and buys a different home in SC, does that owner pay the Preservation and Improvement Fee again, or is this a one-time fee for the initial purchase of a home in SC?
This newbie says thanks in advance for any information.
I am officially 55+ since last year. I am still a few (probably about 4 years) away from making a move from the snow belt of suburban Chicago to the Sun Belt. I have never been to the Phoenix area, but I am researching 55+ communities in the Phoenix area. I have several questions specifically about Sun City, since there are quite a few SC homes in my price range.
What is the average age of the residents of Sun City? Right now it's 75+ but dropping every year as new younger people move in. Would someone in their late 50’s who bought a home in Sun City feel out of place? No, many 50+ live here.
It looks like there are a lot of activities/clubs for the residents of Sun City – that is what I am looking for in a 55+ active adult community. Any comments on the variety of activities and clubs in Sun City are welcome. Too many to mention, there's something for everyone.
How active is the singles community in Sun City? I don't know, I'm married, but I hear of many singles get togethers.
Do many SC residents “go north” during the summer months, or do most residents stay in SC year round? About 20-25% leave for the summer.
Even though Sun City is a retirement community, do many of the residents work on a part-time basis? Very few. More volunteering than working. Sun City is known as the 'City of Volunteers'.
Do most residents of SC own golf carts? No, many do but the percentage is small, estimate 5-10%.
As a single woman concerned about security and living in a safe place, how safe is Sun City, especially considering that Phoenix is fairly close by. Safest City in AZ.
Is Sun City a gated community? No.
For a home/condo, 2 bdrms of about 1,200 square feet, what are the electric bills like in the hot weather months when the A/C is running 24/7? Varies. My 2000 sq ft is $140.00 monthly year around on the economy plan.
Property taxes are a major consideration for me as property taxes in suburban Chicago where I have lived for many years are quite high, and will probably be too large of an expense in my “golden” years. I have looked on line at several homes for sale in Sun City in my price range, and the property taxes are usually less than $1,000. Are the property taxes so low in SC because there is not a school district within Sun City? Yes, you answered your own question.
Some on-line listings in Sun City show a Preservation and Improvement Fee of about $3,000 -$3,500 when a new owner buys in SC. Is this fee paid by the new buyer at closing? Does this fee apply to all homes in Sun City, whether for condos or single family detached homes? If someone buys a home in Sun City, pays the fee, sells that home in a few years and buys a different home in SC, does that owner pay the Preservation and Improvement Fee again, or is this a one-time fee for the initial purchase of a home in SC? Every new buyer pays the $3500 preservation fee, if you sell and buy another residence you pay again the preservation fee for each ppty you buy. Sometimes you can negotiate this fee with the seller.
This newbie says thanks in advance for any information.
I am officially 55+ since last year. I am still a few (probably about 4 years) away from making a move from the snow belt of suburban Chicago to the Sun Belt. I have never been to the Phoenix area, but I am researching 55+ communities in the Phoenix area. I have several questions specifically about Sun City, since there are quite a few SC homes in my price range.
What is the average age of the residents of Sun City? Would someone in their late 50’s who bought a home in Sun City feel out of place? The average age is 74. That is misleading because we have so many people living here that are in their 90's. We have 27,000 rooftops and 40,000 residents. There are lots of folks buying here in your age bracket, simply because of the value.
It looks like there are a lot of activities/clubs for the residents of Sun City – that is what I am looking for in a 55+ active adult community. Any comments on the variety of activities and clubs in Sun City are welcome. The number of things to do is staggering. Most folks look first at the clubs (130 of them) but even more significant are the opportunities tto be a part of the community through volunteering. Millions of hours are given back to the infrastructure that supports Sun City and keeps the cost of living so reasonable here.
How active is the singles community in Sun City? There's is a singles dance club, but the bigger options are in the clubs themselves. Most people find friendship and camaraderie as they join the various clubs. And as you can expect, lots of widowed women living here (us old guys die off to fast).
Do many SC residents “go north” during the summer months, or do most residents stay in SC year round? About a third of the population leaves for all of the summer or part of it.
Even though Sun City is a retirement community, do many of the residents work on a part-time basis? As you can imagine, more and more residents are working both full time and part time. The economy has forced people to work later in life. The good news is, the beauty of Sun City is it is 7 miles long and 3 miles wide, so no matter where you live, the amenities are always just around the block from where you buy a home.
Do most residents of SC own golf carts? The most often cited number cited is 10,000 golf cars in Sun City so that works out to about a third of the residents owning carts. We have two carts and 1 car and my golf car is my primary mode of transportation (and i love it).
As a single woman concerned about security and living in a safe place, how safe is Sun City, especially considering that Phoenix is fairly close by. Safer than anywhere else you may opt to look at.
Is Sun City a gated community? Walled, but not gated, which makes ingress egress pretty slick.
For a home/condo, 2 bdrms of about 1,200 square feet, what are the electric bills like in the hot weather months when the A/C is running 24/7? A lot depends on your AC unit and how efficient it is. Your yearly bills will be around $100, with the summer months hovering at $150 and the rest of the year balancing it out, unless you need to keep it really cold. We keep our house at 83 and are quite comfortable.
Property taxes are a major consideration for me as property taxes in suburban Chicago where I have lived for many years are quite high, and will probably be too large of an expense in my “golden” years. I have looked on line at several homes for sale in Sun City in my price range, and the property taxes are usually less than $1,000. Are the property taxes so low in SC because there is not a school district within Sun City? A 1200 sq ft condo will run you in the $600 range for taxes a year. We were invited to leave the Peoria school district in the early 70's and, hence no school taxes. A single family home (they average around 1400-1600 sq ft) will be around $750 to $800 per year. Condo's are smaller on average but there are some with over 2000 sq.
Some on-line listings in Sun City show a Preservation and Improvement Fee of about $3,000 -$3,500 when a new owner buys in SC. Is this fee paid by the new buyer at closing? Does this fee apply to all homes in Sun City, whether for condos or single family detached homes? If someone buys a home in Sun City, pays the fee, sells that home in a few years and buys a different home in SC, does that owner pay the Preservation and Improvement Fee again, or is this a one-time fee for the initial purchase of a home in SC? All new buyers to Sun City pay the preservation fee of $3500. That money is only used for projects with a minimum 15 year life span and more than $300,000. We have replaced several rec centers and have paid cash for them (roughly $75 million dollars in updating since it's inception in 1999). This year we will take in over 8 million dollars and if you do the math, we will reinvest another 130,000 million dollars over the next 20 years. It is a one time fee, if you sell your house and buy another. If you keep both properties, you would not get a refund.
This newbie says thanks in advance for any information.
Lots of information there, but you have barely scratched the surface on why Sun City is so popular for boomers looking to retire. I said above we are a great value, but more importantly are the values that were built into Sun City. We are self-governed, we literally run ourselves. There's no mayor or city council, we elect 9 board members who interact with the paid staff of the RCSC (Rec Centers of Sun City). Beyond that are a dozen more free-standing orgs that add to the quality of life.
It is simply an amazing place and while we are the oldest, we are like that old pair of jeans that just are comfortable. The most amenities at the least cost...and that just for starters. Any more questions, just ask away.
In my opinion Sun City is THE best value for 55+ living in the nation. After close and careful examination of several communities in the Phoenix and Tucson areas we chose Sun City Festival (we preferred the newer floorpans available) but I would strongly recommend the original Sun City to anyone looking for a great community. I also recommend you look at the Talk of Sun City website and join the discussion there for specifics from residents. Talk of Sun City
Thank you all for the information. I did not know that there is a Talk of Sun City web site. I just checked it out; it is very similar in format to Talk of The Villages, which is a message board for The Villages 55+ community in central Florida. Have a great weekend
My wife and I are moving to AZ and were wondering who your realtors are? You seemed to like them a lot.
Thanks for all your info.
We did like them a lot. I’ve sent a private message with details.
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