Age - Sun City Grand or Trilogy at Vistancia (Scottsdale: sales, renting)

[suddenlyretiring]

My husband and I are 59 and 57. We are considering Sun City Grand or Trilogy at Vistancia. We like them equally as well, but of course the monthly fees and home prices in Sun City Grand are less than Trilogy.
My husband seems to think there would be more people our age at Trilogy and being newer we would have more opportunity to make friends. I like the prices of Sun City Grand but worry that we would not meet people our age. I will admit I am struggling with the 55+ concept.

[wase4711]

if you are outgoing and friendly, you will make friends no matter where you live...

we have good friends in both places, but Trilogy has alot more activities and facilities than Sun City Grand, and I think its in a much prettier area..

HOA is high in Trilogy, but the facilities are beautiful and they keep them up to date and immaculate..

[Mike from back east]

Vistancia has 3 parts: (1) Trilogy, the 55+ gated community with all single-story homes; (2) The Villages with 1 or 2 story homes with no age restrictions, and; (3) Blackstone, the gated up$cale area with no age restrictions.

Trilogy HOA dues are $777.00 per quarter with about 50 clubs to consider. Regular bus trips to casinos, baseball games, wineries, and to Mexico for cheap dental care and prescription drugs. Two small gyms, two clubhouses, two outdoor and one indoor pool, bocce ball, tennis, pickleball, car club, billiards, investment forum, history club, various clubs for card games, women's club, photo and art clubs, wine club, cigar club, dances and dinners, happy hours, more.

There's a spa for mani/pedi needs, facials, massages, haircuts, etc.

There's a golf course which is currently the subject of some concern, see this thread.

There's a very good eatery right outside the gate, V's Taproom, which is open to the public but is also a part of the issue with the golf course.

More info on the community is here.

Outgoing people will enjoy Trilogy very much. Introverts will find the peace and quiet they value.

[azgopher]

I may be prejudiced but really there is no comparison . Sun City Grand has much more room for activities, 4 golf courses, a great and thriving Boomer Club which is a great way to meet new friends. With the best HOA value anywhere, Grand is really the best 55+ community in AZ.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by azgopher

I may be prejudiced but really there is no comparison . Sun City Grand has much more room for activities, 4 golf courses, a great and thriving Boomer Club which is a great way to meet new friends. With the best HOA value anywhere, Grand is really the best 55+ community in AZ.

You assume the op cares about golf. Plus, Trilogy is has a lot more area to develop. That also means there are younger blood coming into the community.

To the eye, Sun City Grand is in Surprise which is as flat as a board. Trilogy in Vistancia is much more appealing to my eye. I live in Marley Park inside of Surprise, so I am not throwing stones. But I would never re-buy in Surprise (for me; specifically for the F-35 noise).

SCG has a lot more infrastructure around it. No question about it. My wife's biggest beef is that Trilogy is 15 farther away from important things like the airport. As I alluded to earlier, my biggest beef is that in Sun City Grand, you have 30x more jet noise than Trilogy. Both total flyovers and especially sound pressure levels. Trilogy has the perfect amount of "the sound of freedom" (jet noise).

It's not a slam dunk "no comparison" between the two. Rather several trade-offs exist. It's why people who research both will pick one over the other and accept their compromises.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by suddenlyretiring

My husband and I are 59 and 57. We are considering Sun City Grand or Trilogy at Vistancia. We like them equally as well, but of course the monthly fees and home prices in Sun City Grand are less than Trilogy.
My husband seems to think there would be more people our age at Trilogy and being newer we would have more opportunity to make friends. I like the prices of Sun City Grand but worry that we would not meet people our age. I will admit I am struggling with the 55+ concept.

Make no mistake, you will be in the freshman class even in Vistancia's Trilogy. I'm 54 and have been staring at Vistancia pretty closely (we almost bought a house on the course last Spring). New blood is coming in up the hill (new home sales normally are full of recent retires or partial retirees like ourselves).

I'd recommend going to a mixing type events. The new sales staff always has tickets to concerts etc. In Trilogy and in the original neighborhood which is where I'm partial to, they have a happy hour at the main club house (off of the golf course). I believe it is Tuesday night. We visited 3 different happy hours. We noticed a much younger crowd that were blending in those events in comparison to when we drove through SCG. It was easy to mingle as we talked with a lot of folks. I know, it's not scientific that the newer blood is at Trilogy, but I would be shocked if the average age wasn't significantly less at Trilogy.

In SCG, we have eaten lunch a dozen times at the Coco's restaurant over looking the golf course at SCG (for the view; not the food). And make no mistake, V's Taproom kick the crap out of Coco's. lol The average age seems to be around 70 at SCG. Not too many 57 year old young bucks. So while you are the Freshman at Trilogy, i predict you would be the 6th graders at SCG. lol

Re: prices. Yea, I noticed that Trilogy is more money. Considering that you are both retiring early, that probably means that you have done a little better in business. Statistically speaking, I find myself more interested in engaging in conversations with people who are more successful (business wise). So I predict if you took a survey, the Trilogy crowd has more former mover and shakers. I have NO doubt that SCG has plenty of successful people. But from the very short group of people that I spoke with at Trilogy, most had an extra buck in their pocket. You will need to do more research on this POV but my best guess is that there is something to it.

Good luck with your potential move. Just make sure you can handle the jets. Try renting a house for a couple of months at each spot and pick the best location. Everything I posted was my subjective opinions. You may come up with 20 others that sway you another direction. If you can handle the jets, consider Pebble Creek. I would personally be there if it wasn't for "the Sound Of Freedom". So don't remove that from your list (new builds going up their too).

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Make no mistake, you will be in the freshman class even in Vistancia's Trilogy. I'm 54 and have been staring at Vistancia pretty closely (we almost bought a house on the course last Spring). New blood is coming in up the hill (new home sales normally are full of recent retires or partial retirees like ourselves).

I'd recommend going to a mixing type events. The new sales staff always has tickets to concerts etc. In Trilogy and in the original neighborhood which is where I'm partial to, they have a happy hour at the main club house (off of the golf course). I believe it is Tuesday night. We visited 3 different happy hours. We noticed a much younger crowd that were blending in those events in comparison to when we drove through SCG. It was easy to mingle as we talked with a lot of folks. I know, it's not scientific that the newer blood is at Trilogy, but I would be shocked if the average age wasn't significantly less at Trilogy.

In SCG, we have eaten lunch a dozen times at the Coco's restaurant over looking the golf course at SCG (for the view; not the food). And make no mistake, V's Taproom kick the crap out of Coco's. lol The average age seems to be around 70 at SCG. Not too many 57 year old young bucks. So while you are the Freshman at Trilogy, i predict you would be the 6th graders at SCG. lol

Re: prices. Yea, I noticed that Trilogy is more money. Considering that you are both retiring early, that probably means that you have done a little better in business. Statistically speaking, I find myself more interested in engaging in conversations with people who are more successful (business wise). So I predict if you took a survey, the Trilogy crowd has more former mover and shakers. I have NO doubt that SCG has plenty of successful people. But from the very short group of people that I spoke with at Trilogy, most had an extra buck in their pocket. You will need to do more research on this POV but my best guess is that there is something to it.

Good luck with your potential move. Just make sure you can handle the jets. Try renting a house for a couple of months at each spot and pick the best location. Everything I posted was my subjective opinions. You may come up with 20 others that sway you another direction. If you can handle the jets, consider Pebble Creek. I would personally be there if it wasn't for "the Sound Of Freedom". So don't remove that from your list (new builds going up their too).

You bring up a good point with Coco's. Their contract is up and SCG is working with a consultant to improve that space and all food and beverage services.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Burning Madolf

You bring up a good point with Coco's. Their contract is up and SCG is working with a consultant to improve that space and all food and beverage services.

Thanks for the heads-up. Coco's is an o.k. spot. But if they took it up a few more notches, that would be fantastic. I love the location and the view from the porch. While they have a bar, I don't see myself going to grab a drink with friends at Coco's. lol At the Vistancia's Trilogy, Pebble Creek (both restaurants), and Victory complex (Verrado), I absolutely do patronize those facilities for dinner and drinks. In fact, we make our way out to those locations a couple times a month. Coco's will still get an occasional lunch visit. But never for dinner or drinks. I most definitely welcome a change.

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Thanks for the heads-up. Coco's is an o.k. spot. But if they took it up a few more notches, that would be fantastic. I love the location and the view from the porch. While they have a bar, I don't see myself going to grab a drink with friends at Coco's. lol At the Vistancia's Trilogy, Pebble Creek (both restaurants), and Victory complex (Verrado), I absolutely do patronize those facilities for dinner and drinks. In fact, we make our way out to those locations a couple times a month. Coco's will still get an occasional lunch visit. But never for dinner or drinks. I most definitely welcome a change.

Yep, I think when they opened that spot years ago it might have been enough but now people are looking for better options especially in such a great location.
'Pressure' from other communities is a positive influence. Upgrading Coco's, improving Angela's and adding another spot at the 2nd rec center (Cimarron), among other ideas, I think are all on the table.

[pwcfan]

These are all great opinions.
The wife and I are retiring in Nov.
We are considering senior sizing, from our Scottsdale house.
We spent 5 hrs yesterday looking at models, talking to residents, at Trilogy.
We LOVED it.
It appears very vibrant.
We would like to meet more people and be active with other residents. We don’t get that in our suburban home.
Thank you all again for the great info !!