Best Areas To Live For Retiree In 60s (Tampa, Sarasota: sale, insurance)

[GulfCoastGuy]

Cypress Village at sugarmill woods !! 2 golf courses, 2 pools, tennis courts, and everything you need.



My parents retired up there. Nice 2005-2015 homes, cheap, brand new Publix, lots great
mom+pop restaurants to eat at. When I'm 65, that's where I'll be moving to.

It's 60 mins using the Suncoast ($5 toll) to get to the Airport or Westshore.

Houses on 1/4 acre for under $200k. Here's a 2007 on .28 acre with 2,770 sqft for $173,000:



10 Bellis Ct, Homosassa, FL 34446 is For Sale | Zillow

I'd like it up there a lot when I drive up to visit.

[wsamon]

Originally Posted by ApolloBeachRetiree

What you and your Dad should do is to make a list of criteria to guide your selection of possible homes. Of foremost importance is budget. And, he should also get pre-qualified for financing unless he intends to pay cash.

That's what we're working on now. He's lived at his current residence for 35 years, so this is difficult as he hasn't had to think about these things for quite a long time. I have, so I'm trying to help him, but ultimately its his call and his priorities that he's got to figure out.

He wants at least a 2 bed / 2 bath, no more than a 3/3. He likes having a yard and privacy, but doesn't want to maintain a house or yard, and realizes he may not be able to continue doing so in a few years, so he's considering a condo, but hasn't made up his mind between the 2 yet. It should have around 1000 sq ft or more, no galley kitchen, decent counters, flooring, appliances, etc., and a washer / dryer. If the quality of those items are bad and the place is cheap enough, he'd consider just replacing them, but would prefer something that's turn key. We're currently looking at places around $180k or less, but he could easily go a little higher, and that's without factoring in the sale of his current property.

We're not looking to stretch anything at this stage of his life so financing shouldn't be a problem. I've told him he needs to shop around for mortgage companies, etc. but he's really just starting the process and isn't even 100% sure this is the area he's going to move. He seems to be leaning that way, but as mentioned, The Villages are still a possibility, as is staying in his current town (or even home), or going to the Pittsburgh area to be with other family.

Originally Posted by ApolloBeachRetiree

I am 68 and retired, living on the west side of Tampa Bay in Apollo Beach. We are half way between Tampa and Sarasota and have easy access to everywhere we want to go, including St. Pete.

Out of curiosity, how do you like it there? For a very brief moment I considered looking at places in Apollo Beach. The homes seemed to be very good value, it's still near the beach (though I've heard not great ones), and the location is fairly centralized as you mentioned. Ultimately though, I needed to be closer to a major airport and wanted to be closer to activities and events I enjoy. Unfortunately, like Tampa, this location is too far away from where I live for my dad. He will not want to drive an hour every time he wants to see his grandchild and will make it difficult for him to feel involved with our family. Keep in mind, he's from small towns. He's not used to traffic, and hates it (the bridges, cutting through downtown Tampa), and even a 20 minute trip is fairly long for him. Much more than that is only for special events.

Originally Posted by GulfCoastGuy

Cypress Village at sugarmill woods !! 2 golf courses, 2 pools, tennis courts, and everything you need.



My parents retired up there. Nice 2005-2015 homes, cheap, brand new Publix, lots great
mom+pop restaurants to eat at. When I'm 65, that's where I'll be moving to.

It's 60 mins using the Suncoast ($5 toll) to get to the Airport or Westshore.

Houses on 1/4 acre for under $200k. Here's a 2007 on .28 acre with 2,770 sqft for $173,000:

I'd like it up there a lot when I drive up to visit.

It looks beautiful and sounds like a very good value and great place to retire, but the house is too big for him, he won't want the maintenance on a yard that big, and as with previous suggestions of Apollo Beach and Hillsborough county, it's too far away from where I live and would defeat a lot of the purpose of moving here for him.

[Sunnydee]

There's a poster on this forum named lavender and she's also a real estate agent who lives and works in the Seminole area. She's very knowledgeable and very nice to deal with. If you contact her I'm pretty sure she could find your dad something suitable close to you. One place that might be a possibility is Tamara by the Sea. I hope this helps.

[TampaKaren]

Pinellas County is small geographically speaking (38 miles long and 15 miles across), but it's densely populated. So, given he's retired and commute times may not be so important, almost anywhere from Tarpon to Gulfport should work as long as it's somewhere he likes and it's safe. Innisbrook, Highland Lakes, and East Lake Woodlands might be good places to look into further. Good luck in your search.

Edit to add: ^^ I second Lavender ^^. Hopefully she will see your post and respond. I didn't see Sunnydee's post before mine.

[dothetwist]

I disagree with the 'condo' mentality and the "55+" mentality of living in a condo or gated community.

I refuse to live in a box, now and forever.

How hard is it to do this (what we do):

Hire a company to take care of the lawn/landscape on a regular basis. We paid someone to trim larger plants/trees that needed a ladder....I've only had to do that ONCE since we moved in.

When the house needs paining down the road (it was freshly painted inside/out when we purchased it), I'll hire someone to do that. If it needs maintenance, we'll hire someone to do it...we hired an electrician to add to the circuit box when we bought a new hot tub...just because we turned 60 doesn't mean we turned stupid and feeble.

My mother lived in her house until she was 93....it had stairs up to her BR, stairs down to her laundry room.

My uncle stayed in his own home till 97....he had stairs to his basement and he had over 100 potted plants on his extensive deck and patio that he took care of himself, replanting much of them after cold Ohio winters. When he moved to an 'over 55' apartment at 97, he was nearly kicked out for putting in bedding plants at the entrance and in the parking lot (he still drove at 97, btw, but has since stopped...he'll be 100 next month! On the plantings: the other residents came to his support and management relented and let him (and others) dig in the dirt whenever they want to. At 100, he's not doing much stooping/bending, but just last week he was out there supervising and selecting plants.

My aunt is 92, lives in her own home (stairs to basement for laundry), drives her car every day, and takes art lessons at the local rec center (she also drives to classes). She still flies to visit her children who live out of state, etc.

I just don't get this notion that someone in their 60's ought to buy a box and go live in it because they are useless, or will soon be useless. And the assumption that people in their 60's, 70's, 80's and beyond can't freakin' figure out how to hire someone to work on their home/yard when they need it??? What a load!

Jeeze...I hate that Americans evolved to think this way...it's a crock, frankly.

Buy the house and yard that you WANT. Don't go live in a box or in a segregated community of old people just because your kids tell you 'it's safer' or for your own good.

[Sunscape]

Originally Posted by TampaKaren

Edit to add: ^^ I second Lavender ^^. Hopefully she will see your post and respond..

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by dothetwist

I disagree with the 'condo' mentality and the "55+" mentality of living in a condo or gated community.

I refuse to live in a box, now and forever.

How hard is it to do this (what we do):

Hire a company to take care of the lawn/landscape on a regular basis. We paid someone to trim larger plants/trees that needed a ladder....I've only had to do that ONCE since we moved in.

When the house needs paining down the road (it was freshly painted inside/out when we purchased it), I'll hire someone to do that. If it needs maintenance, we'll hire someone to do it...we hired an electrician to add to the circuit box when we bought a new hot tub...just because we turned 60 doesn't mean we turned stupid and feeble.

My mother lived in her house until she was 93....it had stairs up to her BR, stairs down to her laundry room.

My uncle stayed in his own home till 97....he had stairs to his basement and he had over 100 potted plants on his extensive deck and patio that he took care of himself, replanting much of them after cold Ohio winters. When he moved to an 'over 55' apartment at 97, he was nearly kicked out for putting in bedding plants at the entrance and in the parking lot (he still drove at 97, btw, but has since stopped...he'll be 100 next month! On the plantings: the other residents came to his support and management relented and let him (and others) dig in the dirt whenever they want to. At 100, he's not doing much stooping/bending, but just last week he was out there supervising and selecting plants.

My aunt is 92, lives in her own home (stairs to basement for laundry), drives her car every day, and takes art lessons at the local rec center (she also drives to classes). She still flies to visit her children who live out of state, etc.

I just don't get this notion that someone in their 60's ought to buy a box and go live in it because they are useless, or will soon be useless. And the assumption that people in their 60's, 70's, 80's and beyond can't freakin' figure out how to hire someone to work on their home/yard when they need it??? What a load!

Jeeze...I hate that Americans evolved to think this way...it's a crock, frankly.

Buy the house and yard that you WANT. Don't go live in a box or in a segregated community of old people just because your kids tell you 'it's safer' or for your own good.

Absolutely.

I have friends in their 70's still working and one is a plumber. A friend in his late 80's still chops his own firewood. I am 68 and taking the body of my 64 GTO off the frame to clean and paint the frame. I am doing virtually all the work myself. Those who slow down when there is no good reason for it .................. well they don't live as long. Oh, mom active until she died at 98 and step father was active and still driving and he died at 98.

[sunshinyday]

If I am reading some of the replies correctly, there is some opinion that moving to a condo or 55+ is some kind of death sentence.

Really? Where you live defines your lifestyle or quality of life?

Pardon my disagreement. They may not be the right places for you to live, but "live and let live".

Many people are in active adult communities, and are working/consulting, volunteering, traveling, whatever floats their boat. And I know plenty of homebodies/couch potatoes who have single family homes.

[BucFan]

The assumption is that someone who lives in a gated, maintained community is left with nothing to do? It's just the opposite. It allows people the time to enjoy what they want to do - hobbies - tennis, golf, travel, own classical cars, go to cultural events.

I refuse to be a slave to my house, my lawn, my property.

The comment about living in a "box" is utter nonsense.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by BucFan

The assumption is that someone who lives in a gated, maintained community is left with nothing to do? It's just the opposite. It allows people the time to enjoy what they want to do - hobbies - tennis, golf, travel, own classical cars, go to cultural events.

I refuse to be a slave to my house, my lawn, my property.

The comment about living in a "box" is utter nonsense.

Agreed. There is something great about owning your own home, but having the freedom to not worry about hiring anyone to do anything or doing it yourself and not having to budget for certain expenses. Certain 55+ communities offer the freedom of renting with the pride of home ownership. Our plan had been to move into a 55+ community, after we were to be done with our current house. Not having kids running around screaming is another perk, IOO.