I wish them the best. One criteria, I am looking for is how is life for singles. As we age, life without a partner becomes more of a reality. Many of the retirement websites cater to couples and totally ignore singles. Perhaps Top Retirement would dedicate one single article on singles retirement?

June 11th, 2011 | #

Amen! How about it?:smile:

June 11th, 2011 | #

Nice article! I never envisioned us in one of these places. However it certainly intrigued me. Question: “Are there a fairly large selection of retirement 55+ communities available that rent on short term basis?” Say – 6 weeks or so? I don’t think we’d be up to “snow birding” for longer. Thank you!:cool:

June 11th, 2011 | #

I too would like to see more on life for singles and appreciate your consideration. Thanks!

June 11th, 2011 | #

Funny that this article just came out. We are moving to the Ocala area and looking to rent for a year before buying. Saw Top of the World, too big. Saw The Village, too big. Looking at Spruce Creek and the new Dell Webb Stone Creek which is still building. But I will clue Sandy in on one thing, go there in the summer!! Then you can REALLY tell about the full time population. Closing on the house June 30th and going down, hope I can find a rental for a year… Wish us luck.

June 11th, 2011 | #

My wife and I have been following your articles for several years now. I have been retired for 10 years and Cindy for 2 years. We started investigating possible retirement communities 4 years ago. Our travels brought us to Puerto Rico, Florida, California, N. Carolina and Arizona. I particularly liked Sandy’s quote “didn’t want to be cold and old”. We discovered Sun City West, AZ last winter and for many of the reasons Sandy mentioned we decided “this was the place”. We purchased a beautiful, move in condition home at a very reasonable cost. We still also own a home in Massachusetts that will remain our Summer abode. Keep up these great articles. We love reading about other people like us that are still kicking and getting around. (It keeps us young)

June 11th, 2011 | #

Very informative article. Looking forward to part 2. I join Nancy in her question about short term rentals in the 55+ communities.

June 11th, 2011 | #

Nice comments everyone! First, we have written an article about singles and retirement. http://www.topretirements.com/blog/great-towns/the-best-retirement-places-for-singles.html/
There are also some discussions in the Forum – such as http://www.topretirements.com/forum/t1946/The_dilemma_of_finding_a_+55_Place_with_enough_single_people.html
It’s a good suggestion, we will keep it in mind.

As far as short term rentals, Sandy (and others) tell me there is no shortage of short term rentals in most active communities. Start with the communities, look online, or talk with people you know there or a realtor.

June 11th, 2011 | #

After last winter here in Jersey, my wife and I are really looking forward to getting out of here . Our first preference is the West Coast of Florida, somewhere we can fish, enjoy a small boat, and be free of loud cars and music!

June 11th, 2011 | #

Thank-you sooo much Sandy & Roger for your wonderful article on the above
communities. My husband & I are hoping to move to Florida w/in the next
2-3 years. My husband only gets (1) week paid vacation and we cannot afford
to visit these communities. However, after much research on line we
to have decided on the Ocala area. Sandy, my husband is a carpenter and he
too is tired of being cold. We’re looking for a simple residence. Must be
modern & gated and quaint. Don’t need all the bells & whistles in a development, but would like to have a garden and a place for my husband to
do some carpentry. Your future articles will be very interesting for us.
Again thank-you both in advance.:razz:

June 11th, 2011 | #

I was up in Michigan visiting the west coast over Memorial Day (fell in love with Holland!) and observed that the largest contingent of Florida plates were from the west coast: Lee, Sarasota, Pasco. I learned that there are new nonstop flights from Kalamazoo to Tampa.
One thing to keep in mind if you are planning on a snowbird routine is what the weather is like there on a year-round basis. This is one of the factors that makes Ocala more attractive than say Fort Myers. Not that it doesn’t get hot in the summer but its inland location also makes it much less prone to hurricane damage.

June 12th, 2011 | #

One good rule of thumb – the newer the active adult community, the younger the average age of the residents. (Once they move in, residents tend to stay and age in place.)

Jan Cullinane, co-author, The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life (Rodale)

June 13th, 2011 | #

I only got to spend one day at Top Of The World…but really liked it! The prices were very good and they offered me a site on the golf course for no extra charge. In the end though, I didn’t think the community was active enough for me. I’m still leaning towards The Villages.

June 13th, 2011 | #

[...] Sandy said in last week’s story, “What Sandy Learned After 8 Years of Visiting Active Adult Communities“, if you haven’t visited the real estate market outside your state you have no idea how [...]

June 13th, 2011 | #

Hospitals…looking at Ocala. Reviews horrible for medical care around there. Wonder where you go? Spoiled with the best docs ever here at home now but in a larger city. Just thought that might be a huge factor to think about and where you go around Ocala?

June 15th, 2011 | #

If your thinking of retiring to an adult community I highly suggest reading the book Leisureville: Adventures in America’s Retirement Utopias by Andrew D. Blechma Mainly about The Villages but worth the read for all retirememt communities info, laughs and experience of the writer.

I’m sure you know the plus’s about FL so I’ll just touch on the flip side. If you are retiring and $ is no problem then a lot of this will not apply.

Having lived in an adult community in Ocala Fl for 10 yrs(and in different areas of FL for 23 yrs) my best advice is to RENT for at least a yr. You can always buy, but selling is a different matter.

Read and understand the Deed Restrictions. All retirement communities have them and will fine you for breaking them. This is VERY important. Know what they are!!!!!!!

When people visit FL in the winter all they see is the green and flowers w/a warm sun. Look beneath the surface. OTOW is a nice community but it is land leased, you have to go to the community mail box to get your mail. There is no curb side garbage pick up. You have to take your garbage to the community dumpster. You can’t keep it in your garage for long due to the heat of the sun. Think about driving your garbage to the dumpster. Do you mind doing this? The monthly association fees are close to $400.

Oak Run is aging, as a lot of these communities are. The developer has closed the 9 hole golf course along w/the restaurant next to it and it is not being kept up and thus starting to look neglected. The upkeep on the ammenties are not kept up as well as they could be. There are lawsuits w/the developer. Check this w/any community you want to move to.

When you visit communities look closely at things. Example the indoor pool, the bathroom/showers,gyms etc. The salesmen are out to sell and will NOT point out the negatives. Drive around the community and look closely at the homes, lawns etc. There are a lot of foreclosed homes in FL so look closely at these communities and outside of them and really look at houses, lawns, closed stores etc. Look below the surface.

Many of these communities are aging as their population is. Jan C is correct in her assessment. Newer communities have a younger population.

FL has no state income tax. This is fine as long as you don’t get old/sick or disabled and need any services to help you, there are none. You need $$$$.

Housing prices are way down and unemployment is way up in FL. If you intend to work at all know this area has one of the lowest pay scales in the state. Water is very expensive.$54-100++ a month(the upper end if you use your sprinklers to water the lawn).Soil is mostly sand. House insurance also is expensive and can be hard to get due to the hurricaines, especially near the coast. Electric runs $100+++ in summer. Food is equal or higher than other parts of the country.

Sink Holes. Don’t let any salesman tell you there are not any. Every community has them and they can be a big problem. Palmetto bugs (giant cockroaches)and all sorts of other little critters need to have the house exterminated against them 1x a month. Love Bugs 2x a yr that if you don’t get them off your car they ruin the paint. A major airport (Orlando or Tampa) is 90 miles away. Any big shopping mall is in Orlando or Tampa.

Medical is adequate. If your used to big city Dr’s and hospitals you will not find them here. Shands at UF is excellent but 100 mile RT from Ocala.

High humidity causes mold and mildew to grow on everything outside. Houses, patios etc have to be cleaned every year. Summers are miserable unless you like living in a steambath. Summer storms can be fierce with tornados in them.

If your going to be a snowbird you are very lucky. If you plan on moving to FL permanently be sure you want to be that far from your kids, g-kids etc. There are restrictions on how long kids can visit in retirement communities.

These communities are geared toward couples. There are single groups but women out number men 7 to 1. Two percent of Marion Countues population has higher than high school If your used to big city culture, transportation and diverstiy you will not find it in Central FL.

Research before you decide to pack up and move to any retirement community. Talk to people who live there, in the stores, at the pool etc. Articles about the best places to live are done mostly on statistics. Research, visit and most of all rent for the 1st year or 2 to see if it is really what you like. Good luck and enjoy your retirement.

June 17th, 2011 | #

Why are all of the articles being cut off on the right? It really makes it difficult to follow what someone is saying.

Hi Larry: Sorry you are having this problem. We have had reports of this in the past but thought we had solved it. What kind of browser are you using (Internet Explorer, AOL, Firefox)? Do you know what version it is (will appear in the Help section of the browser)? That will help us zero in on the problem, which i hope is very rare.

June 20th, 2011 | #

I concur with being careful to do yor research before you move. The wife and I fell in love with a 55+ active adulr community outside of Eloy, AZ. The price was right, the home were beautiful as were the amenities. We started our research by looking in the neighborhood newspapers online and found out there was a private max security prision that was built about 5 mile up the road. It houses the most dangerous prisioners from Hawaii. It isn’t labeled on any map but if you use Google Earth you can pick it out from the satellite.
This caused us to move our hunt farther north. Be igilant and talk to the residents if possible for the secrets the real estate companies don’t wish to share with you.

June 20th, 2011 | #

I am having the same text “cut off” problem on the right side. Noticed it within the last few weeks.

I have Explorer, Version: 9.0.8112.16421

June 21st, 2011 | #

I have IE Ver 8.0.6001.18702.
If I use FireFox, I do not have this problem.

Thanks Larry and Bill. This is helpful information. We will get the techs on it. Just upgraded to new version of WordPress, maybe it is the culprit. John

June 21st, 2011 | #

Hi
I’m the Sandy John wrote about. Yes, we have been in AZ, FL and GA in the summer. I’m not thrilled by the 100 temps, but I can handle it better than the 20 and below temps. To the singles out there: There are ‘tons’ of single groups. One of the reasons I want a bigger community is that you have a wider variety of interests and On Top Of The World is part of a larger community – Ocala. The Villages, Sun City and other cities that are just seniors is too much of the same thing – all older individuals. In the Ocala area you are part of a bigger community where you can see young people and watch little kids grow-up, especially, in your own church. That I realized was important to me. I’m off-track – single clubs. Many of the communities, the bigger ones, have singles groups. Even when we winter in areas that have snowbird clubs, there is always a singles group. Finally, there are some places in the panhandle area of Florida that rent for shorter timeframes i.e. 6 weeks. When you get further south, most like multiple month rentals. Check some of the rent by owner websites, and they will state if they mandate a particular timeframe. ANYONE can winter in Florida at reasonable rates. Our first year rented a condo for $600 for 6 weeks – it can be done and in this economical environment negotiating is key. Good luck, you deserve it!

June 22nd, 2011 | #

I’ve enjoyed this site for the last year or so and also noticed the right side of the text is frequently cut off now. I also have Explorer, Version 9.

June 22nd, 2011 | #

Have been enjoying all the great info. We are still in the “searching mode”, but keep coming back to central FL. Has anyone found a community, besides the Villages, where you can drive your golf cart to the grocery store and some shopping – anywhere in the warmer part of the good old USA?

I wonder if clicking compatibility view would help those on I.E. with their text.

June 25th, 2011 | #

My question is the same as Kate’s–any more golf cart communities out there? Preferably in Florida or Arizona? My husband doesn’t drive and eventually as we age most of us will need to resort to alternate sources of transportation. It seems difficult to find a practical solution.

How about an article on communities that are transportation friendly? golf carts, community transportation, walking to amenities or even a great bus system.

June 26th, 2011 | #

I found a way to see the entire text and not be cut off. click on PAGE on your toolbar then go to STYLE, click NO STYLE; hit your REFRESH button and all the text shows up!

On Top Of The World has golf cart access to grocery stores, salons, etc. I think a bank is included in one of the two shopping centers that has a golf cart path to. That was one of the major reasons, I like OTOTW. I too realized that my car will be taken away. Plus, they do have a bus service within the community. Many towns have their own senior shuttle – you can just go to that city’s website and see if they have transportation. The web is a great resource!

On central Florida culture and medical facilities: I would think with the University of Florida right up the road, (Gainsville) there are all kinds of activities and a good medical facility. I agree that you HAVE to live in the community a year to see if you want to spend the rest of your life there.

June 26th, 2011 | #

Please excuse me if some of these questions seem a little basic and I’ll apologize now for seeming at all ‘age biased’. I don’t mean to offend.

I just turned 55. My wife is 49. We both still work by choice but are financially comfortable. Retirement is looming and we’re thinking this will happen in the next 5 years. We have lived in Asia for the last 30 years and are a little out of touch with North American living. Our plan however is to spend part of the year in Vancouver and part of the year is warmer climes. Probably California.

We are looking at buying a house or townhouse in Palm Springs or perhaps San Diego. While we like the idea of spending time with people our own age who share common interests, I’m a little worried about the lack of younger people in 55+ communities. I don’t mean to be offensive but I feel I stay young by engaging with younger people. I still play soccer in an open league with most players in the 20′s and 30′s but will be hanging up my boots this year. I’m worried that moving into a 55+ community will lack some of the energy we thrive on and be a little too staid.

What are the policies on younger people visiting these places? I assume most people living in 55+ communities have grown families with children of their own. When the kids and grand kids come to visit are they welcomed or just seen as noisy unwelcome interlopers?

Lastly – are there adult communities which are not age restricted? Are these the ‘active adult’ places and if so how do ‘active adult’ communities differ from 55+ communities?

Thanks – Brad

June 27th, 2011 | #

Brad, you haven’t seen active seniors. They play softball, pickle ball, tennis, run many don’t hang up ANYTHING! They just have more time to do the things they love. Senior communities only mean you have more friends to play with – you can play ANYTIME you want and not have to wait for a ‘playmate’
enjoy retirement!!!

June 28th, 2011 | #

Thanks Sandy. I know you’re right. I’m in awe of what my own 85 year old mother still does and she still lives in the same big old house she’s lived in for 45 years. Age has hardly slowed her down a tick.

What I really need to do is visit some of these communities in order to experience them. That will tell us if this is the life style we’d like.

I’m sure my views in 10 years will have changed considerably. Being the young one on the block is different from being in the middle of the pack. As we all know at our age(s) – 10 years will pass in the blink of an eye.

Does anyone know of a resource I can access which gives ratings and reviews of various communities? I’d love to read and get different views on the different estates – both good and bad. The only ones I’ve found have been rather generic.

Thanks – Brad

June 28th, 2011 | #

I think I have a solution to the “text cutoff” to the right.Go to the page tab on your tool bar, scroll down to style, click on no style rather than default. This should fix the problem for most, not all browsers. The only problem that you might encounter is that for some reason this changes size of text. You will have to adjust to your preference. GOOD LUCK!!

June 29th, 2011 | #

What I also discovered, is that everytime you enter the site, you have to change settings on page. Maybe the “TECHS” can look into this.I have not found any Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft, Google, etc. forums that can clearly supply a solution. GOOD LUCK!!

June 29th, 2011 | #

My husband I have have looked at communities for active adults 55+ in Denver, Tuscson, several in Texas and Fla. Our porblem is that we love the trees in Michigan and the Midwest. We can’t find a place that is really active, no kids allowed, has beautiful trees, that we can afford. We loved the activity level of the Villages but can’t deal with the heat in Fl. We loved (western) North Carolina. They have beautiful gated communites and million dollar homes, but no 55+ community, no kids. BTW, this blog is terrific. Thanks to all of you for you wonderful insights.

July 1st, 2011 | #

We visited Fairfield Glade in TN and really liked what we saw. Affordable homes, really low real estate taxes, low monthly association fees. Trees and mountain views! Less than 90 minutes from Knoxvill and Nashville and major airports. Restaurants and services available within 30 minutes drive. Some medical services available right inside the community. Children and families are welcome although the majority of residents are young retirees. 11 lakes and 90 holes of golf, tennis courts, etc. One of the best benefits is that these ammenities must be self supporting. We don’t golf so we aren’t interested in supporting the golf course expenses. Those that golf pay for the expense of the courses. The huge fitness center is owned by the local hospital, so when it needs a new pool or new equipment or a new roof it is not the expense of the homeowners. You pay a membership fee to participate in the wellness center, just like belonging to the Y at home. We’re only 55 and looking for a place that still has a young and vibrant community feel. Has anyone else visited or lived in Fairfield Glade TN? What did you discover? Anyone found a similar place?

July 2nd, 2011 | #

I’m sending out this sos in response to SS’s comments of June 17th. Your feedback on Florida’s health care system is very important. The other issues he addressed: i.e., water cost, bugs, sink holes; garbage maintenance were all
very disturbing. Not to mention that communities are not being maintained properly. Florida is our 1st choice for retirement. We’re considering the
Ocala area. Jan C.& Sandy your comments are greatly appreciated and I feel your both very well informed. I enjoy reading all the wonderful suggestions, and I feel connected to people who are contemplating making FLA their retirement destination. Your comments and concerns over ss’s remarks are very
much appreciated. SS remarks shook me up and honest, truthful feedback from
each of you is truly dire to our decision. THANKS AGAIN.

July 3rd, 2011 | #

Judy, yes there are sink holes in Fl and other states but they seem to appear much more often in FL, and generally in the southern part of FL. We lived several winters in the Lakeland area where many of them appeared, and it seems to happen when they (farmers) have used lots of water; usually in the winter when the farmers and trying to save their crops – oranges/strawberries, etc.

Yes, there are bugs, but aren’t there bugs everywhere of some kind??? God put them on our planet for a reason, even if we don’t like them.

Don’t know what the garbage issue is. Any place we’ve rented always had trash pick up and we’ve never experienced an issue. Again, Florida is the only place we found that regardless of the season we can get out if we are feeling good – I don’t want to wait unitl the snow and ice are gone before I can go outside – 2 artifical knees makes it scary to walk on ice! There isn’t a PERFECT spot, only what you make of it!

July 4th, 2011 | #

We appreciate all the information both good and bad. We are also waiting with anticipation Sandy, of your place that is better than OTOW. We spent a day there in May and were impressed. Randy and Pat

July 4th, 2011 | #

We are also looking to retire in Fl. I was wondering, Sandy, if you ever visited Ocala Palms and Stone Creek by Del Webb. We are very interested in On Top of The World but thought these other two places looked good for our needs as well.

July 4th, 2011 | #

WE TOO ARE LOOKING TO SPEND NOV-MAY IN THE OCALA AREA. WE WILL BE VISITING BOTH OTOTW AND STONE CREEK IN SEPT. TO GET A COMPARISON. SANDY, DO YOU HAVE ANY IMPUT ON SUMMERGLEN,ALSO LOCATED IN THE AREA. THIS BLOG HAS BEEN SO HELPFULL AND INSPIRING. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

July 4th, 2011 | #

It’s Sandy: Randy – What I will share later is not something better than OTOW, but a really inexpensive way to have warm winters while you are checking out Florida communities or while you are waiting to sell your northern home.

Kaye: We have checked out both and they are nice, but neither had a wood carving/working club and that is the most important club to my husband. I promised wherever we went he would have a group of people who LOVE to carve.

Michele: We looked at Summerglen and it was nice; again no woodworking when we checked into it.

Many place don’t have outside house maintainance and that is important to us as we age. Many of OTOW’s communities have outside care and they have a GREAT wood working club, so that was perfect for us.

Make sure you are comfortable in any community you visit. You will make friends wherever you live, seniors know that they need to have others that will be available to help out when needed. Life’s short – ENJOY!

July 5th, 2011 | #

I’m curious about the statistics that are reported for several of the towns listed for retirement. Mainly, when I see that the crime rate is “high” or “very high”, how are others factoring that into their research, if at all.
Thanks so much for your thoughts!

July 6th, 2011 | #

We found a great website at http://www.city-data.com/ They give lots and lots of information about places you might like to live, including a breakdown of the crime and comparisons to the US in general. Their website says “We’ve collected and analyzed data from numerous sources to create as complete and interesting profiles of all U.S. cities as we could. We have over 74,000 city photos not found anywhere else, graphs of latest real estate prices and sales trends, recent home sales, home value estimator, hundreds of thousands of maps, satellite photos, stats about residents (race, income, ancestries, education, employment…), geographical data, state profiles, crime data, registered sex offenders, cost of living, housing, religions, businesses, local news links based on our exclusive technology, birthplaces of famous people, political contributions, city government finances and employment, weather, tornadoes, earthquakes, hospitals, schools, libraries, houses, airports, radio and TV stations, zip codes, area codes, air pollution, latest unemployment data, time zones, water systems and their health and monitoring violations, comparisons to averages, local poverty details, professionally written city guides, car accidents, fires, bridge conditions, cell phone and other towers, mortgage data, business storefront photos, a forum and a social network with 1,000,000 registered members and 18,000,000 posts, blogs, 5,000 user-submitted facts, 27,000 exclusive local business profiles with photos, restaurant inspection results, and more demographics.”

July 6th, 2011 | #

Ginger’s question about crime is a very good one. At Topretirements our primary source of crime data is the one mentioned by Laura, http://www.city-data.com. Not sure where they get their data. City-Data gives an overall crime rate as compared to the overall US crime average (319). So if, for example, Clemson’s crime rate is 173, we would rate it to be “low”. However, that factor alone can be misleading. Many towns, particularly cities and many towns in the south, have high overall crime rates because they have some tough neighborhoods – yet most retirees might never get near those neighborhoods. Some of the crime might be petty property crimes, and some might be extremely violent like murder or rape. So overall, crime is a hard thing to judge. You have to consider the neighborhoods where you are going to live, play, and shop. You also have to visit and discuss this issue with the people who live there – the answer to the question is sometimes not that simple.

July 7th, 2011 | #

Hello All- I just moved from Colorado to Arlington Ridge in Leesburg Fl, 8 miles south of the Villages, it is awesome, houses on the golf course for 119,900! Concrete block, no land leases very affordable. It has a Village Green instead of a club house. It looks like a upscale shopping center with large, beautiful trees! (Note: Katie lives in this community and loves it very much – she is also the Sales Manager and a Topretirements advertiser, which we appreciate).

July 7th, 2011 | #

I think some people are certainly aware that SOME of the people responding to the topics on this site are “professionals.” However, others may not be. Katie Everett is the sales manager at Arlington Ridge. Yet, her email makes it SEEM that she is a new homeowner there, giving her honest (and unbiased)opinion regarding that community. I am using this one example, but have found this NUMEROUS times in emails at topretirements. I greatly appreciate the value of this site and all of those trying to pass on information they have learned. It is merely too bad that some way is not present to ID sales pitches from sincere opinions. This is something I have noticed over the years at sites such as VRBO, a once valuable means for individual renters and owners to meet, bypassing an expensive and useless middle person (the agent). I am uncertain if the change was after homeaway acquired VRBO, but many/most of the properties now seem to be “managed” by pros/companies. It is extremely difficult for many of us planning retirement to get HONEST information. I have been gladdened by the number of people I meet personally and online who are willing to share what they have learned over the years of their own efforts. Thus, I am merely suggesting that “buyer beware” is also true here.

July 7th, 2011 | #

Two comments: One to see what crimes are really like in a city, I check out the local newspaper online daily. I’m not sure how city-data.com gathers their data. So this is my way to check out the crimes and where they occur within the city I’m interested in.
Second: I’m am naïve! I would never have thought ‘sales’ people are giving their ‘pitch’ here without stating who they are. I am VERY disappointed in those individuals. I will start reading with a VERY critial eye from now on – thank you Mad Monk!

July 7th, 2011 | #

Just want to clarify – I’m a “professional” in the sense I wrote a book and get paid to do talks about the non-financial aspects of retirement – and want you to know that I personally funded all my travels to all the communities I visited and wrote about (and included the positives and negatives of each). I paid for my own transportation, food, and lodging when I travelled. I wanted the chapter about relocation to be a “Consumer Report” approach to where to retire, and not influenced by any developer, realtor, or builder. And, I’m not a realtor.

Jan Cullinane, The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life (Rodale)

July 8th, 2011 | #

Mad Monk raises an excellent point about self-promotion, repeated by Sandy and nicely clarified by Jan. Unfortunately one of the problems with a site like Topretirements is that we are a daily target of spammers. They love to make Comments to our Blog and post the spammiest posts to our Forum. They have hacked our “Forward to a Friend” feature and got our emails blacklisted. We waste a tremendous amount of time keeping them off this site. If you think you spot a spammer of self-promoter here, please let us know and we will remove them.

Our Site Rules are quite specific about what can and can’t be done on our site – please read them at http://www.topretirements.com/SiteRule.html.

The situation Mad Monk refers to is far milder than the usual spammer problems we run into. Arlington Ridge is an advertiser with us, and like a lot of folks, Katie is enthusiastic about where she lives and works. That’s ok with us, as long as that role is acknowledged (since corrected, thanks).

July 8th, 2011 | #

ALL – I do live at Arlington Ridge, I am free to tell people that I love it, I am being honest. I am not self promoting, I am a resident here.

July 8th, 2011 | #

Retirement Places Rated 2007 rates Georgetown, Texas as number 1 for “America’s Top 30 Retirement Places”. How come there is no discussion about Texas? That is where we are considering. That books lists 2 places in Texas, 3 in Arizona and 2 in Florida. I’d like to see some discussion about the state I am interested in.

July 12th, 2011 | #

Lots of great information here. We too are looking for a 55= in Fla. Has anyone checked out Solivita? We did and loved it. We’ve also been to Lake Ashton and a few communities in the West of Fla. We keep coming back to Solivita but no decision yet. Currently we are looking in the Space Coast area so if you have any suggestions for Melbourne to Port St. Lucie, all help will be appreciated.

July 14th, 2011 | #

[...] years researching how to find the perfect – and affordable – retirement spot. “Part I: What Sandy Learned in 8 Years of Visiting Dozens of Active Adult Communities” has attracted 49 comments so [...]

July 15th, 2011 | #

[...] further Reference Virginia Directory of Active Adult Communities Sandy’s Active Adult Adventures: Part I Sandy’s Adventures: Part [...]

July 26th, 2011 | #

Ive read about Ocala but from people I know who have friends there I could never consider it. Not being Christian nor extremely conservative Im told the response from people tends to be quite cold.

July 27th, 2011 | #

We are boomers who are also interested in checking out Solavita. Since it’s in central Fla, will it be hotter or have less of a breeze than a community 15-20 miles form either coast? Does anybody have actual experience during the summer months?

July 28th, 2011 | #

To ‘e’ – there are 3 Catholic churches in Ocala and all seem to be very friendly – we have attended all three and enjoyed them all. We are from a small country church so all three were too big for us. But several of the surrounding small towns have Catholic churches, so we will check them out next winter. I found the people in quite friendly while we were shopping our out dining; however we were never in the downtown Ocala area; we were always South of the city. Didn’t experience anything like ‘cold’ faces. And I have to say most older people are conservative.

To Rob: It is much warmer in the central area of Florida; we found if you have lots of space between houses you will get some breeze; not anything like the coast area though. Good luck Solavita is beautiful.

July 29th, 2011 | #

Susan…I am also looking into retirement and have been to Georgetown, Frisco Lakes and Robson Ranch. What I have found is: GEORGETOWN has restrictions I felt was a little much, i.e. no more than 2 animals (I have 3 cats whom have never laid a paw on the ground and they would not waive the ‘animal ownership rule’. Also, I did not like the ‘No Alcohol’ at the pool (I am not someone that ‘must’ drink all the time; however, I do ocassionally like a cold beer or some wine with friends at the pool). ROBSON RANCH was OK, but could not find a lot of ‘activity’ in areas of the pool or exercise area..just not much activity going on (and this was in the early Spring before our terrible heat dome settled in. FRISCO LAKES was the best of all three….I have found people everywhere when I was there (twice). The people are extremely friendly and the property is well maintained….also their HOA is not outrageous and has not risen in the last couple years like the other two properties have ~ Frisco Lakes seem to be sustainable and seem to work on keeping ‘costs’ low for their residents. BTW, there are many communities in Texas and I have found them by perusing the TOP Retirement website.

July 29th, 2011 | #

Linda: I am considering the same three developments in Texas as I live in north Texas. Did you do the stay and play programs at these three or just do a tour?

July 30th, 2011 | #

Hi! Has anyone looked at ‘Lake Ashton’ near Lake Wales, Florida? We are looking for a 55 gated communities, and can use some input on this area. Having never lived were there could be tropical weather this is also of some consern to us can you who live here help us out? Thank You

July 30th, 2011 | #

To Brad:
We looked seriously at Lake Ashton; housing is GREAT; lots of activities outside of the golfing; people very friendly; we had three couples invite us into their homes and one went out of their way to give us a GRAND tour; GREAT wood workshop – husband loved it; down side for us is that is was a bit too pricey, especially when the market is so depressed; plus outside of the gated community wasn’t what I wanted. Winter Haven is your big town and it is ok. Hope this helps.

July 30th, 2011 | #

To Retirement Coach: I spent a couple hours (on my own) at Fairfield Glade last month. I love trees but not so dense that you can’t see that you have neighbors. Much of it was so hilly, with my bad knees I would be unable to walk daily as I like to do. Also when I was at the community center (which seemed very small), I was asked if I was there for a Time Share! At a retirement community why would there be Time Shares? I don’t like that idea at all. Nor did a realtor (I had been communicating with but was unavailable that day) reply when I asked about it.

July 31st, 2011 | #

Having same problem with right side cutoff – using Explorer8

August 1st, 2011 | #

Linda,
Thank you for the information. I have done some research on Frisco Lakes and Georgetown and will be asking them if we can stay for a day or two. Ruled out Robson because of cost. Our place in Texas will be a second home which we will claim as primary resident since we would avoid state income tax. Real estate taxes are also much lower than WI. People say the Fredricksburg area is nice but we want to live in a retirement community with activities.
Any comments on that?

August 1st, 2011 | #

[...] Further Reference: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Buy in an Active Adult Community What Sandy Learned from 8 Years of Visiting Active Adult Communities 100 Most Popular Active Communities: [...]

August 20th, 2011 | #

[...] Further Reference: Sandy’s New Home Rating Sheet What Makes a Great Active Adult Community What Sandy Lived in 8 Years of Visiting Active Adult Communities Jump on Jay Michael’s Retirement Tour Bus 9 Things Betty and Jim Learned When Looking at Best [...]

September 16th, 2011 | #

This was an excellent article and the comments also generally offered good value. Retirement, like many things, is very personal and each individual must think long and hard what is important to them.

For instance, my wife and I are cruisers who have visited over 60 countries. A retirement community, while not ruling it out, is not applealing to us.

Tampa’s Channelside area is a very appealing combination of generally low costs (comparatively to other cruise ports) for us plus access to the Tampa International airport, and with the proper city location, walking distance to a major cruise port. For us, this relocation would save thousands per year in saved travel costs on the extra travel legs required to get to a cruise port or major airport. I would also recommend an online resource, bestplaces.net, for comparing any 2 different USA cities in about 100 different statistical categories. Good Luck To All!

March 14th, 2012 | #

@Katie & MadMonk: I laughed when I read this, especially when in the past I’ve read posting from “Artie Schwartz” who promotes the beauty of The Villages. I always wonder, is this a real posting when Arthur Schwartz was the grandfather of the Morse Family Empire that created The Villages, or just a coincidence. I guess we’ll never really know…

March 15th, 2012 | #

I have also wondered why Texas is not mentioned more often when discussing retirement options. There seem to be so many good things to offer in the Dallas area. The weather is good year round for the most part, healthcare options are numerous, major airports are close by, cultural activies are available, affordable housing is offered, and no state income tax. Does anyone have any reasons why they would not choose Texas? Also, to the administration of this site, why are the right hand margins cut-off??

Editor’s note: The display problem is usually something related to Internet Explorer. If you use Mozilla Firefox you wont have this problem. But some of our members offered this tip for you to try:

“I found a way to see the entire text and not be cut off. click on PAGE on your toolbar then go to STYLE, click NO STYLE; hit your REFRESH button and all the text shows up!”

March 15th, 2012 | #

I don’t use IE. I use Chrome and the right margins are cut off.

March 18th, 2012 | #

My husband and I are looking in the Venice FL area in a few months at the different communities – we will be buying a home in the next six months but need to look around before deciding what community is best for us. Any helpful hints or comments about this area would be appreciated before we head down soon. Thanks.

March 19th, 2012 | #

I have spent months looking at the retirement communites in Florida…now I am more confused than ever. Looked at Leesburg, Fort Myers, Tampa etc. 55+ communities. I have seen lot rents from 300 to 700 dollars. They pretty much all look the same. We are from Minnesota, so can someone out there please help us narrow down the search. Here is our wants:

Lake/Ocean
quiet/non metro
activities
clean
safe
friendly

March 19th, 2012 | #

So happy to see that this is a current thread. DH just retired. We are late 50′s and early 60′s and we are Florida bound! The question is where? I always thought that we would end up in West Boynton Beach, but we want to make sure that we find the best fit for us. Some of the questions are about the Valencia communities that are established there. We know nobody. Is it more of a challenge to make friends moving into an already established community? Years ago we had family who lived in Coral Lakes. It was great….at that time. Are younger people moving into some of these established communities, and if so, any mention of names of them would be so very much appreciated.

The other areas we are contemplating are Ponte Vedra, Tampa, Sarasota area and possibly the Villages. The concern I have about there are whether it would be too conservative politically for us, and whether or not living so far from the beach would be something we would miss. We are not golfers, but are definitely “people” “people”. We also would prefer to find somewhere that people will be living all year round as we will be doing so as well. Good food is important, as well as being near a Whole Foods would be great. Anyone who might be able to offer any comments or suggestions would be so appreciated. Thanks in advance! Lee

March 20th, 2012 | #

[...] and clubs is just about endless, including a multi-acre airport for model airplanes.  See “What Sandy Learned” for more.  We are proud to have it as one of our Showcase communities.  Another community [...]

March 21st, 2012 | #

[...] Ohio Directory of Active Adult Communities Pennsylvania Directory of Active Adult Communities Sandy’s Active Adult Adventures: Part I Sandy’s Adventures: Part [...]

May 14th, 2012 | #

[...] also see the articles by Jay Michaels, “Hop on the Williamsburg Tourbus“, plus “Sandy’s Active Adult Community Adventures“. Mexican Retirement Gone [...]

June 10th, 2012 | #

Tomi and Lee: I, too, am from MN and am looking at the same criteria as you. I’ve found Venice to meet all of them and it also seems to be more moderate politically than most anywhere in that area. Loved Sarasota but it’s pretty conservative, from what I can tell by talking to folks around there. St. Petersburg is more liberal than most, but there are some very tough areas and the crime rate is pretty high. We intend to go back this summer and hone in on Venice, Englewood, and the greater Sarasota area, and if I get any new info, I will pass it along here. Thanks.

June 11th, 2012 | #

We live outside Boston, MA looking for someplace in Florida only or Jan feb and march. Not interested in movng there yet. Any safe, clean reliable rentals that anyone has found? Pls and thank you. My email is stefniharris923@gmail.com

October 19th, 2012 | #

My husband & I have been in South Florida for 15 yrs now(orig. from CT) – it sucks – crime, unemployment,immigrants- high-husband works for gov’t. retiring in 2 1/2 yrs. We plan on looking to Greenville, SC(upcountry/foothills Blue Ridge Mts.-beautiful) The west coast of FL is better than east coast, BUT do homework-some areas are bad too-high crime in greater Tampa area, some parts of Ft. Myers-gangs-stay away from Boynton Beach area on east coast-very high crime/gangs-not safe-local mall run down. There is really not too much to do in the greater Palm Beach county area either. Lots of RUDE, nasty, over pretentious Palm Beach wannabees! Don’t forget, Forida is top battleground for FORECLOSURES.

For those of you looking at the Villages, very big master planned area if you like that type of living and lots of NY-NJ retirees if you can handle those people.

Healthcare – it sucks here as well. Most of the hospitals belong to either HCA(Hospital Corporation Of America-Gov.Rick Scott-FL was CEO when Fed’s found out they screwed Medicare/Medicaid few years back or Tenant-these are investor owned healthcare companies. All about $$$. I’ve worked for both. Not too many teaching hospitals like the Northeast. Staff sucks, both doctors offices and hospitals. I can honestly say there are only a handful of good doctors here. Nightmare to go to Jackson Memorial in Miami. Been there.

If anybody wants to know more detailed particulars about Fl (my family moved here some 50+ years ago) email me: ssuperbuyer@aol.com and I’ll give you all the facts. Happy retirement hunting.

October 20th, 2012 | #

What really surprises me are all the negative comments I’ve been reading regarding health care in Florida. I have no persoanl experience with use of doctors/hospitals there, and have never “lived” in FL other than for a few weeks/month at a time as a tourist. I would have thought that with so many 55+ citizens and visitors that care for illnesses, injuries and diseases that afflict this group would be a lot better than I am hearing. I would expect geriatric care to be excellent, but that does not seem to be the case. I do know that there is a large VA Med Center in the area south of Tampa-St Pete. However, I’m not sure of it’s reputation amongst veterans. Health care is going to be one of our major considerations. People have mentioned how expensive it is to live in MD, but they have Johns Hopkins and other excellent hospitals. Pittsburgh has UPMC (and others). Even the small university town of Morgantown (WV) has TWO major hospitals. We have interest in possibly moving to the Pacific Northwest. Anyone know what health care is like in WA (Olympia->Seattle->Bellingham) or Portland (OR) area? Of course, Boston has GREAT medical facilities, and if I was in my 20s, would love to live there.

October 21st, 2012 | #

Health Care, I know nothing about the Health Care in FL, but regarding a couple of other states. My mother-in-law lived Leisure World in Seal, Beach, CA and was a member of SCAN. It was an excellent health care system. I have a friend whose in-laws retired from CT to North Myrtle, Beach, SC. They absolutely love living there much more affordable than CT. But they return to CT several times a year because they like the doctors much better.

October 21st, 2012 | #

Take the negative remarks about Florida for what they are – they are one person’s point of view. We moved to Fort Myers from Texas and are absolutely delighted with the healthcare here. 95% of the doctors take all the medicare supplements, all the hospitals take medicare and we have received excellent care. In Texas we ran into the opposite – doctors there don’t need to take medicare patients and most don’t or only take you if you “age into” their practice before you turn 65.

I had to laugh over the crime information – Fort Myers and gangs. I don’t know of a major city anywhere these days that doesn’t have a bad zip code or two and gangs. We live in a wonderful 55+ community far away from the bad zip code and have no fears about safety here.

October 22nd, 2012 | #

TEXAS: those who are wondering about moving to Texas can look at some of the posts I’ve put on here, along with a couple of other folks who moved here, to get our impressions. We are looking to leave Texas and re-retire somewhere else. Weather is horrible – almost 90F STILL … Its horrendous in the summer, lots of bugs and mosquitoes so u can’t enjoy the outdoors in the summer, although no State income tax, you are taxed to the hilt on everything else i.e. cable, phone, etc. They also “fee” you to death on top of taxes. Cost of home and car insurance is one of the highest in the country. You have to take flood insurance in many areas on top of that. Politically extreme conservative in most places. Medical care some of the best anywhere – IF you can get it. I’ve had no problem with Doctors taking Medicare but have heard of others who’ve had problems finding Docs to take it. We are also not happy about the real estate equity situation here. You build little to none! We bought 7 years ago and invested close to $100K in renovating – will see little to none return. Places here just don’t appreciate like in other areas of the country. Good luck!

October 22nd, 2012 | #

Florida has the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, as well as Shands in Gainesville, and MD Anderson in Orlando. Just three examples of excellent facilities. Some physicians take new Medicare patients – no problem – others will accept Medicare if you are already a patient with other insurance, and then become a Medicare patient. So, be sure you check out your prospective medical care, wherever you are planning to relocate, in terms of your current and future coverage.

Jan Cullinane
AARP’s The Single Woman’s Guide to Retirement

October 22nd, 2012 | #

Thanks to those who responded re: health care. I’m sure many of us have run into poor health care during our “long” lives, but also dedicated doctors and good hospitals. Jan’s response reminded me of something I’ve been following for years … the “expansion” of well-known hospitals/clinics throughout the world (MD Anderson [Texas] is even in Spain and Turkey … at least in name). Mayo (MN) is also in various areas. Same for Johns Hopkins, etc. I do not know how they are organized (i.e., whether they just “rent” their name to a place and consult from “central” on cases, or what), but computers and the internet have allowed “experts” to be available anywhere that a connection or signal is avaialble. Perhaps any doctors/nurses on here could comment on just how these satellites of the great hospitals work. Also, this is something that has occured in other fields (e.g., education). Universities have “branches” in lots of non-traditional (for them) areas, and ones like MIT have even made (some of) their courses available to anyone free online. Certainly a world much different to the one we entered as a child … of course, our parents said the same thing, didn’t they?

October 24th, 2012 | #

Well, I can’t speak for MD Anderson or Johns Hopkins since I wasn’t involved with those institutions, but I would imagine they followed pretty much the same process Mayo did when they set up these satellites years ago. “Telemedicine,” as Mayo calls it, allows the local doctors to consult with the doctors at Mayo in Rochester. Mayo now has satellites/affiliated clinics in many other locations. They are pretty fussy about what they will associate their name with.

October 25th, 2012 | #

We are just beginning our search for a 55 Active Community in Florida. We like the Tampa area and the Gulf Coast Beaches. Valencia Lakes looks really interesting; has anyone else researched this community? We are also interested in Ft. Meyers, but haven’t found anything real exciting yet.

October 26th, 2012 | #

We are just beginning our search. Like the area from Sarasota to Naples. Can anyone comment on any outstanding manufactured home communities in that area?

October 27th, 2012 | #

Nancy B – we looked at Valencia Lakes. Loved the homes, loved the community but did not love the surrounding area – no beaches to go to – it’s on Tampa Bay and shopping areas were sparse. We traveled south and looked at several other 55+ communities before looking at Pelican Preserve. We purchased a new home here which is due to be completed next week. We have been renting a home in Pelican since April 1st waiting on our new home. People are very friendly here, the amenities wonderful and we love the area. There are other 55+ communities in the area but all are sold out and aging whereas PP is a mixture of ages from 55 on up to the 80′s depending on the age of the neighborhood. There are a number of resale homes here from $150,000 on up….come visit!

October 27th, 2012 | #

I have to reply to Rory, who commented that the weather in the Dallas Tx area seemed to be pretty good year round….

Surely you jest. I grew up in that area. The weather is horrible all year round. The summer is super hot and humid….think 100+ degrees and 100% humidity and it isn’t raining. Just like living in a sauna. Then you get a month or so of decent weather in the autumn, then it gets cold and windy. And of course there is the yearly tornado threat, the bugs that proliferate in the humidity and heat…it is just awful there. No one likes the weather there, they just tolerate it.

October 28th, 2012 | #

Everything is relative
As a Wisconsin person it seems warm to me in the wintet

October 28th, 2012 | #

To Ginger. My written comments were regarding our time spent in Fort Collins, Colorado and the HOA in the beautiful area where we lived. Only been to Dallas for a few days, and it is not for us.

October 29th, 2012 | #

I would imagine Fort Collins is much drier than Texas, as Colorado is higher elevation. And yes, I’m sure Texas winter is much warmer than Wisconsin; good point! I think if you read through some of the other posts though you will find some other former and current Texas dwellers who have said similar things about the weather; it just really isn’t very nice. I left the area when I was 17 to go to college and never willingly go back, although I have a lot of family down in those parts.

October 29th, 2012 | #

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December 4th, 2012 | #