10 Most Popular Active Communities in the West

I would not live in any of these states or communities. I know too much about them politically, life styles and would just never do it. I left CA because everything was too costly and traffic is horrible. Would never go back to CA. I'm never in agreement with the places that win. I look for my own places, and states because I have too much knowledge about a lot of places. I don't consider them "desirable", just my opinions.

I'm a retiree living in Paradise Valley AZ. I'm shocked that the most popular retirement community in Arizona mentined in this article is an incredibly expensive golf community in Flagstaff. While Flagstaff has pleasant temperatures in the summer, winter can be an issue for seniors with snow removal and driving challenges. I know several people who have altitude sickness which can kick in at 6500 ft. Flagstaff is 7000 feet. It can take days of being at that altitude to acclimate even if you don't have altitude sickness. There are many age restricted communities in the Phoenix metro area. I'll mention a few because there are a lot of retirees here. First off, Del Webb pioneered retirement communities and the metro hosts 4, Sun City Grand (9550 homes), Sun City (27,731 homes), Sun City West (16,900 homes), Sun City Anthem (7200 homes). Sun Lakes (Chandler) has close to 10,000 homes. Vistancia Trilogy has 5450 age restricted homes. If you want to avail yourself of Scottsdale amenities, you can live in historic designated Villa Monterey near downtown or Golden Keys in S. Scottsdale. Each community has low HOA dues with community pools, spas and clubhouses. I honestly don't think most seniors want to buy into golf course memberships and expensive monthlies when they can play community golf courses like Continental or Silverado for reasonable rates, or public courses like McCormick Ranch and Grayhawk. Property taxes in 55+ communities don't pay school tax so already low Arizona property taxes are reduced further. Having lived in the Midwest and Florida, utility rates are reasonable and companies offer savings for those who upgrade appliances, hvac and even sprinkler irrigation controls to more efficient models. I owned a 3000 square foot house in Orlando in the late 1980s and my peak summer electric bill is the same as my energy efficient house of same size today. My water bills are similar too. I owned another house in Sarasota around 2012 and the water rates were significantly higher than my current bill watering citrus along with xeriscape plantings today. Arizona Prop 117 went into effect in 2015. Property tax increases based on limited market value increases are capped at 5% a year. My property taxes have gone up less than 5% over the past 5 years. This benefit is available to all, resident or non resident. New residents aren't stuck subsidizing long time residents who have Save Our Homes basis in place. Personal income tax is flat 2.5%. Gas is more expensive because it is piped in from California. Sales tax is over 8% but does not include food purchases at grocery stores or warehouse clubs. Summer heat is tough to bear but retirees can travel or head to the mountains. It's less of a hassle to close up a house in the desert than one in humid SE US. Insurance costs have gone up like everywhere but not an issue to get insurance if you live in a community not in a fire zone like some outside Prescott or Flagstaff. My homeowners insurance is one third of what my cousin in California pays for a not much different sized home. Maricopa County ranked number one in growth in absolute numbers in the country this past year for good reason. I wish property values would settle down some but that goes for the whole country post pandemic.

Thanks K, this is an incredibly helpful and interesting comment! We love it with someone with actual experience and shares their input. Here is the link to all the 100's of Arizona communities we have reviewed in our database, in case folks want to explore more you about the communities K mentioned.