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Originally Posted by JerryLBell
That was one of the places we toured when considering retirement communities. For us, it had some advantages and disadvantages but overall came up short compared to The Villages
The community is truly gated, which some people prefer. The houses (at least the newer ones) are very energy efficient and many come with solar panels for electricity so your energy bills are likely to be lower than elsewhere. If I recall, there were a lot of mature trees there and so the community is attractive. The pace of life is very much slower than in The Villages so if you're finding living here to be too hectic, it might be more what you're looking for. We didn't find there to be much there in terms of social groups and activities, something that nobody can come close to The Villages on. Still, if you find that the activities they do offer match your interests, that can be fine.
We found the layouts of the houses we toured to be, frankly, weird. There seemed to be a lot of wasted space and strange choices made, design-wise. Allegedly, you could dine at the one rec center on certain days and hours, but any other dining out meant leaving the reservation. There was a single rec center with a nice outdoor pool but we saw almost nobody using the facilities. There were 3 guys playing pool on the one pool table and one guy on a golf simulator and perhaps one guy at the pool. The place struck us as dead, dead, dead.
Friends of ours had actually picked out a lot and house there, took one final tour of the place before signing the paperwork and realized it was just too inactive for them. Seeing one guy sleeping in a lounge chair at the pool, she told her husband, "The only action we're ever going to see here is when we give that guy CPR someday." They backed out of the deal and bought here.
Your mileage may vary.
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Exactly what we found when we were checking out different retirement communities in North and South Carolina and Florida - there was a DEAD, SAD feeling in most of them. Almost like a nursing home vibe. Folk just sitting around waiting to check out. We have been in TV for only a year and a half and are happier with every passing month. We don’t play golf but love seeing all the activity associated with that sport. So much to do if you want to be active. So many clubs. So many volunteer activities. So many churches. We decided early on we’re too old to worry about hurricanes. We were evacuated twice from our timeshare on Hilton Head Island so no coastal retirement communities for us. I think folk have to be careful at our age about looking for that “geographical cure” to fix what ails them.
I can’t imagine picking up and moving again. You can call it adventure seeking but I’m fond of the old adage, “Bloom where you are planted.” Find contentment by being grateful and feeling blessed for all your good fortune in life.