Quote:
Originally Posted by Escape Artist
Well put, Michael. By the way, your home is lovely and I enjoyed your latest appearance on The Newcomers with Jerry and Linda. I don’t know if anyone has told you this but you are a natural in front of a camera!
I was wondering if you considered Arizona at all since you were nearby in Colorado. I love Arizona and the desert, and if I could have afforded it I would have moved to a retirement community there.
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Thank you Escape!
Yes, I had made quite a few trips to Arizona at all times of the year, and was really leaning that direction to retire, since that is where the majority of folks from Colorado and the West go to retire. Arizona has a more west-coast vibe, which is comfortable and familiar to me, while Florida is a combo of Mid-Atlantic/New York/New England and Mid-West, which is new for me.
The lifestyle of The Villages, more than “Florida”, is what sold this community for me.
On a balance sheet these were the pluses of The Villages over the Sun City communities of Arizona:
- Most everything is golf cart accessible, I barely drive my car, and looking ahead when I get in my 80s and maybe no longer driving, I can still get around by golf cart.
-I’m super active, and thrive with lots of activities, I need to be booked each day with stuff to do, The Villages wins in this category hands down.
-I like the greenery and lush vegetation here
-Close proximity to beaches
-Able to drive same day to cruise ports, rather than flying in the night before
-Way cheaper to buy a new house here than Arizona
-No state income tax
-Nightly entertainment (though like most, I don’t go as often as I did when I first arrived)
-Way more golfing options
-More and diverse clubs
-More “younger retirees”, especially south of 44
-More warmer days to swim and wear shorts in winter
-More rainfall (I enjoy rain)
-Neighborhoods more “social”
-Great entertainment options at The Sharon and Savannah Center
-More bearable to be out and about in hot summer weather than Arizona
There were however some areas where Arizona held the advantage for me:
-No real severe weather concerns
-Closer to my family in California
-Way better/diverse restaurant options than The Villages
-Better and closer medical facilities
-Communities have full-service gyms included in their amenities fees, and conveniently located in the rec centers.
-No bonds (but most have a one-time “buy in” fee at closing)
-Lower property taxes (some Sun City communities are not in any school districts, so no taxes to pay for schools)
No retirement community is going to check every single box, you need to decide in which areas are you willing to compromise without being “miserable” or “disgruntle” about. I refuse to turn into the stereotype of the old retired curmudgeon, that no one wants to be around.