Good-bye

[OldDave]

I haven't been posting anything lately because we have moved our search for our retirement dream to Texas. I won't bother with listing the reasons.

After considering a dozen places in Florida, including TV, and a half dozen places in Texas, and discarding Arizona because it's too hot and too dry. You'd almost think it's a desert. We will be moving to Sun City Texas next year.

Before I go I wanted to take a few minutes to say goodbye to the wonderful people I've met on TOTV. Many of you have really been great friends and a great resource and support group for me for the past year. I will never forget your kindness. I just want you to know how very much I appreciate you all.

I feel like I should say something to the few other people here who I've taken issue with on occasion. However, I cannot think of a positive way to do it, so I'll just say goodbye to one and all and wish you all the very best.

Dave

[tainsley]

Happy trails Old Dave. I wish you happiness and good health!

[gomoho]

Best of luck in your new adventure - Texas is awesome and I'm sure you'll love it.

[Love2cruise]

Good luck to you. We lived in Texas for many years and I really loved it there. I actually wanted to go back there to retire, until we found TV. I hope you like TexMex food, I miss that!

[graciegirl]

I haven't been posting anything lately because we have moved our search for our retirement dream to Texas. I won't bother with listing the reasons.

After considering a dozen places in Florida, including TV, and a half dozen places in Texas, and discarding Arizona because it's too hot and too dry. You'd almost think it's a desert. We will be moving to Sun City Texas next year.

Before I go I wanted to take a few minutes to say goodbye to the wonderful people I've met on TOTV. Many of you have really been great friends and a great resource and support group for me for the past year. I will never forget your kindness. I just want you to know how very much I appreciate you all.

I feel like I should say something to the few other people here who I've taken issue with on occasion. However, I cannot think of a positive way to do it, so I'll just say goodbye to one and all and wish you all the very best.

Dave

I am so sad to hear this. I enjoyed your sage posts.

[stuckinparadise]

Good luck to you and I'm sure you will be happy in Texas.

[CFrance]

Sorry to see you go, Old Dave. I too enjoyed your posts. Good luck and health and happiness to you.

[sjdjmd]

Good Luck as you transition!

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Dave, hope it all works out well for you in TX. Thanks for taking the time to post this..........and to post everything you did all along the way.

Congrats -
Bill :)

[quirky3]

Good luck, OldDave! I really enjoyed your posts!

[graciegirl]

Don't stop posting!

You still are one of us. A grown up with our own very interesting perspectives.

So many of us enjoyed your posts and I thought perhaps you were ill. I am relieved that you have decided to search other places and are not sick.

Many of our favorite posters don't live HERE.

Please jump in on anything you want to say.

We may still capture you for ourselves. ;)

Hugs,

Gracie.

[CaptJohn]

:agree: with Gracie.
Keep posting. Tell us about Texas when you get settled there. Would be an interesting diversion from the usual.

[rubicon]

Old Dave, I would love to hear about Sun city TX and why yyou chose Sun City.

[COgolfer]

:agree: with Gracie, too!

As someone who is just starting to explore possible retirement communities, ToTV is the best place I've found to see discussions on all of the considerations for choosing a new place to live.

I'd be very interested in hearing more about Sun City Texas - it is on my radar, but don't have any immediate plans to visit there. My wife is willing to consider Florida, but is reluctant to think about Texas. I'm trying to be open to all possibilities at the moment.

[janmcn]

Good luck, Old Dave. Nobody can say you didn't do due diligence before making your decision. You probably know more about TV than most Villagers. Keep us posted.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

Good Luck Old Dave

[StarbuckSammy]

I would also like to hear what swayed you to Del Webb's Sun City Texas. Give us your thoughts...thanks

[mojoe]

Best of Luck to you Old Dave. Keep on posting!

[OldDave]

Thank you all so much for such kind wishes. I must say you have really touched me. I had not intended to post anything further, but several people have asked about Sun City Texas, so I will respond to that.

My reasons for not coming to Florida and TV in specific are many, but they are really mostly things we have all discussed many times here, so I see no point in rehashing them. And certainly something that might be a big stumbling block for me, might not be an issue at all for someone else, so I'll just point out the postives we saw.

1. Sun City is located just a couple of miles outside of Georgetown Texas (40,000 population. Although it is legally a part of the city and has full city services.) Georgetown is a lovely university town with an extremely strong arts community. It has every service you would need. In fact just outside the gates of Sun City you'll find one of the best grocery stores I've ever seen, HEB and other important stores.) About 5 miles further south is Round Rock Texas (100,000). Round Rock is also strong in the arts and has huge shopping areas including an IKEA and COSTCO, which pretty much made my wife's mind up. Then another few miles is Austin, the state capital and fastest growing city in the US for the past 4 years. It is a mecca for hipsters, or so my son tells me, lol, whatever they are. Great city. So, bottom line, the area has all the shopping and services you need, that you really don't see outside the campus at TV. Also there are 3 major hospitals within 5 miles of Sun City and numerous clinics, rehabs, and I saw 3 funeral homes. They seem well prepared.

2. Sun City itself is beautiful. Certainly no palm trees, which I miss, but rolling, heavily wooded hills. Almost all houses have trees or some green area behind them. The original builders went out of their way to save old growth trees wherever they could.

3. The Del Webb brand, while it has had some ups and downs, is certainly well thought of in most circles. I didn't understand until this visit that developments labeled Del Webb are 1-3,000 size with limited amenities. The ones labeled Sun City are 7-10,000 with a huge emphasis on amenities. We were told by one of the original builders that when they started in the early 1990s golf was listed as the most wanted amenity. It is now number 8 and falling. Walking is number one and there are more trails to walk than you can shake a stick at. Golf carts are welcome anywhere on the streets there, but sidewalks are reserved for people only. All major buildings have separate golf cart parking lots, and you can still double in regular spots.

We set out to find some places that could approach the wonderful activities we found in the villages. This Sun City has 6,000 roofs, aiming for 7,500. They have 3 huge indoor pools, 2 outdoor pools. 3 golf courses (you pay to play) Two really large and well equipmented fitness centers with indoor running tracks which are totally free to all residents. They have an enourmous wood shop. 3 activity centers with multiple purpose rooms. They have a large ballroom. My wife was most impressed with the art center. They have separate permanent studios for: 2D art, ceramics (poured), clay (thrown), stained glass, photography and a huge fabrics building with about 30 sewing machines. There were a couple others but I cannot remember what. My wife is an art teacher, so this was really a selling point.

4. The houses were well built. They were not the best I've seen. That would probably go to the Robson Ranch property north of Dallas, but they were good quality. They were noticeably better built that what we saw in TV. Keep in mind though we want a preowned house. We aren't interested into new, but want mature trees, etc. I know that would make us an exception in TV. A nice two bedroom of 1,550 sq. feet is about $175,000.

5. The list of clubs, special interest groups, planned activities were very long indeed. Of course TV has more, but when I started doing the numbers per capita, it seemed Sun City actually offered more choices. Also, while all facilities were busy, none seemed over crowded. Each one had a flow chart that showed the busiest and slowest times of day for each activity to guide your schedule. One of the nice things is that two indoor pools are in one building. One is used only for classes, the other only for free swimming with 4 lanes for laps, the two for walkers or other excersices. (The grandkids can swim, with you, from 1-3pm each day in one designated pool.) One really cool thing was the computer club. $8 per year. They have nearly 90% of the place as members. If you have a computer problem you can report on their web site, and someone (a volunteer) will come to you house within 48 and attempt to fix it, for free!!

I have to digress for a second. My wife came back and said, "Hey I found out they have a free pick-up service!" I thought, oh cool a taxi. Nope. If you fall and can't get up, you can 911. The city provided service comes out and helps you for free, whenever you need it. Hope I don't need it, but I do fall over.

6. The total HOA fee is less than $100 per month. There are no other fees or bonds on new houses. The HOA, or CA-Community Association here has a sliding scale for its governance. It started with total developer control and is moving toward all resident control which will happen at build out in 3-5 years.
Prices for classes are similar to TV. If it is a structured class with a teacher you pay more. If it is a SIG, Special Interest Group which is essentially an informal club, you might toss in $2 for snacks. Their actual clubs are chartered and have bylaws and an annual cost which seems to be very low.

7. Sun City is very strict about renting out your home. The minimum is 3 months. So you have a much more stable population and don't seem to have many tourists staying there. We're told there are snowbirds, but it doesn't effect things much.

In the end we found it to have weather temp averages not very much different than Florida. Just a few degrees cooler in Winter, although it was warmer every day there than in TV the week we visited. It is hotter in the summer, but low humidity, we're told. Again it hit 113 last summer here in Kansas so it takes a lot to impress us.

The people were tremendously friendly. No only did everyone we meet make us feel welcome, but almost to a person said, "we sure hope you move here." We saw lots of nice people in TV, but my wife said she was made to feel like an outsider in the classes she attended in TV. In the classes she attended in Sun City she said she felt like she was home. She drug me to free swimming one day. We were greeted by a lady in the pool who said to my wife, "oh hi, you're from Kansas." They'd been in a class together the day before.

I'm not surprised at this. Texas feels much like home to us. Florida was a long ways away both geographically and in other more personal ways to us.
Texas, I"m sure, feels foreign to others. Although Texas is known for its friendliness. And nutty Presidents. (OK, one parting political shot! I apologize)

I hope this helps, If you want to know something further, I'll check back on my account a few times. While I appreciate being encouraged to keep posting, I'll likely not do it very often. I've got to get my head around trying to uproot and move, which scares the hell out of me.

My best wishes to you all,

Dave

[redwitch]

Dave, Sun City certainly sounds good. I hope you enjoy it there. However, I need you here. It's always nice to have a one or two like-minded folks around. However, I'm with Gracie, stick with the TOTV. You're one of us regardless of where you live. Take care and blessings on you and yours.

[mrfixit]

OLD DAVE.....
keep in touch..we really enjoy your posts.

Sun City (Georgetown) IS an awesome area.....and...
so close to cultural mecca...major university...friendly people.
Texas is Famous for high quality ..low cost housing.
TOP city for jobs in U.S.A..... AUSTIN....less than 40 miles from Sun City.


IF I was a betting person......I would bet on that area leading the
entire U.S.A. in Growth...Jobs...Opportunity....for years to come.

Much of our family has come to The Villages to look....
.....MOST are leaning toward your chosen area.....Just look at the
huge number of corporations that are moving/expanding there.

#1 reason... the entire family can move there (3 generations )
and ALL can find many things highly desireable.

Live long and prosper.

[perrjojo]

Good choice Dave. I am a Texas born and bred girl. We too looked at Sun City Georgetown. You will love it there. We also loved Robson Ranch as it is near our family but in the end we chose TV. Keep us posted on how it goes for you. God bless Texas! And Dave!

[perrjojo]

BTW Dave, I hope you will be there for the blue bonnets. You are in the heart of bluebonnet country and it is indeed a site to behold in the spring!

[CarGuys]

Hey old friend,

Best of luck to you and your family. Keep in touch

When they Succeed from the Union your already home.

Yeeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaa!

[obxgal]

Best of luck in all you do Dave. Sounds like a fantastic area and I'm sure you and your wife will be very happy.

[senior citizen]

Old Dave, I would love to hear about Sun city TX and why yyou chose Sun City.

DITTO. I was just thinking the same thing. We'd all like to hear why you chose Sun City , Texas.

When watching those House Hunters shows, the Texas homes in general are always huge and nicely done.........very modern and quite reasonable in price for what you get.........these are not retirement homes I'm talking about, but we are always impressed with the homes in Texas.

Best of luck on your journey.......as they say, "Home is where the heart is".

[Schaumburger]

Old Dave, May you and your wife enjoy your new home in Sun City, Texas. I have been to Houston quite a few times traveling for my job, but I have not ventured into the Austin area. You will be Deep in the Heart of Texas! :)

[mommieswamie]

Thank you for being so helpful and supportative to me and so many others on this forum. Texas sounds like a good choice. I wish you happiness in retirement!

[tainsley]

Sure sounds wonderful! I think a majority of us were afraid to uproot and start over again! I wish you and your wife much happiness in your new adventures!

[villagerjack]

Pulte has messed up the Del Webb brand. There is a reason, Ladies and Gentlemen why, after 20 years a lot of their projects usually only 7-9000 homes, have not yet reached build out after almost 20 years. New homes are not selling. Dave is not buying new and few others are. Del Webb developments I know sell 125 new homes a year. We do it in 5 days. Morse runs circles around Del Webb and any other over 55 community in the world. I bought here in 2007 and can get what I paid if I sold yet a home I still own and rent in a Sun City is $100,000-125,000 less than it was in 2007. . I can go into details about how they let clubs monopolize facilities like Tennis and Pickleball, accessability of things like indoor pools which have become a fee earner for water aerobics etc., allowing grandchildren only a few hours at a time at the pools, which also get roped off for the lap swimmers club etc., cost of golf, but won't because it is still a very beautiful place to live and some love it. BUT, it is not The Villages, none of them are, none have the magic of the Villages and the genius of the Morse Family to guide retirees through this wonderful period of our lives. We are indeed very lucky and fortunate to have found this paradise. Can anyone really say that there us anything but top notch quality in the rec centers,or places like LSL? I have a block CYV and it is like a fortress, the best insulated home I ever owned. I lived, as a snowbird, in a beautiful 2,000 s/f home on a wooded lot Sun City, for ten years, came down here with no intention of buying and left owning a beautiful, magical villa on a golf course with a spectacular view. Never looked back. There is no place, like this place anywhere near this place.

[villagerjack]

Sure sounds wonderful! I think a majority of us were afraid to uproot and start over again! I wish you and your wife much happiness in your new adventures!

Don't be fooled by the comments of one poster, "listen"to the 98,000 people who live here and do not post on TOTV

[hoopsterdad]

enjoyed austin a few years. i checked the web site and it looks interesting. one thing i noticed in looking at homes is that it appears the land is leased. any info on that? considering the three day stay just to check it out.

[andercat]

Homes in Sun City TX are not on leased land. We lived in SCTX. We owned the land.
The worst part about TX is the high property tax. There is no income tax so they have to get their money from some source. The property tax is a little over 2%. We had a $270,000 home on a golf course and paid $6000 property tax.

Andercat

[villagerjack]

Homes in Sun City TX are not on leased land. We lived in SCTX. We owned the land.
The worst part about TX is the high property tax. There is no income tax so they have to get their money from some source. The property tax is a little over 2%. We had a $270,000 home on a golf course and paid $6000 property tax.

Andercat

That is about $2000 higher than it would be here. Add the $5000 for the unlimited golf for 2 package and SCRX does not look like a real bargain. That $7000 a year is enough to finance a mortgage of $130000. So if you played golf and wanted to purchase a $175,000 home in SCTX, for the same outlay you could purchase a 305,000 home in TV where the sale of new homes is booming, not stagnant.

[graciegirl]

Pretty soon the baby boomers will have to find somewhere else to go.

We will be "all fulled up" as my granddaughter used to say.

I wish the leftover people who won't find room at this inn will have just as much fun and happiness and new adventures and new friendships somewhere else nice as we are having here.

I hope Ole Dave loves it but then changes his mind and moves here. I was hoping to meet him in person and call him friend.

[Madelaine Amee]

I also hope that Ole Dave continues to communicate through this site. I like the way he looks at life and I wish him good health and much happiness in his new venue.

[tainsley]

Don't be fooled by the comments of one poster, "listen"to the 98,000 people who live here and do not post on TOTV

You do not have to convince me...I am one of those 100,000 lucky ones that live here in paradise year round for over a year now! No place like TV!

[tucson]

I haven't been posting anything lately because we have moved our search for our retirement dream to Texas. I won't bother with listing the reasons.

After considering a dozen places in Florida, including TV, and a half dozen places in Texas, and discarding Arizona because it's too hot and too dry. You'd almost think it's a desert. We will be moving to Sun City Texas next year.

Before I go I wanted to take a few minutes to say goodbye to the wonderful people I've met on TOTV. Many of you have really been great friends and a great resource and support group for me for the past year. I will never forget your kindness. I just want you to know how very much I appreciate you all.

I feel like I should say something to the few other people here who I've taken issue with on occasion. However, I cannot think of a positive way to do it, so I'll just say goodbye to one and all and wish you all the very best.

Dave

Alot of people do not know that the original founder of TV got his inspiration to build a 55+, golf communityhere in Central Fla. from Sun City, so you are making a good decision. Best Wishes and enjoy!:smiley:

[Taltarzac725]

enjoyed austin a few years. i checked the web site and it looks interesting. one thing i noticed in looking at homes is that it appears the land is leased. any info on that? considering the three day stay just to check it out.

I have only visited Austin on my drive to the Tampa Bay area in 1996 or so. Looks like a nice place to live with access to more cultural events than what is available near the Villages. Of course, I would assume that the Tampa Bay area, Orlando, and Gainesville also have similar kind of arts.

I do miss the museums and theaters of Chicago, Minneapolis, and the San Francisco area from the times while I lived in those areas.

Good luck to you Old Dave in Texas.

[2BNTV]

OldDave;

Here's wishing you find happines in Sun City, Tx. :smiey:

I was hoping you ould move to TV at the same time I did but it seems like you weighed all your options and carefully thought it out. Happy wife, happy life is the most important thing.

I wish you would keep posting you informative well reasoned posts. Maybe someday, you will move to TV?

Good Luck.

Joe

[villagerjack]

Alot of people do not know that the original founder of TV got his inspiration to build a 55+, golf communityhere in Central Fla. from Sun City, so you are making a good decision. Best Wishes and enjoy!:smiley:

Del Webb would be proud at being that inspiration however not so happy at what Pulte has done to his brand. Webb was certainly the originator and would sell out everything he built just like the Villages. Not so under Pulte. Their business model is flawed. Too bad you don't find out until you buy one of those " looks to be cheaper" resales. What sone fail to understand is that the Morses revolutionized the over 55 industry and every other model pales by comparison. The competition are all just builders and land grabbers when the market is hot and when it is not, they collapse while the Morses merely slow down a little.

[manaboutown]

I plan on visiting Sun City, Texas and hope that Ole Dave keeps us posted on what he likes and does not like about it. SCT is close to Lake Georgetown, the town of Georgetown and 30 minutes from Austin which has good medical facilities and an airport which are important to me. I could care less about playing golf so I like it that only the golfers appear to be paying for golf there. Also they seem to have first class fitness centers and indoor pools which TV lacks. Are they sufficient for the size of the community?

Too, it gets colder in the winter and hotter in the summer there, at least July and August, but if the humidity is lower it would feel about the same as in TV in the summer.

[nitehawk]

i just love that Texas accent (yea right) and the way they they tell you everything is big in texas - good luck speak louder then them

[maine04578]

Thanks, Old Dave, for sharing your views about Sun City. Well done (tactful and wise, as always!). Will miss your thoughtful posts, but enjoy your new life. Sounds like a great choice.

[villagerjack]

I plan on visiting Sun City, Texas and hope that Ole Dave keeps us posted on what he likes and does not like about it. SCT is close to Lake Georgetown, the town of Georgetown and 30 minutes from Austin which has good medical facilities and an airport which are important to me. I could care less about playing golf so I like it that only the golfers appear to be paying for golf there. Also they seem to have first class fitness centers and indoor pools which TV lacks. Are they sufficient for the size of the community?

Too, it gets colder in the winter and hotter in the summer there, at least July and August, but if the humidity is lower it would feel about the same as in TV in the summer.

Sounds like it could be place for you. Good luck. Just a couple of thoughts on the indoor pool.In my former Del Webb Community, they had to rip out the pool three times in ten years for three to four months at a time due to mold hidden in the walls. Residents were upset swimming in the building with hidden mold abd not knowimg it. Indoor pools and hot tubs are very difficult to maintain but perhaps in SCTX where the humidity is lower it is not so much a problem. Our indoor pool was not always accessable since it seemed to be used a lot by fee based activities like water aeoebics, also lap swimmers roped off one half of the pool etc. As it was we had only one indoor pool for 13,000 residents, about the same ratio as SCTX. Our state of the art fitness centers(2) were also very crowdedbut that seems to be the case no matter where you go. In the final analysis, we have to go where it suits us. If that means indoor pools or an IKEA store we have to go for it.

[villagerjack]

One more thing. Even though you maynotbe paying for golf, it is an important item for you to consider. If the golf is not self supporting and that becomes more an issue as the community ages in place, the golf could become a liability and have to be sold off to outsiders who may want to develop it for something other than golf. This has happened more times than you would think. On Hilton Head Island, a golf mecca, one of the courses in Port Royal Plantation has recently been sold to the Town. Perhaps some of the people withgolfcourse views could be looking at a parking lot.

http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/03/05/2406437/hilton-head-to-buy-102-acres-in.html

Check this This is a very upscale community with problems involving golf. Scroll down. Lots being offered for $1.00.

http://www.blufftonrealestates.com/berkeley-hall/lots-for-sale.asp

[janmcn]

Sounds like it could be place for you. Good luck. Just a couple of thoughts on the indoor pool.In my former Del Webb Community, they had to rip out the pool three times in ten years for three to four months at a time due to mold hidden in the walls. Residents were upset swimming in the building with hidden mold abd not knowimg it. Indoor pools and hot tubs are very difficult to maintain but perhaps in SCTX where the humidity is lower it is not so much a problem. Our indoor pool was not always accessable since it seemed to be used a lot by fee based activities like water aeoebics, also lap swimmers roped off one half of the pool etc. As it was we had only one indoor pool for 13,000 residents, about the same ratio as SCTX. Our state of the art fitness centers(2) were also very crowdedbut that seems to be the case no matter where you go. In the final analysis, we have to go where it suits us. If that means indoor pools or an IKEA store we have to go for it.

More seniors probably care more about being close to quality health care than they care about close proximity to IKEA. IKEA is definitely a young person's store, since you have to cart everything home and put it together.

The OP definitely did his due diligence on The Villages and apparently found a place better suited for him and his wife. Good luck Dave. Wishing you many years of happiness in your new abode.

[villagerjack]

One more thing. Even though you maynotbe paying for golf, it is an important item for you to consider. If the golf is not self supporting and that becomes more an issue as the community ages in place, the golf could become a liability and have to be sold off to outsiders who may want to develop it for something other than golf. This has happened more times than you would think. On Hilton Head Island, a golf mecca, one of the courses in Port Royal Plantation has recently been sold to the Town. Several other off island developments, upscale like Colleton River, Berkley Hall are offering building lots for a dollar because you have to pay largemembersip fees. Nearby, a community ( Carolina Halls??) sold off 9 of their 18 holes to a developer who will not put in a golf course....Perhaos some of the people withgolfcourse views could be looking at a parking lot. Please check this out before you decide.

Hilton Head to buy 102 acres in Port Royal Plantation for $5 million | Local News | The Island Packet (http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/03/05/2406437/hilton-head-to-buy-102-acres-in.html)

[villagerjack]

More seniors probably care more about being close to quality health care than they care about close proximity to IKEA. IKEA is definitely a young person's store, since you have to cart everything home and put it together.

The OP definitely did his due diligence on The Villages and apparently found a place better suited for him and his wife. Good luck Dave. Wishing you many years of happiness in your new abode.

I agree entirely. It was Old Dave that said his wife was sold on SCTX after she saw it had an IKEA and a COSTCO. To each his own. I wish him well.

[Barefoot]

The OP definitely did his due diligence on The Villages and apparently found a place better suited for him and his wife. Good luck Dave.

Dave, thanks for letting us know of your decision. I'm very happy for you and your wife. I hope you enjoy many happy and healthy years in your new community.

[DougB]

Take care, Dave. I wish you the best!