Sun City verse TV
 

While researching Florida I ran across Sun City which is approximately 100 miles southwest of TV. SC seems to be on the same lines of TV but too a much smaller scale. But closer to the coast. And SC has a HOA not CDD. So if you wouldn't mind i would appreciate your thoughts and opinions on one verses the other. Thanks so much!

I just checked it out on wikipedia and Zillow.

About 20K population. Half dozen or so golf courses. Adjacent to I-75 southeast of Tampa. 1982 built original owner 1500 SF site built house on 6900 SF lot for $95,000. Home prices in range for $65K to $400K.

Golf cart use?

You pays your money and you takes your choice.


.

We visited Sun City back in 2006 but we preferred the style of houses in The Villages. My husband really didn't care for the area and Sun City didn't appear to have the activities that The Villages offer. The proximity to Tampa is nice.

sun city center
 

we hv friends that moved there many years ago. do you or your significant other like free golf on 31 challenging exec golf courses most of which hv par fours too. 12 championship country clubs which you will be a member... suncity you pay dues and they are hurting cause their average age is going up every year (not a lot of new boomers moving there) so the older golfers will drop their memberships...they hv already closed one or two championship courses due to lack of play (how do you think the folks who purchased golf course frontage homes feel about that?) too bad they don't hv free execs for the older golfers.. hv you tried pickleball? free entertainment in three squares everynight. 100s of stores and major restaurants all accessible in your golf cart that goes 20 mph and gets about 400 miles on 4.5 gallons of gas. hope you check it out and get back to us. good luck

This is something I have pondered as well. I live fairly close to Sun City. I could get a lot more house for the money and live less expensively. However, there is no comparison as far as activities. In recent years Sun City has been trying to attract new, younger people. A co-worker's in-laws are 70 and 65 years old and they say they feel younger than most. Recently, the older part of SC tried to pass a plan to update their amenities but it didn't pass. I suspect it's because the population is older, use the facilities less, and don't want to spend the money. The Kingpoint side is a little more like TV and building new homes. Being near the beach and withing driving distance to Tampa, Orlando, and Sarasota is a plus. You might go look at the area. Believe me, financially, that is the better choice for me...but I want to have the choice of a variety of things to do in retirement....and TV with over 1800 clubs, etc. offers me more chance to do that.

I hasten to add that in no way do I mean to demean an older population. I'm sure there are wonderful people there. I just mean to explain that I think the general tone of the area is less active adult with less to do. It may well suit someone who prefers a more sedate setting.

No comparison!

Sun City is a development that has had their problems. The main one is that Chinese Dry wall was used in the construction of many homes. Check out link below.

Before you ask if The Villages used any Chinese Dry Wall at any time the answer is no!

Sun City Center homeowners look for help to repair Chinese drywall | Tampa Bay Times

First let me say, we have not been to Sun City in Fl. We did visit Apollo to see a Del Web facility ( same homes without the golf course). My comparison is between SC near Hilton Head, SC and TV.

SC had two pools for the 7000 residents with children allowed in for two hours a day 12:00-2:00. They had one very large community center complex where all activities take place and an actual theater for live shows. They were building a second 18hole golf course when we were looking there.

TV has 11 sport pools (residents only) at regional rec centers, a family pool (children any time, all the time) in each neighborhood rec center and at each neighborhood pool, adults only all the time. There are currently 504 holes of golf to play, some championship, which you pay a small fee to use and 31 current executive courses which are covered in your amenity fee so there is no additional charge for residents. We have 11 regional rec centers wher there are workout facilities for a very small fee, rooms for crafts, cards, games, meetings, etc. in addition there are neighborhood rec centers that offer the same activities in addition to Pickleball, shuffle board, bocce ball and billiards.

After visiting both locations it was a no brainier for us, but you really need to do a lifestyle visit to see for yourself.

Good luck in your decision making.

Thank you all so much!! This is exactly why I posted here. I love TOTV, a great community forum! We are coming in April for a LSV and I'm pretty sure that will seal the deal as they say. Only a few weeks away and I can't wait! Again thank you for your responses!

Don't get me started.
My parents lived there from 1992 until my mom passed in 2010.
They were on Symmons Lake (pontoon boats) and liked it even though they did not visit any other comm. before purchasing.
They paid 120K; put on a 20K addition and sold it for 180K. WOW 40K in 18 years. Get out the champagne.
We envisioned TV to be much the same and that was why we were so negative in the beginning.
The place is isolated; old (rundown) and crappy. The best streets are Opal and Platinum.
Not a good value.
Some of the clubs and courses have closed.
There is not a decent restaurant around unless Sonny's or Denny's is your favorite.
The closest movie theater is in Bradenton but they get a Home Depot a while back.
I could go on and on but sincerely wish my parents had found TV before we did so we could have visited them here. So much more to do.

I also do not care for the area around Sun City, though it is more convenient to other areas such as Tampa and the Gulf. There are very few restaurants and stores in comparison to TV. The scariest part of all was watching people crossing a 6/8 lane highway in there golf carts.

Be prepared to be blown away by the beauty of TV and it's people.

Once you have visited, you will never be the same. I would listen to keithwand post, (#11), as I remember when he first posted and didn't think much of TV before visiting. He is a resident of TV.

BTW - Bring your checkbook. :smiley:

you won't get as much home for the money in TV, but I was sold when I was handed the tabloid size 56 page Thursday paper with the activities for the WEEK! First all the scheduled activities at the rec centers followed by page after page of club meetings....and this was in the summer. I prefer to have more options than SC affords.

You get more house for the money in SC. You get more lifestyle for the money in TV. You just need to decide which is more important to YOU in your retirement