I challenge paying more for a home in Del Webb Huntley as I live there 6 months in the warmer months and the other 6 months in the Villages. Different places for sure. My home there with the same sq footage costs equal to what I have here. I'm speaking in the last 4 years. Here, as well as there, prices have gone up up. This is not where it is better to live but about home prices.

Water will not always be cheap here as towns are drilling their wells deeper, over 200 feet to get the needed supply. Desalination plants
water cost over four times what we currently pay for water.

Very interesting. We love TV. Never understood the people who live here and complain how bad it is. Says something about them? Maybe they would like Sun City better.

Good "research", but for an in depth history of the growth of over-55 planned communities starting with Sun City, Dell Webb, and Mr. Midnight in The Villages, you MUST read

Leisureville, the book

Here's a link to Leisureville book

Goodreads Leisureville...

Right behind you! For the same reasons. Scottsdale is nice, but too hot, too cold, and too expensive.

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Our son lives in Tucson. He had snow in his yard last week. I’m not so sure that it’s colder here.

Do you mean Saddlebrooke Ranch? The homes are much nicer than anything you can get in TV but some of the Robson communities are in the middle of nowhere far from amenities like shopping or medical care. I personally love the desert lifestyle and topography and the dry heat. But it was more expensive than TV in their HOAs and there also a one-time buy-in fee, which might be similar to the bonds here. Fortunately, I bought a home without a bond in TV. But I do find some aspects of Florida living to be as expensive or more so than AZ, or even CA, where I had left.

Several posts say AZ is much colder in the winter and I’m puzzled by that. Sure, at the higher elevations or towns like Flagstaff or Sedona, you will get snow in the winter, etc. But Phoenix is temperate in the winter, much like Florida. Tucson is always a bit cooler year-round than Phoenix, which many prefer.

This year AZ is having an unusually cold, wet winter, as is CA and most of the west. Florida had a very warm, dry winter this year but last winter, my first in TV, was one of the coldest winters in a long time. I remember thinking what the heck I had gotten myself into! Typically, March in the Phoenix area ranges from 70’s-90’s but not this year, much to the dismay of many midwesterners there for spring training.

Looked at a DelWebb, absolutely no personalization of the home in NC. Wanted it more age in place - switch to a shower, flip the way a door opened - NOPE and the price was higher and it had less to offer.

Taxes, a big factor
 

I like the golf car life style, many golf courses and numerous activities. In the end, the tax friendly environment was a big factor for me.

Don’t forget to check with ARC.

Dumb book…….proven on here many times over.

The Villages vs. Sun City
 

I also explored the possibility of moving to a Sun City in AZ. We were living in MI at the time and thought about retiring in AZ because my sister already lived there. But...I know it was not the move for us pretty quickly. When one of the associates met me, he thought I was looking for a place for my parents...lol!

Of course I read that book - all part of my research - my takeaway, the author was angry that his aging neighbor moved away from his city, rather stay and contribute to his community - author had agenda to seek out the most sensational, crazy people to support his theory. Author predicted the model would collapse - well, wasn’t that book written like 15 years ago? Would like to see what the author has to say about the success of The Villages since he wrote the book - and I guess he is probably my age and in the 55+ camp himself now.

How they are GLAD that they did NOT pick the heat, humidity, and hurricanes of Florida! The INFAMOUS 3 Hs of Fl.

There are coyotes here, more snakes, more insects, and more humidity than Az. Plus rocks don't grow and need to be cut every 4 days in the summer heat and humidity.

I find deserts to be the opposite of "BORING". I find flat Fl. to be boring and the lawnmowers EXTREMELY NOISY and the Golf Carts to be smelly with CO2 pollution!

I find deserts to be the opposite of "BORING". I find flat Fl. to be boring and the lawnmowers EXTREMELY NOISY and the Golf Carts to be smelly with CO2 pollution!

Valley Fever is a problem and people can get it, also.

None of this was a secret, yet you still decided to move here?

As far as bicycles go and Az, there are these NEW THINGS called E-bikes that make hills go bye, byes!

How do they fix altitude?

Gold??? Where’s the gold? Nobody ever tells me things!

Then move to AZ, it will make everyone in the Villages happy : )

OP and others are to be congratulated for their process of "due diligence" they carried out before making such a big decision. I have never been good at that, which is probably why I've made so many decisions I later regretted.
My folks retired to Bonita Beach, so I had plenty of opportunities to visit Florida. I've never been to AZ. Very good friends of mine bought in TV when Largo was newly built, in 2007, and brought us down. I saw all I felt I needed to see, the only problem being I was still 8 years from having the $ to retire.
DW was not convinced, and I guess her reluctance saved me from making my usual rash, impulsive decision (although in this case my impulsiveness might have saved me $100K or so)...
But instinctively I guess, since my plan was to stay in our place on a lake in NY State at least 5 months of the year, I must have figured that AZ was too far away. I don't know, I probably just got lucky this time.

We love it here 7 months a year. If we didn't have the lake place I"d be happy to try living here year-round. Never did so I don't know. We love the friends we've made, and are also lucky to have several couples from our area up. north who have also come down and now have places of their own here.
I guess I just got lucky. Heck, one time DW actually told me I was "right" about this place. I pretended not to hear her well, so she had to repeat it a few times.

I am not surprised that some people don't find it to their liking. I am surprised that they stick around and complain rather than find a place that suits them better.

You can see 3 spring training teams with a 2 hour drive. One is 1 1/2. I drive to Tampa often. Easy commute

I’m definitely not a fan of the desert. Too hot in the day and cold at night. The dryness makes my skin and hair feel awful. I love the warmth and humidity. Being a water person, there is no other state I’d live in except Florida. Zero state income tax and a state wonderfully run make it an easy decision for me.

Having lived in Hawaii and Vegas, I'd be closer to family/friends in AZ. But after a visit here I was hooked.

Last time I visited AZ my nephew got stung on the hand by a scorpion from the rocks around a swimming pool slide. Pass on that.

I love Tarantulas and most spiders. I had a conversation with a spider the other day. He's a web designer. :duck:

When I was a younger golfer I loved visiting Arizona in the winter and playing golf there. We seriously considered Sun City Grande. However we spent a few days visiting friends who had retired to The Villages and loved the visit. The following March we rented for a month and the hook was set. Affordability and proximity to grandchildren living in the eastern time zone made TV our selection.

They did not exist when we moved to Florida.

The color factor, that is Florida is green and alive while Arizona, apart from the high desert near Flagstaff, is brown and dead, played a big role in our decision. Also, a bad day in the Florida summer will be uncomfortable, but a bad day in the Arizona summer will shrivel you up like a raisin, and likely kill you.

That was very EMPATHETIC and I respect you for it. I LOVE you also, my son!

It IS possible to have a bad experience in Az like with scorpions. Fl. has some scorpions, plus MORE INSECTS, more snakes, and more NASTY humidity. Both Az and Fl. have wild hogs, but Az. has javelinas, which for some reason are very adaptive to suburban and city life. (note I wonder why Fl. does NOT have javelinas?) Both states have black bears, which sometimes attack people. Fl. has more snapping turtles than Az.
........I remember seeing a rattlesnake in the bushes around a pool in a north Village about 3 years ago. Which reminds me, I think that The Villages should import or raise BLACK snakes and release them locally. Seems like a LOW priced way to prevent rattlesnake or copperhead attacks.
.......I have lived in both states and if someone does NOT like snakes or coyotes or other nature, they are probably better off for NOT seeing them in AZ than Fl. Plus in Az, you MIGHT see pronghorn antelopes, which are WAY COOL!!!!!!
......My wife reminded me that she worked in the school system in BOTH states and BOTH are educationally rated at the very bottom of the US list! Yes, that may help with taxes, but those same graduates fix your A/C, repair your car and Cart and they attend to your medical NEEDS when you are HOSPITALIZED.

Also from Colorado and wintered in Sun City Grand for 9 years. Our house had golf course frontage but it wasn’t green enough for my wife. She’s not a big fan of the desert so we moved to The Villages 5 years ago and we were snowbirds until July of last year. Florida is a lot farther away from Colorado but my wife is much happier. You know the saying !
Love it here.

Sun city - sun lakes - heritage eagal bend (denver) henderson nv (las) - the villages
 

lived in all from 1986 to the villages 2020 all del webb 55 and over. All had good things going for them weather - restruants - shopping. None of them had the capability of using a golf cart for everything you need. This is one of the best reasons for the villages - especially later years when its more comfortable to take the golf cart than to drive your car

Just curious, were there any factors that weighed in favor of Sun City?

Here’s what Sun City/ Sun City West has that are positives over The Villages: 1) smaller size (if that’s something important to you) 2) Indoor shuffle board courts 3) Indoor swimming lap pools 4) Outdoor walking-lap pools 5) Minature golf courses 6) Rec centers have fitness centers (included in their amenity fees) 7) Since most landscaping is zeroscspe, little or no lawn maintenance costs 8) No bonds, just a nominal “buy in” fee at closing 9) Close to awesome Mexican food 10) positive or negative - though part of sprawling, crowded Phoenix, you are also very close to way better dining, shopping and entertainment options. 11) Being a bowler, bowling alleys are all very close by - unlike The Villages where the bowling alleys are located at the extreme north end of the community.

Leesburg Bowl, while not in the bubble, is a short ride from the South end.

Reply from my friend living in Grand, AZ
 

I share my friend from The Grand, AZ to respond to your comment:


The writer from Colorado was confused with the Sun City West (SCW) with Sun City Grand (SCG) resort. He is right the SCW is an old town that is bland. Many outsiders are confused when they talk about Sun City as a town known as the first Senior Citizen community in the 1960s. The Del Webb had expanded the Sun City to build another Sun City West with some limited activities that allowed golf carts to drive around on the street where 35 mph is the traffic limit. Then it expanded to build another Sun City Grand (now known as the Grand in 2023) as a sole resort for seniors to enjoy plus many clubs just like the Villages in FL.

In fact, The Sun City Festival and Fiesta are built for senior citizens in the west of the original Sun City. The writer did not seem to know we have a resort with golf courses and lots of people driving in golf carts into the street in the city of Surprise where they are allowable up to 35 mph.

I can testify about both The Villages and the Grand where I am currently living in the resort community. We are just smaller than the Villages. The only setback is that the houses are built following the culture of the native desert to blend with the environment in several grey/brown/tan tones. I like the Villages too but way too big. 1-2 big setbacks about the Villages, two hours drive to the beach and 1+ hour drive to the airports.

Our Grand is mostly regulated by the Mormon folks unlike the Villages with lots of social parties involving lots of booze resulting in too many golf cart accidents. We do not deal with too many accidents involving golf carts. We have many places within driving distance for hiking, camping, opera, and downtown for good restaurants or cultural festivals that I do not think the Villages have this much. They are like an island of their own alone.

I prefer mountains, deserts, wild desert animals roaming, lots of paths for bicycling and walking, and sunny and dry climates. Actually, it is an individual choice to make. We have many active young seniors around here, too.