[END OTT]

Originally Posted by michael 61

i did my homework (like daily) religiously for about five years on the villages in florida and sun city and sun city west in arizona. Living in colorado, and still in my early 50s, i was looking ahead to where i wanted to retire. Most people in colorado seem to retire in arizona vs florida, due to proximity. I visited del web’s sun city, sun city west and sun city grand multiple times. I always visited in the middle of summer, to see if i could stand the heat. When my employer offered me early retirement (which i took) while still in my late 50s, i wasn’t prepared to move yet, so i stayed in colorado for a year to figure things out. There were things i liked about sun city, but also things i didn’t. I was ready to take the plunge and move to sun city west when i decided for the heck of it to take a lifestyle visit to the villages, since i had already done so much research on it, i wanted to see it in person (but had not intention of moving here). Came here last summer and the villages blew me away and i immediately decided to move here. Here are my personal reasons i picked the villages over sun city west: 1) more younger retirees- sun city west feels like an old folks home, and not as active 2) dedicated golf cart paths (sun city west has none) 3) town squares with nightly entertainment 4) a self-contained community(the bubble) - sun city west feels like a suburb of sprawling phoenix 5) beauty and colorful - sun city west is boring beige and very little natural, living landscaping 6) way more activities /clubs/ golf 7) purchased new home here for what i would have paid for a 1980s duplex-style condo in sun city west 8) no state income tax here 9) people seem way friendlier and happier here (shattered the stereotype of east coasters being more aloof and distant than west coasters) 9) winters not as cold as they can be in arizona 10) proximity to the beach and i can drive to lauderdale/miami to catch a cruise.

Wondering if anyone else compared these two 55+ communities before deciding on 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

[Fltpkr]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

I did my homework (like daily) religiously for about five years on The Villages in Florida and Sun City and Sun City West in Arizona. Living in Colorado, and still in my early 50s, I was looking ahead to where I wanted to retire. Most people in Colorado seem to retire in Arizona vs Florida, due to proximity. I visited Del Web’s Sun City, Sun City West and Sun City Grand multiple times. I always visited in the middle of summer, to see if I could stand the heat. When my employer offered me early retirement (which I took) while still in my late 50s, I wasn’t prepared to move yet, so I stayed in Colorado for a year to figure things out. There were things I liked about Sun City, but also things I didn’t. I was ready to take the plunge and move to Sun City West when I decided for the heck of it to take a lifestyle visit to The Villages, since I had already done so much research on it, I wanted to see it in person (but had not intention of moving here). Came here last summer and The Villages blew me away and I immediately decided to move here. Here are my personal reasons I picked The Villages over Sun City West: 1) More younger retirees- Sun City West feels like an old folks home, and not as active 2) Dedicated golf cart paths (Sun City West has none) 3) Town Squares with nightly entertainment 4) A self-contained community(the Bubble) - Sun City West feels like a suburb of sprawling Phoenix 5) Beauty and colorful - Sun City West is boring beige and very little natural, living landscaping 6) Way more activities /clubs/ golf 7) Purchased new home here for what I would have paid for a 1980s duplex-style condo in Sun City West 8) No state income tax here 9) People seem way friendlier and happier here (shattered the stereotype of East Coasters being more aloof and distant than West Coasters) 9) Winters not as cold as they can be in Arizona 10) proximity to the beach and I can drive to Lauderdale/Miami to catch a cruise.

Wondering if anyone else compared these two 55+ communities before deciding on The Villages.

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

[Michael 61]

Originally Posted by Fltpkr

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.

[Bilyclub]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

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.

[DeafDeaf]

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.

[MX rider]

Originally Posted by DeafDeaf

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.

No place is perfect for everyone. We had no desire to live in Arizona for a number of reasons. But for some it's great, and that's ok too.

But I don't get the beach comment. How far is Sun City form the beach? As beach lovers it's an easy day trip for us. 1 hour 40 minutes to Flagler beach and less than that to the gulf. Airport 1 hour away, who cares?

[Michael 61]

I can get from my home to Orlando Airport in exactly one hour - Without traffic, the commute from Sun City West to Sky Harbor Airport is about 45 minutes. However, if driving in morning hour rush hour traffic, it takes over an hour. Kind of a wash for me.

[JerryLBell]

My mother-in-law retired from Michigan to Sun City West, AZ. We visited her several times there. When we started, that's where the newer retirees were going to, preferring it over the older Sun City, AZ. It had very nice facilities and really opened our eyes to what an active retirement lifestyle could be. However, we decided we didn't want to retire to either of those communities for a number of reasons, including:

Surprisingly (to us, anyway) bad air pollution
Quite a high crime rate in the surrounding areas, especially Phoenix
The insanely high summer temperatures (even if it is a "dry" heat", it's still stupid hot)
The lack of green (other than golf courses) - everything was tan or brown

After several years and several visits, we also saw Sun City West start to shut down recreation centers, theaters and the like. It turns out that the developer (Del Webb, if I recall) pulls out entirely when the last house is sold and hands the operation over to the residents. Most retirees don't really want to take on the job of running a retirement community, whether it is small of fairly large.

Years later, we visited The Villages with no intention of retiring here or to anywhere in Florida for that matter. We were living in North Carolina by then and loved it and thought we'd retire to South Carolina (all of the whether, food and location benefits of North Carolina but better taxes for retirees). We decided that The Villages had everything we liked about Sun City West but none of the things we didn't like about it. It also, due it's huge scale of operations, simply had more to offer than Sun City West or any other retirement community we looked at in the Carolinas (or Arizona or Florida for that matter).

For those that prefer the desert, Arizona has a growing number of retirement communities and you might well be as happy at any of them as we are here. There's a place for nearly everybody, somewhere.

Ditto on the comment about being jealous of the OP's having retired fairly young. I retired at 62 and would have loved being able to retire as happily as I did only a decade or so earlier.

[wlasowicz]

Probably in the long run you'll have water in FL versus Arizona

[Calisport]

Have to be within driving distance of the ocean. Being from southern Cal, Arizona was like moving to a brick oven like Las Vegas.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Calisport

Have to be within driving distance of the ocean. Being from southern Cal, Arizona was like moving to a brick oven like Las Vegas.

Yep! Us too. Lived 20 minutes from the coast in SoCal, could never live in the AZ desert even though we would’ve been closer to our kids and toddler grandson if we’d retired there instead of here.