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07-22-2016, 09:40 PM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 395
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Unique Communities?
Hi Everyone,
I'm interested in learning about potential unique living communities. I don't really want to limit your responses, but i'm currently thinking of mountain living.
For example, I just came across a community in Winter Park, Colorado where the HOA fees include access to a "club' at the resort base. If you are a skier, that would be a good thing.
This just got me thinking that there must be quite a number of neighborhoods with "extras." Anyone know any good ones?
thanks
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07-22-2016, 10:32 PM
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#2
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: World Citizen
Posts: 150
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Florida is ground central for unique communities. Ones for golfers, pilots, horseback riders, even retired post office workers. Word is the postal workers community doesnt allow dogs!
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07-23-2016, 05:18 AM
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#3
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,290
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We briefly looked into co-operative living communities. On one side are condominiums and the other (which we visited in Chicago area), was like a college dormitory. There was a placein Asheville that we read about where you have your own house but share things like cars and responsibilities.
While not a"community", our DD/SIL suggested we share a house with them. We worked out financial and living arrangements. 3 years later, it has proven to be a great decision.
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07-23-2016, 06:32 AM
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#4
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 11,331
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I find so called "intentional communities" interesting. The idea invokes nostalgia for my early twenties. The concept of close nit community, with activities, restaurants, et al is appealing but most 55+ communities are full of very conservative residents. Doesn't fit my profile at all. And golf as a lynch pin doesn't work either. Unfortunately progressive intentional communities sound way too intense - about as much fun as a prison sentence. Gonna stay at home and hope my neighborhood "village" movement stays intact into my twilight years.
__________________
Idleness is fatal only to the mediocre -- Albert Camus
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07-23-2016, 12:01 PM
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#5
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,659
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Mine would end up with three people and a cat.
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
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07-23-2016, 03:10 PM
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#6
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 4,373
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I can understand communities that are based around a central theme, like skiing, golf, airplanes, etc. Could be a good way to facilitate your interests in that theme.
I could never live in a dorm or anywhere without my own space and outside area. I can't stand apts for example, even condos aren't my thing. However, some people like this type high density housing and that is what makes the world go around. Related to this, I dislike any big city downtown living. Might be fun for a visit, but get me out of there back to my own property and single family house.
__________________
The problem isn't artificial intelligence, it's natural stupidity.
You can't spend yourself to prosperity.
Semi-Retired 7/1/16: working part-time (60%) for now [4/24/17 changed to 80%]
Retired Aug 2, 2017; age 53
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07-23-2016, 03:18 PM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 11,078
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My BIL is near Fort Myers lives in a private airplane community. All(most) the homes are required to have an garage/hanger to accommodate a plane. They taxi down the streets to the runway(WW2 airforce). The stop signs are real low!
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07-23-2016, 05:29 PM
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#8
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Chapel Hill
Posts: 96
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I spend my summers in my motorhome at what (at least to me) is a unique community. It is called Linville Land Harbor and is located in Linville, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 30 minutes south of Boone, NC and about a mile form the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is at about 4000 foot elevation and has cool summer temperatures (today in the high 70s when most of North Carolina is roasting in the high 90s).
What is unique is that it started out as a campground where you owned your own lot. As time went by, many people got rid of their campers and built small cabins and cottages. Now there is about 1500 lots and I would guess less than a fourth still have campers and the rest small houses. I am at a camping lot where my motorhome is that is surrounded by small cabins/cottages. Somehow it all works and looks nice, pretty unique.
The neighborhood has its own golf course, heated pool, very nice tennis courts, activities center with many activities and a lake and river (the Linville River) that is stocked with trout for fly fishing.
Most people here winter somewhere else (I spend the winter in Chapel Hill, NC) but probably about 10 percent of the homes are occupied year round.
We love it here.
Jo Ann
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07-23-2016, 05:50 PM
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#9
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 568
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Sounds like prison.
Or the Army (13 yrs was enough for me).
I would think live-in theme parks would get boring after a while.
_B
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07-23-2016, 06:18 PM
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#10
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Huntsville, AL/Helen, GA
Posts: 6,002
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Quote:
Originally Posted by golftrek
I spend my summers in my motorhome at what (at least to me) is a unique community. It is called Linville Land Harbor and is located in Linville, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 30 minutes south of Boone, NC and about a mile form the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is at about 4000 foot elevation and has cool summer temperatures (today in the high 70s when most of North Carolina is roasting in the high 90s).
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My sister spends Summers at Elk River in Banner-Elk, NC. It's an equestrian community with a Jack Nicklas golf course and a 4600 foot landing strip. The town also has the two highest ski resorts on the East Coast with Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain.
Most owners keep houses in Florida and commute seasonally. Many working fathers fly in on Fridays, as can be seen in a line of King Airs lining the runway. Western North Carolina has so many things to do, and the university town of Boone is a really nice place.
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07-23-2016, 06:42 PM
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#11
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Peru
Posts: 6,335
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Quote:
Originally Posted by donheff
I find so called "intentional communities" interesting. The idea invokes nostalgia for my early twenties. The concept of close nit community, with activities, restaurants, et al is appealing but most 55+ communities are full of very conservative residents. Doesn't fit my profile at all. And golf as a lynch pin doesn't work either. Unfortunately progressive intentional communities sound way too intense - about as much fun as a prison sentence. Gonna stay at home and hope my neighborhood "village" movement stays intact into my twilight years.
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Sheesh... Don... I agree with you almost all the time, but have to differ on this one. Our 55+ park in FL has about the most exciting and non-conservative group of players that we've ever met up with. Don't wanna say wild, but maybe the word "Buzz" describes the activity and interest level. No golf course, but a marina, pool, and bocce, shuffle, and horseshoe courts, billiard room, card rooms, dance floor and parties, cookouts and dances, like you wouldn't believe. Exercise, tai chi, water exercise, line dancing, lectures, painting, computer classes, library and reading groups, crafts, and a dozen other regular activities... all the time. that's just in the park. Other groups for travel, study, golf, tennis, pickleball, bowling and a twice a week Convertible tour group outside the park. The motorcycle touring group is temporarily suspended. All of this in a Park with 350 homes.
It's still there... but you're right about slowing down... During my last visit back in January, it was fun to see it all still happening. We began to run out of steam at age 74, and are content to watch , listen and remember.
The communities are there... but ya have to go and see what is going on. Not what's available, or what the realtor guides you through. For every senior community like ours, there are five that are mostly passive. Even The Villages has high's and lows...
On site homework is the most important part of the retirement community decision.
__________________
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
--Dalai Lama XIV
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07-23-2016, 09:49 PM
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#12
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 13,566
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amethyst
Mine would end up with three people and a cat.
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Sign me up, that sounds perfect!
__________________
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.”
Gerard Arthur Way
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07-23-2016, 10:17 PM
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#13
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SF East Bay
Posts: 4,342
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__________________
Contentedly ER, with 3 furry friends (now, sadly, 1).
Planning my escape to the wide open spaces in my campervan (with my remaining kitty, of course!)
On a mission to become the world's second most boring man.
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07-24-2016, 11:06 AM
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#15
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,659
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I just want a contemplative life in roomy, luxurious surroundings, with my own private garden, all the maintenance and other nonsense taken care of, and without having to subsidize other people's pickleball and bowling. Is that too much to ask?
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
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07-24-2016, 04:50 PM
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#16
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 3,502
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http://ecovillageithaca.org/live/
EcoVillages in Ithaca. I've heard nice things but haven't check it out personally.
__________________
“No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing"
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07-24-2016, 11:19 PM
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#17
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Spending the Kids Inheritance and living in Chicago
Posts: 17,099
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Helios
Florida is ground central for unique communities. Ones for golfers, pilots, horseback riders, even retired post office workers. Word is the postal workers community doesnt allow dogs!
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And nobody works on Sunday, plus they are all finished for the day at 4pm.
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07-27-2016, 01:39 AM
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#18
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Leeward Oahu
Posts: 17,927
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Interesting subject. I know interest-centered communities are becoming the rage for retirement. But I would think it difficult to find a "community" with the same interest-focus and amenities as an individual or couple would want. Sure, you might find a place where you fit in or could use many of the included features. But you would most likely end up paying for things you don't use. That would bother me.
It bothers me that our very amenity-challenged HOA has a pool. While the pool is open 365, it's too cold to swim in for me and only 10% of residents use it. Still, it costs us all a couple of dollars a day to keep it clean and functioning. If I could talk the other residents into it, I would have it bulldozed. When I've even broached the subject at an HOA meeting you would have thought I left a Baby Ruth in the pool.
I guess the challenge would be to find the right mix of activities and amenities that you are willing to PAY for. If you can do that, maybe it's a bargain. YMMV
__________________
Ko'olau's Law -
Anything which can be used can be misused. Anything which can be misused will be.
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07-27-2016, 06:36 AM
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#19
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Florida's First Coast
Posts: 7,723
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We have lived in Gated communities in SoCAL and FLA for 25 years and for all their faults we much prefer them to regular open street living.
Main reasons we like them are ones that other folks detest.
a) There are no sofas and trucks (on axle stands) in the front yards.
b) The house next door cannot be painted Purple with Yellow Spots
c) The grounds are manicured throughout the whole development
d) No Pot holes in the roads
e) All homes have a good curb appeal
Putting up with the demi gods on the board/HOA is a minor inconvenience. It also gives the nosey busybodies in the communities a place to congregate and commiserate with each other, so I do not have to talk to them.
Having a well rated private golf course on the property helps too as members (of which I am NOT one) tend to be affluent and demand a nice surroundings.
__________________
"Never Argue With a Fool, Onlookers May Not Be Able To Tell the Difference." - Mark Twain
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07-28-2016, 06:29 PM
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#20
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: https://www.google.com
Posts: 750
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True mountain living, as far as I'm concerned, doesn't involve living in gated communities. I've been living in mountain towns for decades, and the real communities aren't insulated. I love the eclectic blend of working folks, millionaires, (a couple of) billionaires, athletes & tourists. It's authentic.
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