55+ senior community for those UNDER 55

[COcheesehead]

For whatever it’s worth, we have friends half our age and a lot older than us. We like the balance. Each group offers something different. I wonder how living in a relatively homogeneous age community would be.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

For these communities in the SW, I would worry most about water over the long term.

-BB

 

[imnontrad]

I think there are good and bad aspects to 55+ communities:

1) Most likely your neighbor will not be hosting and parties that go late into the night
2) A lot of clubs/activities with a variety of interests
3) Home features that may be desirable if your health changes
4) Possibly a co-located assisted living/nursing home if needed later

5) the homes (especially available storage) seem to be on the small size (that's a good or bad feature), especially for the price
6) HOA fees could be high. Yes, they may take care of home/lawn maintenance, etc but I view this as being a permanent cash cow for the developer.
7) The pool of people who can buy your home later is narrow and you may be competing against all nearby sales of homes with the same floor plan
8) I have heard of many women in retirement communities who are extremely protective of their husbands and will shun any woman who is single/widowed (competition). This may be pretty isolating for the ones that are single. They may also shun a spouse who is younger. And on the flip side, I have heard of one community where the rate of STDs is higher than average (hopefully this is confined to those who are single only).
9) Some communities are for married couples only - and if a spouse dies, the surviving spouse is forced to move (and that's just what you need, to cope with grief and moving at the same time).
10) You may be limited in what you can do to remodel your home without community approval. So your place will forever be "Model 101".
11) Some communities allow residents to drive around on golf carts - and some of them have eyesight so bad that they can no longer legally drive (so watch out!)
12) Some communities may have a majority of the homes occupied only certain times of the year. So if you buy and live there full time, you may find yourself on an empty street for part of each year.
13) The community may have some "hotel rooms" available for visiting family - but on a first come, first served basis - and for a limited time. So if you have an extended illness or need a child to help provide in-home care, it may not be possible there.
14) You may find yourself in a fishbowl of gossip - and most likely a good portion of it is either completely untrue or has been twisted around.
15) People who need to step in and take care of grandkids (parents die, etc or military and on deployment) have to find somewhere else to live.

 

[janniemac]

I would like to find a good senior +55 place near Tucson. Any recommendations from people who have owned or rented would be appreciated. Also, if you have close friends or relatives who have lived in such a place.
PM me if you like.

We moved from beautiful Colorado when we retired 2 years ago at 59. We didn't want to be bored sitting at home with friends and family still working. We accidentally found Quail Queek in Sahuarita near Green Valley and left everything and everyone we knew. Fell in love with the area and the desert landscape. There are areas with older people but the new build areas are typically younger folks. We learned pickleball and have lots of friends and are never bored. It is truly an active community with amazing amenities.

 

[Red Rover]

I moved to a large 55+ in Florida this past September when I was 53. I'm now 54. The community (Solivita) has been around for about 15 years but the section I'm in was built within the last 2 years and the final houses in this section are being finished now.

Most of the people in my section seem to be in their 50's and early to mid 60's.

Because it is a large community it has tons of activities and I think like 300 clubs. I am still working so I'm not as involved as I will be later but that's on me. There is so much to do here. I do the neighborhood activities to meet as many of my section neighbors as I can but I don't go to many of the community ones yet. My suggestion would be to go to a larger community which gives more of a chance to find people you like to connect with and that has activities you enjoy so you can meet people who have like interests. I would also go to a community that is still developing or newer as everyone who comes in is looking to meet other people and haven't settled in to a group yet and are open to meeting new people.

I think a lot of older people are still really active and involved more than previous generations. For example, my parents who are in their mid-80's live in another retirement community and they are still really active. The block party they went to on July 4 with their neighbors evolved into a big water balloon fight. Last month they both fell when they were jitterbugging and tried to do the back thing where you hook elbows and lift the other person on your back. (Don't ask me why they even tried that but they did. )

It's just a matter of having a big enough pool of people so you can find people you like and connect with. I personally wouldn't go to a smaller community because then it becomes like a clique in school. The more people the better IMO.

 

[FindingForward]

My parents rented for a summer in a 55+ community when they were trying to figure out where to settle down after 20 years of full time RV travel. We visited them with our young children and there were strict rules that meant our kids couldn't play outside and my wife and I who were in our 30's at the time couldn't go for a walk without our parents along. I let my parents know in no uncertain terms that we wouldn't return if they decided to buy in.

Our kids are grown and gone but I hope I never get old and bitter enough that I don't enjoy the sounds of children playing.

The restrictions against walking outside - yikes - that's a bit much! But I disagree with your bolded text. These communities are not about making adult kids and grandchildren feel at home. They are guests.

The people living there choose these communities for specific reasons, not just social, but also to have some modicum of control over outdoors living that they are not permitted to have in a traditional family-geared neighborhood.

"Kids playing" can range from those who are a pure joy to watch - to those whose grandparents or parents think their little darlings can do no wrong.

When "play" means shrieking at the top of their lungs all afternoon in high piercing tones I can hear inside my single family home (with windows shut tight), that's unreasonable. It hurts my ears and gives me a massive headache.

That doesn't make me "old and bitter". It makes their grandparents or parents clueless, rude or both. Without rules, residents have no recourse. If only people were a bit more courteous, none of us would need these silly rules.

 

[Time2]

Heh, we have 6 year old triplets next door. I feel, er, hear your pain!

In my best W.C. Fields voice, " go away kid you bother me"

 

[CaliKid]

I think there are good and bad aspects to 55+ communities:

....

9) Some communities are for married couples only - and if a spouse dies, the surviving spouse is forced to move (and that's just what you need, to cope with grief and moving at the same time).....

I am just going to take a wild guess that this is extremely rare. I would say non-existent but I am sure there is some wacky neighborhood somewhere with such a nutty CCR.

To my knowledge it's actually the opposite and even in neighborhoods that are strict about 55+ they allow an under 55 widow to remain after the spouse dies without restriction.

 

[RVplusDog]

After full time RVing for a few years, we moved into the only existing Del Webb in our part of the state. It has been fully built out and resident (not developer) run for 10+ years. I was about 53 and DH about 59 when we moved in. I do have some friends of all ages within the development, but perhaps not as many as I would if there were more people my age there. There is a bit of a generation gap with many of the residents who are of ages where they or their relatives were involved with WWII or Vietnam, when gender roles were most often very traditional, and when racism was something they were raised with. Our HOA fees are VERY reasonable, with just over $200 monthly covering big clubhouse w/2 pools, walking paths, and all outdoor landscaping maintenance including snow shoveling of driveways & walkways. It’s a super safe and quiet community.

 

[badatmath]

My friend who recently passed lived in a 55+, her family wanted to rent out the house for a few years but it was not allowed.

 

[youbet]

I am just going to take a wild guess that this is extremely rare. I would say non-existent but I am sure there is some wacky neighborhood somewhere with such a nutty CCR.

To my knowledge it's actually the opposite and even in neighborhoods that are strict about 55+ they allow an under 55 widow to remain after the spouse dies without restriction.

+1. Agree

 

[audreyh1]

My friend who recently passed lived in a 55+, her family wanted to rent out the house for a few years but it was not allowed.

Each community will have its own rules. Plenty of places are rented here, but the renters are of 55+ age generally.

Also the Federal requirement isn’t 100% 55+ households, but just a very high percentage.

 

[HarryHawk]

My wife and I are looking forward to moving into a brand new CCRC community in Holland Michigan. Our only concern is that they are just starting to break ground, with all the supply chain and labor shortages, we hope it's completed while we are still alive.

Moving into a brand new community and house had a certain appeal to me. I would not be too comfortable being on a waiting list, waiting for someone to die, then moving into the residence of the recently deceased.

I figure knowing someday someone will be waiting for me to kick, should inspire me to hold on just to spite them.