Margaritaville for seniors

[audreyh1]

When we first retired, we remained in the suburb in which I had already lived for many years. It was fine while I was working. But once I retired it felt like a ghost town. Kind of sterile.

You’d have your heavy early and late commuter traffic. And noisier weekends especially with everyone mowing.

We couldn’t wait to get out!

 

[NYEXPAT]

I like “old people” but I also like living in a diverse area. Most 55+ communities tend to be gated communities in the suburbs. Not a lifestyle we embrace. I enjoy living in an urban area and seeing little kids to elderly folks regularly. And we like being able to walk to dozens of restaurants, the grocery store, farmers market, bank, eye doctor, etc. We never chose the gated community in the ‘burbs lifestyle when we were younger, and aren’t likely to.

I do not like "old people" very much and have started to notice that "whining thing" even among guys with wives 20 years younger. I have friends in the "Villages" and living in Purgatory is definitely not my thing. City living is the be all and end all way to live in my book. Having said that, I need to move my family stateside for more than a few years and unfortunately will be living in North Central Florida!

 

[REWahoo]

I do not like "old people" very much...

You might want to work on that or you'll soon discover that a life of self-loathing leaves much to be desired.

 

[imoldernu]

About the villages

It has been years since we were involved with The Villages, but we lived about 15 miles away, in a 55+ community. That said, we had friends there, and spent a lot of time in the Town(s) Square activities, and going to things like polo matches. Even if you don't want to live there, The Villages website offers a good outline of what retirement CAN be, and a good comparison of what you might be looking for as an alternative.

https://www.thevillages.com/

In our case, we simply couldn't afford it for 6+6 snowbirding.

Amethyst said:

Sigh. I just wish there were a community where people discussed art, music, theater, literature, creativity, nature, and science!

If one cannot find something to stimulate interest in the Villages, I'd humbly suggest that won't be found anywhere. I was fascinated to find there was a group that studied extinct languages as well as the dead sea scrolls. Any subject, any depth... there's likely to be a study or interest group. there are 2500 Social Clubs.

The Villages is BIG. We met a wonderful couple, that we really "clicked" with, and even found out what village they lived in. Never saw them again,
but a wonderful place for busy people who are willing to seek out new interests.

Oldsters? yes... of course, but it's easy to find your own niche. Not always that street you lived on as a kid, but close enough to enjoy community.

Our choice was to be very close with "our group" of six couples, and while nothing like a clique, we basically led the community of 356 homes in the social events area.

If I were giving advice to my kids, I tell them to spend a reasonable length of time in different types of communities before making a decision. Above all, to not trust the decision to a tour of the facilities by the salesperson.

 

[Ronstar]

I find that the further away from my age that people are (in either direction), the less I like being around them. So I like hanging with people as close to my age as possible.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

We've begun looking into some senior living options, but Margaritaville or other themed communities don't appeal.

Long time fan of JB and have seen him several times back in the 80's when tickets were not ridiculously priced. It's been interesting to watch JB's career. I think I saw an article around '86 (maybe when JB was about to turn 40) where he was still hoping to have $50K to blow on a an around-the-world tour. He probably makes that per day now with all the merchandising. Happy for him, but don't think I would attend another concert unless someone gave me the tickets and arranged the transportation. You can't go home (but maybe YMMV.)

If I went to a Jimmy Buffett concert I'd want to be wearing my Jerry Garcia tie.

 

[braumeister]

Maybe I'm the odd one (no surprise), but as I get older myself I enjoy being with older people more. Certainly not all of them, but I've known so many with great stories, great attitudes, and wonderful experiences to share.

If someone is smart and fun to be around when they're young, they're sometimes even more fun to be around when they're old. At least that's my experience.

 

[stephenson]

Perhaps “several hundred pages” is an exaggeration?

Friends of ours live in a 55+ community in Texas. They will have 10,000 houses built in the near future. There are 5 floor plans to choose from. You can't plant a bush or paint your outside house without approval. There are several hundred pages of rules you must follow. They love it. I would not like it.

 

[audreyh1]

Maybe I'm the odd one (no surprise), but as I get older myself I enjoy being with older people more. Certainly not all of them, but I've known so many with great stories, great attitudes, and wonderful experiences to share.

If someone is smart and fun to be around when they're young, they're sometimes even more fun to be around when they're old. At least that's my experience.

Yes, pretty much.

A few of the folks in my neighborhood are whiners, but I bet they always were.

This is not an issue in general. The friends I make are not the whining more gossipy type. I don't have to listen to everybody.

We tend to invite people over for very small gatherings which I much prefer to the larger neighborhood social events. We've made plenty of friends here. We don't socialize much being introverts, but we have plenty of folks in our neighborhood we enjoy spending time with one-on-one. And since we are all retired, enjoy traveling, and other things we have lots of great stories to swap.

 

[NYEXPAT]

You might want to work on that or you'll soon discover that a life of self-loathing leaves much to be desired.

Nah, to much self confidence for that to ever be an issue!

 

[Koolau]

I have always enjoyed interacting with older people. I've found the "sweet spot" to be about 10 to 20 years older. Now in our early 70s, that group is growing smaller by the day. One advantage here in the Islands is that we have the longest lived people within the US. We have one friend who is 102 and many friends in their 90s. There are oceans of folks in their 80s. We are STILL the young 'uns in most of our circles of friends. At some point (lord willin' and the creek don't rise) that will change, and we'll be the eldest. I guess the alternative is that we'll not make it to being "old." YMMV

 

[unclemick]

Okay trick question. How old is old enough to 'retire' from FIRE?



And as long as I'm losing money on my 'hobbies' it's alright.

Not WORK!

heh heh heh - after 25 years of ER I'm not 'old' just getting warmed up.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We went and checked out the Latitude Margaritaville development in Daytona Beach this week. I must say as an engineer, the homes are built VERY WELL. The Builder is Minto Homes.

They are also a reasonable distance apart. However, they are over 9 miles from the beach, BUT there is a free shuttle to and from their own beach club that is included in the HOA along with a resort style Clubhouse, Pool and Amenities, which is a reasonable $280pm. It also Including Landscaping and Yard maintenance for SF Homes.

Not sure I like the constant Buffett references, I do not own one of his CDs, and if they played his music 24/7 in the clubhouse it would drive me mad.

My only complaint is the Villa style Semi Detatched and SF Homes are next to each other. They also seem to built the same models next to each other, that gives the cookie cutter look to the neighborhood. I would prefer the SF homes to have their own section of the property and to have Different models spaced randomly. Maybe future development phase sites will. Another thing that put me off was the fact there were going to be 6,900 homes and built out was planned for the next 15 years. That means you are stuck with your home or sell it for a loss. Probably better to wait for someone to sell rather than buy new.

 

[CaptTom]

...That means you are stuck with your home or sell it for a loss. Probably better to wait for someone to sell rather than buy new.

In a retirement community, or anywhere that attracts a lot of retirees, you shouldn't have to wait too long. Turnover is sort of inevitable, if you know what I mean...

 

[Sunset]

We went and checked out the Latitude Margaritaville development in Daytona Beach this week. I must say as an engineer, the homes are built VERY WELL. The Builder is Minto Homes.

They are also a reasonable distance apart. However, they are over 9 miles from the beach, BUT there is a free shuttle to and from their own beach club that is included in the HOA along with a resort style Clubhouse, Pool and Amenities, which is a reasonable $280pm. It also Including Landscaping and Yard maintenance for SF Homes.

Not sure I like the constant Buffett references, I do not own one of his CDs, and if they played his music 24/7 in the clubhouse it would drive me mad.

My only complaint is the Villa style Semi Detatched and SF Homes are next to each other. They also seem to built the same models next to each other, that gives the cookie cutter look to the neighborhood. I would prefer the SF homes to have their own section of the property and to have Different models spaced randomly. Maybe future development phase sites will. Another thing that put me off was the fact there were going to be 6,900 homes and built out was planned for the next 15 years. That means you are stuck with your home or sell it for a loss. Probably better to wait for someone to sell rather than buy new.

Thanks for the details.
This is how Minto builds, in my experience. He gets a few plans for houses and then builds them like: X X X X X X X Y Y Y Y Y Y Y A A A A A A A A A A Z Z Z Z Z Z ...etc.
I guess it's efficient, he does the same with high rise buildings as well.
Probably saves a ton of money in architect fees.

The minto homes I've owned have all been very well built in decades past.

 

[jimnjana]

Just stopped in Margaritaville Daytona to visit friends who are trying to buy there. Very vibrant. Not your typical 55+ community, but not a bunch of parrot heads either. The demand for these homes is outrageous, very impressed with the quality of construction and the resort style atmosphere. Some of the comments on this old thread made we laugh.