Retirees and near retirees...

[hertamaniac]

I live close enough to The Villages and am very fortunate to not have the financial death-grip of a HOA/POA fee (even though I live in a community with no amenities). I have relatives that live close by that are strangled with a no-cap % annual increase on those fees (with no explanations/accountability). It is not uncommon to see those fees hover between $400-$900+ per month depending on the included amenities.

 

[john7994]

I've thought about it but I believe I already live in an area with a relatively low cost of living that is just a few hours from both the mountains, the beach, and less than an hour from the busiest airport. Those are all criteria that have kept us in the area and will more than likely keep us in Metro Atlanta in retirement.

If we move in retirement I think where our kids end up will be the biggest influence.

Would have to agree on Atlanta, and what you indicated has pretty much locked us in for longer here than I would have preferred to be honest - that and pretty good healthcare choices, the drive to WDW, and proximity to family in the Southeast. Every time I start a conversation on where we should retire, it’s hard to beat the options we already have available.

 

[Christine]

Interesting. I suppose those who are really out and about are the ones getting all of the attention. They just seem "extra" into all of that stuff. DH and I have always know that we didn't want to do the 55+ community. My FIL (MIL passed a year ago) has been in one since 2000 and absolutely loves it. He does not understand why everyone wouldn't want to live in a community like his...lol. Different strokes I suppose.

My parents really like it too. A few months a year, they come back to their other house (townhouse) that they've had for 20 plus years and I think they hate it. I think they are beyond the point of wanting to have all the issues with unsupervised kids climbing all over their property, the noise, and just the "commuter" lifestyle of their current home. They find the over 55 community very peaceful, calm, respectful and they can escape anytime when they want to get away from old people!

 

[disneyseniors]

I don't think anyone minds divergent viewpoints but there has been a change where you can't even do that. People have become so radical and vocal that you *cannot* have divergent viewpoints without someone just beating you down over it. In that regard, it's very important to be somewhere where it's not solidly leanding toward one party. I need to be in a diverse political area where it's okay to calmly be either/or. I'm in Virginia now and we have that. Going down south, I'm not seeing political diversity.

I agree. My Mom lives in a 55+ apartment complex. Her morning coffee group has become very vocal about politics and are very nasty in their comments, as they assume everyone agrees. Most of this group does agree with them. My Mom is not one of them. She keeps quiet but it really bothers her when they start in on someone. I advised her to just say that she would like to talk about other things because not everyone thinks the same politically. It worked for a while but they went back to it and were pretty mean. So she quit the coffee group because they would not change and actually have conversations about other things besides politics.

 

[tony67]

I've heard rumbling of adult children moving in with parents or even subletting from parents in these 55+ communities.
Id assume it has to be allowed for short periods of time, but more than a few weeks - IDK.
Id think there would be rules to stop that, any truth to this?

 

[goofyernmost]

Not the reason I moved here to North Carolina, but I was also looking to escape the cold. My youngest and her family, followed shortly after by my oldest and her family move here for job opportunities. I followed shortly after and have never regretted it. We have seasons in fact we are only a couple of days past prime foliage season here, but we have had very mild winters over the last 12 years that I have lived here but they can get into the 20's for a few days here in the Raleigh area. but it does stay in the 20's, 30's and 40's from mid-December to the end of March. Today it was 76 degrees here. I don't know where you currently live, but I moved from Vermont. In Raleigh it is a 2.5 hour drive to the smoky mtns. to the west and a 2.5 hour drive to the Atlantic ocean to the east.

I love the bigger cities (than I was used too) the things to do, the choices you have for restaurants. I was used to rural living (even in the urban areas) and I love the activity, the numbers and diversity of the people. All have been friendly and welcoming especially when I first moved here. It gets warm in the summer, but no worse then the summers I remember in Vermont, the warm just lasts a little longer. But virtually every place has central air conditioning. If I were to add the total amount of show fall here in the last 12 years, I don't think it would amount to 7 inches total. The year before I moved here the day after Christmas had a 10 inch snowfall and everything stopped except me. I was visiting my daughters for Christmas and I had millions of dollars worth of super highways all to myself. So, it can happen just not often and even that was melted away within 2 days.

The funny thing is that until my Daughters moved here, NC wasn't on my radar at all. Now I can't imagine living anyplace else. I even purchased a cemetery plot because I have no intention of leaving.

Shortly after I posted that I encountered my first time being treated badly. I was shopping at BJ's (another form of Costco) and was looking for a pumpkin pie for our family gathering next week. I went to the Bakery area and in the area of pies, there were all kinds except for an open spot on one of the tables with a label stating Pumpkin Pie.

So I went to the area where an employee was opening boxes and asked if there were any other pies in the back. He said he didn't know and that he would check. A minute later he came out, around me wearing a parka and gloves headed to some other part of the store. Following him a lady said to me, parts of which I couldn't hear the following that I asked her to repeat. "If you wanted that you should have called ahead, now he's got to go get it out of the freezer". I said, I wasn't even thinking about buying a pie until I got here (and then my upset kicked in) and continued saying that, I didn't think that I was responsible for them keeping their shelves stocked with merchandise. She immediately replied that "they had other things they had to do, you know". To which I replied, I know which is why I'm not upset about having to wait while he goes to the freezer to get something that should have been on the table. My one upon a time retailer in me, thought... was here it is just 7 days before Thanksgiving and they aren't keeping their obvious best selling item stocked properly. And she tried to blame me for their lack of preparedness. Kinda makes you shake your head a little. But I still maintain that NC is a pleasant place to be, if you can ignore politics and an occasional mis-said word/sentence.

 

[hertamaniac]

Re: 55+ Communities in Florida:

For a community to be considered "housing for older persons" as a 55+ community, the housing must be intended and operated for occupancy by persons 55 years of age or older and meet the following requirements:

1. At least 80% of the occupied units are occupied by at least one person 55 years of age or older.
2. The facility or community publishes and adheres to policies and procedures that demonstrate its intent to in fact be a provider of housing for older persons.
3. The facility or community complies with rules established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for verification of occupancy.

 

[hertamaniac]

Shortly after I posted that I encountered my first time being treated badly. I was shopping at BJ's (another form of Costco) and was looking for a pumpkin pie for our family gathering next week. I went to the Bakery area and in the area of pies, there were all kinds except for an open spot on one of the tables with a label stating Pumpkin Pie.

So I went to the area where an employee was opening boxes and asked if there were any other pies in the back. He said he didn't know and that he would check. A minute later he came out, around me wearing a parka and gloves headed to some other part of the store. Following him a lady said to me, parts of which I couldn't hear the following that I asked her to repeat. "If you wanted that you should have called ahead, now he's got to go get it out of the freezer". I said, I wasn't even thinking about buying a pie until I got here (and then my upset kicked in) and continued saying that, I didn't think that I was responsible for them keeping their shelves stocked with merchandise. She immediately replied that "they had other things they had to do, you know". To which I replied, I know which is why I'm not upset about having to wait while he goes to the freezer to get something that should have been on the table. My one upon a time retailer in me, thought... was here it is just 7 days before Thanksgiving and they aren't keeping their obvious best selling item stocked properly. And she tried to blame me for their lack of preparedness. Kinda makes you shake your head a little. But I still maintain that NC is a pleasant place to be, if you can ignore politics and an occasional mis-said word/sentence.

I would have pulled out my wallet, flashed any card and said, "I am with the BJ's Pumpkin Pie Police Department".

 

[Christine]

I've heard rumbling of adult children moving in with parents or even subletting from parents in these 55+ communities.
Id assume it has to be allowed for short periods of time, but more than a few weeks - IDK.
Id think there would be rules to stop that, any truth to this?

The over-55 community near me allows adult children to move in. What they don't allow is long-term residents under the age of 18. So a 30 year old could move in with their parents. But a 30 year with children could not.

 

[tony67]

The over-55 community near me allows adult children to move in. What they don't allow is long-term residents under the age of 18. So a 30 year old could move in with their parents. But a 30 year with children could not.

Note sure which is worse the over 30 or the under 18 - but thanks its good info.

No doubt its something you want to look into when you move in.
My concern would be that the over 30 kid is going to be a problem. Ive got some experience with that and nephews unfortunately.

 

[Christine]

Note sure which is worse the over 30 or the under 18 - but thanks its good info.

No doubt its something you want to look into when you move in.
My concern would be that the over 30 kid is going to be a problem. Ive got some experience with that and nephews unfortunately.

I just used 30 years old as an example--it's obviously over 18 that can live with the over-55 parent. So a child who is a college student or just hasn't launched yet is mostly what you'll see. Doesn't seem to be much of a thing in this neighborhood. Some of the much older seniors will also have an adult family member come live with them to assist.

 

[tony67]

I just used 30 years old as an example--it's obviously over 18 that can live with the over-55 parent. So a child who is a college student or just hasn't launched yet is mostly what you'll see. Doesn't seem to be much of a thing in this neighborhood. Some of the much older seniors will also have an adult family member come live with them to assist.

Yeah I am thinking the kid that moves back in after whatever they failed at...

 

[MICKIMINI]

I've heard rumbling of adult children moving in with parents or even subletting from parents in these 55+ communities.
Id assume it has to be allowed for short periods of time, but more than a few weeks - IDK.
Id think there would be rules to stop that, any truth to this?

Yes. We were in a 55 plus for 7 years and got tired of it. Inevitably, conversations always seemed to turn to politics. That was not why we moved, however it got old even if they had the same opinion. We discuss that stuff in private!

30 days for a guest to stay was it. We suspect that was not really enforced. Our neighbors are now 1/4 mile away so no longer an issue LOL!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We’re not far from retiring. DH is probably closer than me. We talk about it. We want to be near our kids, for sure. We’ve talked about all moving to FL or Arizona, but we mostly love it where we are, with a few exceptions. Unfortunately the cost of living is very high. Chances are pretty good that we’ll probably continue to dabble in work a bit, by choice - very part time; we both have skills that are in high demand. There are some features that make our current house a good place to stay (like a legal in-law apt which can be rented out) but if we stay we’d ideally, down the road, like to move somewhere newer, perhaps more energy efficient, and more of a retirement community, though not 55 and older exclusively. There are a few we’re interested in, but everything here is ridiculously expensive. We‘ll just have to see how it goes. We’re working on getting our house purged and fixed up a bit with an eye toward the future. I take care of many patients who have major health issues right around the time of retirement. It’s the age that those things happen.

 

[dvcgirl67]

My parents really like it too. A few months a year, they come back to their other house (townhouse) that they've had for 20 plus years and I think they hate it. I think they are beyond the point of wanting to have all the issues with unsupervised kids climbing all over their property, the noise, and just the "commuter" lifestyle of their current home. They find the over 55 community very peaceful, calm, respectful and they can escape anytime when they want to get away from old people!

My in-laws didn't have the funds for a second "snowbird" home. I suppose they could have spent a month or so down south had they really wanted to as renters, but they did really well in the regimented community that they lived in. I get that it doesn't have to be regimented, that you can do as much or little as you'd like. But they viewed all of those clubs, teams, socials and dances like it was there for the joining...lol.

They moved in to their community when it was brand new, 25 years ago and they were in their late 60s at that time. A lot of the people who moved in at the same time were younger, closer to the 55 required to get you in. By having a group of four other couples, (we always referred to their group as the "Gang of 10"), that were at least ten years younger, that really kept them going. They were all in so many clubs, went to dances together, dinners, socials....for years and years. They'd take vacations with their gang, go out to local dinners together and even traveled internationally together a few times.

They gradually started to slow a bit after my MIL's first stroke about 5-6 years back and then the last two years of her life they were essentially home with FIL as caregiver for her. Now, it's super weird because when we visit him we now see people *our* age out and about walking dogs...etc. It's just so strange to see Gen Xers like me living in there with all of those old people .

 

[georgina]

With the kids scattered in San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC, we sold the family home and moved to be near the only one that is married, owns a home, has a job that will keep her & her DH here, and has produced a grandson. Cost of living is much higher than SW PA, but N. VA has a lot to offer - walkability, lots to do, most importantly the chance to see grandson weekly. Weather is a bit better than Pittsburgh, but as a true northerner this is as far south as I will ever live. Very happy here.

 

[barkley]

I've heard rumbling of adult children moving in with parents or even subletting from parents in these 55+ communities.
Id assume it has to be allowed for short periods of time, but more than a few weeks - IDK.
Id think there would be rules to stop that, any truth to this?

the ones i'm familiar with in northern california are dogged in enforcing rules that prevent under 55 aged residents. when my friend's mom needed live in help he could stay for a very limited period of time as a visitor but to continue he had to get something from his mom's doctor documenting her need for assistance and that he (friend) would be providing it. if she had gone into nursing care or something else at any point that would have extended over a certain period of time there was a clock ticking on when he would have had to vacate. since she went from her home to the hospital and quickly passed he was given the 30 day notice.

the only under age 55 that lived in my mom or my mil's 55+ leveled assisted living place (went from no assistance at all/totaly independant living up to just shy of needing nursing home care) were some obviously very disabled 30's/40's adults (at least one with downs syndrome-i never asked but i kind of wondered if maybe the young man's parents lived there or had lived there and worked out something where he had his own unit).

 

[Pinnochio]

Retired a few years now and still in the home we raised our kids - mostly because 95% of our family and extended family lives within 75 minutes of us. So the problem we have is if we decide to move far away, we'll be moving away from 95% of our family! And that's not what we want. Our current home isn't as important as being within reach of the family, and them within reach of us.

ditto!

 

[Traveling on cc points]

I'm like you, but on the "other side" if you will. I don't mind conversations with people who don't agree with me. I enjoy that, even a lively debate. And I prefer to live in states where my tax dollars go towards things that matter to me.

What's a relatively new phenomenon is people moving to areas where they are likely to *only* come in contact with like-minded individuals. And not because that's just a coincidence.....that's why they're moving to these places.

The Villages in Central Florida comes to mind. I'm not sure if it started out being a conservative Mecca, but it has become that. I suppose the good news for left-leaning individuals who moved there, saw the changes and want out....is that they wouldn't have a problem selling their home. I understand wanting to move to Florida if you're looking for lower taxes, warmer winters, and even an environment that aligns with your values, but I don't get wanting to *bathe* in that environment to the tune of political golf cart parades and the like. It just speaks to the deepening polarization I suppose.

Just wow. Don’t believe everything you see on the news. Just because there was 1 moron several years ago shouting nonsense doesn’t mean he speaks for everyone who lives there or that everyone is like him.
There have been numerous brawls at Disney world that have made the news, do you think that all people who go to Disney world wind up in a fight? Of coarse not.

Most major cities have political rally’s to show support for their candidate during election season. Who cares if it’s done in a park or in the form of a golf cart parade? They also do golf cart parades going though the neighborhoods collecting non Perishable food for the needy but I’m sure CNN didn’t cover that parade.

Yes. The villages definitely leans conservative but it is nothing like you describe. People from both sides of the aisle are welcome. I have linked a very non biased video from a popular YouTuber about the villages of you have any interest.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I didn't read all of the replies, but we already have our pre-retirement plans in place. If things go as planned, we'll be spending the winter at our home in South Florida for the weather & the summers at our home in the North Carolina mountains to be near family. We chose two modest homes over one large home.

Edited to correct typo.