IS A 55-PLUS community for you? Do you want to spend your later years surrounded by folks just like yourself—mostly crotchety, demanding old people?
I’m joking, of course. But am I exaggerating?
My wife Connie and I made the move from our New Jersey single-family home to a nearby 55-plus community six years ago. Like the idea of a 55-plus community? Here are some factors to consider.
First, a 55-plus community requires defining. There are several types and sizes, from The Villages in Florida, covering 32 square miles with 145,000 oldsters and 230 pickleball courts, or mine with its nine three-story buildings on 15 acres and 108 condos total. A 55-plus community can include individual homes, townhouse apartments, condos or some combination of all three.
And don’t be fooled by the age designation. Fifty-five may be the minimum age but the typical resident is a lot older. The median age in The Villages is 74.6, meaning half the residents are older than that. My community is about the same. Only one of my golfing buddies is under age 80 and one duffer is 92.
This age thing brings up another feature of a 55-plus community: sirens and flashing lights. If you lump a lot of old folks in one place, you can expect health care emergencies on a regular basis and, yes, even deaths. It’s a constant reminder of our mortality and a bit depressing at times. In our building of 12 people, there are five widows, two of whom have lost their spouses since we bought our condo.
Will a 55-plus community save you money? Possibly, but don’t count on it. The total cost has many factors, including the size and design of the complex, how expenses are shared, and what maintenance is your responsibility. If you have an individual home, the outside care may be included, but not things like roof repairs. I, for one, overestimated how much we’d save by moving.
Read the full article and discussion on HumbleDollar.com
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
I enjoy making my own decisions and the privacy that owning a detached home allows.I hire out physically demanding jobs for outside upkeep. We have our own beautiful garden that my wife choses and enjoys for outside activity. My wife cooks but we also get take out meals of our choice. Individual choice kinda goes outside the window when you go into a retirement place. Not for us!
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Each to their own of course, but a 55+ community is not a strictly a retirement place. What individual choice are you referring to? We have all the privacy we need or want. We don’t even have any adjoining walls. I cook and grill. A 55+ community is not a CCRC.
Don’t know how old you are, but your view may change as you both get older.
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We have several “independent living”* condo or cottage type units with weekly housekeeping and daily meals supplied at center or delivered.
I tried to talk the wife into checking them out, but she insists on single family home or condo. We now have home in HOA that tends landscaping and has a pool.
I do most of the cooking (and carry out). If I pass first, I don’t think she can manage by herself, and told her so.** If she goes first, I’m outta here.
*That can transition to assisted living or memory care facilities.
**”Mind your own business, don’t try to run my life from the grave!”
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Where would you go?
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“Senior center”… “independent living”* condo or cottage type units with weekly housekeeping and daily meals supplied at center or delivered.
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visit friends at Dell Webb 55+ in AZ and SC–I jokingly say that every AM I walk out to check for body bags.
much prefer the variety of folks in my neighborhood–3 young children next door—young children across the street–I get to watch a variety of folks head to local schools each day sharing the sidewalks with young and old residents heading to subway in the AM and home in the PM–food stores, restaurants, retail, and banks all within walking–works for me
different strokes for different folks and I certainly know of the advantages of 55+ but I am resisting my wife’s desire–your place looks very nice and provides for your needs so for you and Connie you made a good decision.
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