<p>morrismm–we have two lovely ones near us in VT. My parents lived in a wonderful one in Madison, WI. They are all over the place, in college towns, small towns and cities. I can imagine living in one because you can choose your level of independence.</p>
<p>Can you be more specific? Location or names?</p>
<p>Sun City Carolina Lakes…just outside of Charlotte NC
[Sun</a> City Carolina Lakes | Active Adult Community Ft. Mill/Indian Land NC | Del Webb homes](<a href=“http://www.delwebb.com/communities/sc/ft-mill-indian-land/sun-city-carolina-lakes/11993/index1.aspx]Sun”>http://www.delwebb.com/communities/sc/ft-mill-indian-land/sun-city-carolina-lakes/11993/index1.aspx)</p>
<p>I thought you wanted warmer places. Look at Shelburne Bay Living Center or Wake Robin in Shelburne, VT or Capitol Lakes in Madison, WI. At Capitol Lakes, music students from U W-Madison were always coming over to do practice recitals, they were near the capitol with a wonderful farmers’ market within walking distance. There’s a nice looking one in Oberlin, OH. We have co-housing communities in VT. These things are all over the place now.</p>
<p>My GM, aunt and uncle lived in a very nice retirement community in SE Ohio. It’s one of those places that offers different levels of support depending on the mental and physical condition of each resident. It was church-associated, and depended on service support from church members. A very caring place.</p>
<p>The reason I’m interested in what qualities a community chooses in its members is because as I get older there are fewer and fewer persons I’m interested in sharing a kitchen with.</p>
<p>^^Thanks. They sound “right on”. I do want warmer places, but would consider all. </p>
<p>Would also like critique of places ( retirement communities or just any communities) as far as retirement goes. Things to do, cost of living, etc.</p>
<p>We are both retired and waiting for D2 to graduate from HS. Hubby always talked about renting in the south for a couple of months during the winter, but now that it’s becoming more of a possibility, I’m thinking of the practical issues. We would have to have a neighbor keep an eye on the house, including coming inside regularly, to be sure everything is in order. We would have to hire someone to plow our driveway when it snows so it looks like someone is living here. We already look after a neighbor’s house while they are away on an extended vacation, and even though they have taken care of everything, there is always that stray advertisement someone leaves at their door, or an unexpected package that would be a glaring indication that no one was home. I’m also not sure how I feel about going to a new location for a few months, and not having any friends in the area. You have to weigh the better weather against the lack of social life. I vote for social life.</p>
<p>The other issue we have, is that my pension is not taxed, but would be if we would permanently move to another state. That eliminates all the dreaming about relocating to some other “fun” place.</p>
<p>It was more fun thinking about what we would do in retirement. Now that we have “arrived” the romantic notions are gone.</p>
<p>One thing I’ve thought of is that maybe some of our friends would consider seeing if we could agree on a retirement community we could all move to together.</p>
<p>Mom has a lot of her friends all in the same retirement community only a few miles from her home. It’s also very near the private country club they all belong to & a very nice shopping center. The food is said to be VERY good & the lobby looks very much like a high-end hotel. They have LOTS of activities & guest speakers & varying levels of care.</p>
<p>Morrismm, Mrs. Kluge and I visited one of these here California this year - Trilogy in Rio Vista. It is very activity-oriented; athletics, participatory performances and games/competitions of various sorts, kind of like being in summer camp year-round. If you like that I imagine it’s great, but I could see how it might be a bit claustrophobic for some. One thing I hadn’t thought of which was pointed out to me was that when the communities are built they’re built in phases, and each phase tends to be bought by people at the young end of the age continuum - 60’s instead of 80’s, say, who then age together in their local neighborhood. I’m not sure how that would play out 15-25 years down the line as people die and move away, but it’s something to think about. </p>
<p>The other thing about such places is that they tend to be somewhat cut off from the surrounding community - it’s almost like being on a cruise ship.</p>
<p>We live a few blocks from Capitol Lakes in downtown Madison. It’s a very nice looking facility from the outside. It takes up most of a square block and is exceptionally well located for activities. Just a few blocks from Capitol Square and all the restaurants and BartelL Theater. State St., which runs directly to the University, begins at the Square. Summer concerts on the Square, a large high quality art fair, local restaurants selling their food over Labor Day, and lots of politics on the Square if that interested you. The soon to be renovated central library is nearby.</p>
<p>tsdad–it’s even prettier inside. Really beautiful public spaces, the apartments are really nice–the ones in Main gate have lovely gas fireplaces, there are 3 levels of care–a nice little cafe for breakfast and lunch and a really nice dining room for dinner. No requirement to purchase any of the meals. My parents really liked it and the best thing was the location; not at all isolated.</p>
<p>We have friends who retired to Saddle Brooke, Tucson, AZ—a wonderful community with lots of activities for seniors, age 55 and up–tennis, golf, pools, club house, library, dog park, etc.
They love it there.</p>
<p>IF you have a significant amount of assets, [Kāhala</a> Nui: Home: Senior Living at its Best](<a href=“http://www.kahalanui.com/]Kāhala”>http://www.kahalanui.com/) is a very popular upscale retirement community. It looks very much like a hotel and has excellent food, from all we’ve heard. Your estate will get back 90% of the amount you pay for your unit and you also pay a monthly fee that includes some meals. Don’t know the details, but mom & dad’s friends who have decided to reside there mostly seem pretty content. Many still drive, golf, shop & are active.</p>
<p>An aunt who lived in a retirement community said it sometimes did get sad, as people she got to know there kept dying off. When someone stopped showing up for meals, it was tough knowing if it was because they died, were ill, or perhaps were traveling & didn’t mention it to the others. It was generally feared to be death or serious illness. She wanted to be SURE not to burden her loved ones, as she had cared for her mom & another relative before they died and didn’t want to burden her kids with that. Another relative went to a care home after she had a stroke. The other relatives try to live in their own homes as long as they possibly can.</p>
<p>This is a timely thread. I have often thought as a military wife that it would be nice if a bunch of our best friends though the years could buy in the same lake community. It won’t happen, but it would be nice.</p>
<p>
You could always move to a state with no income tax.</p>
<p>Delaware is supposed to be one of the best retirement friendly states.</p>
<p>HI CURRENTLY has no income tax on pensions, but of course, who knows what the future will bring?</p>
<p>This is interesting:</p>
<p>[State-by-State</a> Guide to Taxes on Retirees](<a href=“State-by-State Guide to Taxes on Retirees | Kiplinger”>State-by-State Guide to Taxes on Retirees | Kiplinger)</p>
<p>thanks for that link, notrichenough, but it just shot my plans to hell :(</p>