Do you want to live in a "seniors" only area?

I have lived in a 55+ community for 11 years now. At first, I felt it was a big adjustment but now I would not want to live anywhere else. We live in a house. The HOA is very reasonable and takes care of the lawn, internet, cable TV, common grounds and all amenities (pool, sport courts, social hall, etc...) it is pretty much like resort living. It is very quiet, gated and secure. People and animals are friendly and considerate. We help each other out when needed. Children and grandchildren come to visit and are welcome. I feel good here and could not readjust to living in a family oriented community.
 
There are so many interesting opinions and anecdotes in this thread. I thought I wanted to live in a 55+ community last time I moved because I was craving peace and quiet, but I couldn't afford the local ones. I spent 10 years in an apartment with my kids, and the unit above us turned over about 5 times during those 10 years. Every single tenant was very, very loud. At least two of them ended up getting evicted. So when I moved a couple of years ago to my current building, I was a quiet place was paramount. Fortunately, so far my building has been pretty quiet.
 

KSav said:
There are so many interesting opinions and anecdotes in this thread. I thought I wanted to live in a 55+ community last time I moved because I was craving peace and quiet, but I couldn't afford the local ones. I spent 10 years in an apartment with my kids, and the unit above us turned over about 5 times during those 10 years. Every single tenant was very, very loud. At least two of them ended up getting evicted. So when I moved a couple of years ago to my current building, I was a quiet place was paramount. Fortunately, so far my building has been pretty quiet.
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How did you deal with the noise? Did you wear earplugs and so on?
 
KSav said:
I spent 10 years in an apartment with my kids, and the unit above us turned over about 5 times during those 10 years. Every single tenant was very, very loud. At least two of them ended up getting evicted.
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I was just thinking about the old apartment. . . . At one time, the tenants above us were letting their (large) dog relieve itself on their deck, and they were shoveling the waste over the side, where it landed in a disgusting circle around our patio! I was furious. (Those were one of the tenants who got evicted.)

So a few years ago yes, I very much did want to get into a 55+ community. 😄 But again, my new building is much better, thank goodness!
 
We live quite happily in a senior mobile home park. We asked about rules at the time we were told dogs had to be 13 inches (at the shoulders). I went home and measured our cat, shook my finger at her and told her "it's a good thing you are not a dog". She was a big beautiful long haired calico, and a strictly indoor cat.

Our neighbors have grand-kids in during holidays and that's OK by us.
 
I would like to live in an area where there are no children, but older people have grandchildren so you can't get away from them.
 
I would rather not live in a 55+ community. I have 1 acre in NC, my Dad lives next door and has 9 acres. He is 95, he has made it so I can handle it when he passes. It's semi rural, 10 miles to store, have friends and have recently investigated the Senior Services Center which offers a variety of activities, all free. Never thought about that before, but at 72, I need some activity and meeting new friends.
 
Before I retired (the first time) I kept a travel trailer in a senior RV and mobile park. I lived a good distance from the campus and if too tired to drive home, I would spend some nights. Pros and cons for sure. The pros were - it was very quiet, well maintained, and low cost. Also, some of the residents were quite social and they gathered in the clubhouse for various activities and parties. They did have much fun. The cons were - people into each other’s business way too much. It was a little version of Peyton Place. The manager was a scolding mother type, who talked down to the residents like they were little children. A tiresome soap opera that never ended.

If I can avoid it, I don’t want to live in an age restricted community again. It’s not for me, although I know others do enjoy it.
 
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At one time, there was a mobile home park here that had a restriction on who could live there of "Working and Retired Adults Only." The residents were really happy with it--my co-worker's elderly parents lived there. And it sounds like something I'd be happy with too: no college kids (not any that are not working anyway & would therefore host loud parties every night), no little empty-nest kids getting into trouble, etc. I remember there was a 40-year-old guy that lived there whom the older residents just loved; he'd help the older men with their cars, etc. and the older ladies loved him because he was so polite and a breath of fresh air, etc.

But that park no longer has that, it's now just "55 and Older", nor are there any parks with the Working and Retired Adults only; too bad. If I had to guess, I bet it became a nuisance for the parks to try and enforce that: for instance, do the residents have to be working at least 40 hours a week? What about someone who works 35 hrs/week? What about someone whose hours get cut back from 40; do they have to move? It was probably a nightmare from the parks' standpoint.

Too bad, though: I think it sounds cool: enough older folks so they could relate to my age-related stuff but enough younger types who I could speak to about current affairs, movies, books. All of the people in my age group around here only seem to be interested in grandkids (only their own of course) and how much "better" life was in the good old days.
 
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This has never appealed to me. If I survive spouse, I'll either move near my son or Oak Lawn in Dallas which is a great, walkable, diverse neighborhood. I'm in the country (sort of) now and it pleases my spouse. Me, not so much. I prefer an urban environment.
 
If I had to do it all over again, I would have not bought my current home, but rather would have spent the extra $$’s to buy into an active 55+ community.
 
We live in the middle of the largest city in Canada, in Toronto. Our neighborhood is made up of one and 2 story homes, mostly owner occupied, and the average price of a house is about a million three hundred thousand dollars. It is 3 blocks from a major city street called Corso Italia ( also known as St Clair Avenue ), which has a 24 hour streetcar service and many local stores and services. Within 5 kilometers there are 5 supermarkets, and numerous business operations. People WALK here, or ride their bikes to get around. Toronto has more than nine thousand rental pedal bikes spotted around the city at 975 locations. Effective street night lighting, sidewalks and safe pedestrian crosswalks are the norm here.

On our 8 block long street, there are people from all over the world living here. Toronto has about 140 different language groups, and about 50 percent of the people who live here now were born in some other country, outside of Canada. Right across from our home is a city park, with a baseball diamond and a kid's wading pool, and next to that is a Catholic girl's high school. Our neighbors are Greek on one side and Russian on the other side. Across the street there are Chinese people, and next to them a family from India, then some Italians, and some Jamaicans. But guess what ? Everybody speaks English as the working language here.

Toronto is the big city, but in reality it is 125 villages, each with it's own area name ( we live in Dufferin/ Davenport ) and unique features and geography. Seen from the air, Toronto is a very green city because of the many mature hardwood trees on our streets and in our parks. I cannot imagine living in the sterile world of the 'seniors compound " that some have described here. JIMB
 
I have lived in a 55 plus apartment and did not like it. I found all my neighbours were either dead or nearly dead. I was the only person there that went on daily walks. The common room was never used.

Now I live in a mixed apartment complex and like it more. It's nice to see younger people going to work and sometimes I see a lady taking her kid to school.

I think it depends on who your neighbours are and the activity level of the residence. No one wants dead beat seniors living next to you and no one wants screaming "Party Hardy All Night" teenagers neither.
 
I wrote earlier that I will not live in a senior community again. To be fair, my grandfather lived in a senior high-rise in a major city for ten years, and loved it. Different strokes.

Later he moved to a VA home (he had some disabilities from WW1) and didn’t like it nearly as much. He passed there shortly before his 100th birthday.
 

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