Looking for a 55+ community and would like to talk with some folks with experience and recommendations.

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Glad you're here Stokercv....I'm sure you'll get some good feedback from our members 😊 Wish I could be of some help but
I'm on the eastcoast in Virginia....you can start a new topic by clicking on Forum, then clicking on Senior Retirement....best wishes.
 
Hi @stokercv welcome from London...:)


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We live in a condo apartment near the gulf coast of Florida. One thing that we have learned is that there are many varieties of 55+ communities.
Some are owned and others are rental. We bought ours for cash, but there is a monthly maintenance fee that covers exterior maintenance, water, sewer, garbage and rec centers/pools and street maintenance. The community has a population of approximately 9000.
 
I know one property management company you should avoid. Enterprise Community Partners. They go by other names like RHOME, Enterprise Residential. There main office is in Baltimore Maryland. Avoid living at any property these people manage. They are terrible.
 
I'm in a 55+ community, which I like a lot. Big variety of homes, including apartments, town houses, and bigger, stand-alone houses. No need to cope with stairs if you don't want to. I'm in an apartment, and even though I can walk stairs perfectly well, I like not having to do it.

Prices vary a lot, but the smaller condos are very affordable.

What I mostly like about living here is all the activities. Of course, that's in normal times, not now. There's always something to do, and someone to talk with.

But I am in Maryland, and it sounds like you want to remain in Idaho. Not sure how many retirement communities there are out there, but I'm sure there are some.
 
I'm in a 55+ community, which I like a lot. Big variety of homes, including apartments, town houses, and bigger, stand-alone houses. No need to cope with stairs if you don't want to. I'm in an apartment, and even though I can walk stairs perfectly well, I like not having to do it.

Prices vary a lot, but the smaller condos are very affordable.

What I mostly like about living here is all the activities. Of course, that's in normal times, not now. There's always something to do, and someone to talk with.

But I am in Maryland, and it sounds like you want to remain in Idaho. Not sure how many retirement communities there are out there, but I'm sure there are some.
what do you consider very affordable? just curious.:)
 
A really small studio apartment is under $100,000. Most apartments are under $300,000. Mine has two bedrooms and two full baths and would probably go for about $250,000 now. Not sure, but that's the ball park. It's about 1100 sq. ft.

The big, standalone homes, and the luxury penthouse apartments are in the neighborhood of $600,000 or so.

The condo fee is about $500 a month for my unit. That includes all upkeep of the building (and they keep it immaculate), security, landscaping, free cable TV, admission to many activities though most of the individual clubs require yearly fees of about $10, free gym, pool, tennis courts, computer room, library, etc. The golf course requires a separate membership. (I'm not a golfer.) No meals included, although we do have restaurants. There is free bus transport within our community, and for a short distance outside of it. Which is very nice for people who don't drive.
 
The 55+ retirement community here is $1600 a month for a studio apt. That's my entire monthly income.

I have a 1 bedroom apt for $500 a month. I'd rather stay put.
I agree, I live in an apartment and buy my own food. I hear that the price of the meals goes up each year until you have to move out. Otherwise the independentliving is great just the cost of the meals goes up until you can't afford it. I hear about that, haven't done it though.
 
I just got one of those ads from a local realtor telling how much various units have sold for within the last month. I have no intention of selling, but I think my ball park estimate two notes above this one was too low. They said units similar to mine have been selling in the mid $300K range. Just thought I ought to correct that, I don't want to mislead anyone.
 
I wish I could persuade my husband to downsize from this too big place (3 bedrm house on 1 acre) that's in a lonely neighborhood that most every1 is younger than us & still working so the place is a ghost town 40 hrs/wk and we're 4 miles away from a grocery store of any size or pharmacy so what in the world are we gonna do when we can't drive anymore. And sure, if you can afford it, you can hire more stuff (yard work, etc.) done which we've started doing. But then again, you hear so much about financial abuse of the elderly, sigh.

I would love to move into a nice little condo or apt.; there are some nice but inexpensive ones within walking distance of groc. stores, pharmacies, the library (my favorite place), etc. But Hubby says he's gonna have to be carried out of here feet first. We've discussed/argued about it for about 10 years and I've finally given up. It worries me all the time, espec. since I think our driving days won't last much longer and we never had kids who might be able to help. But he's determined to stay here and I'm sympathetic as to why: not only is this house the nicest place he's ever lived, it's the *only* nice place he's ever lived; he grew up very poor, they lived in their car sometimes (in a place where it gets up over 100 in the summer! And his poor mom was pregnant!). It's a constant worry to me but I don't know what else I can do; we've discussed it 'till we're blue in the face but he's not moving. Period.

One thing I've discovered: I'm a member of a really large club; I keep talking to & hearing about more & more women in my age group who are in the same position. I told a middle-aged gal on a caretakers site who was venting about having to run back & forth to take care of both her and her hubby's parents and why oh why didn't they downsize out of their great big, now-unmanagable houses; I told her that I could really sympathize--I was about the only caretaker for 5 elderly parents altogether over a 10-year period--but that it was possible that at least 1 parent (usually the wife) on each side did want to downsize/see the need for downsizing years earlier but the spouse (usually the husband) wouldn't hear of it so that is a lot of the time the reason for what she's was going through.

Thanks for letting me vent; most of the women around here in my age group are divorced or widowed or of a fund. religious thing that the wife (even if she worked outside the home her whole adult life) must always do what the husband wants. So I mostly feel alone in this except for online. Thanks for listening.
 
I wish I could persuade my husband to downsize from this too big place (3 bedrm house on 1 acre) that's in a lonely neighborhood that most every1 is younger than us & still working so the place is a ghost town 40 hrs/wk and we're 4 miles away from a grocery store of any size or pharmacy so what in the world are we gonna do when we can't drive anymore. And sure, if you can afford it, you can hire more stuff (yard work, etc.) done which we've started doing. But then again, you hear so much about financial abuse of the elderly, sigh.

I would love to move into a nice little condo or apt.; there are some nice but inexpensive ones within walking distance of groc. stores, pharmacies, the library (my favorite place), etc. But Hubby says he's gonna have to be carried out of here feet first. We've discussed/argued about it for about 10 years and I've finally given up. It worries me all the time, espec. since I think our driving days won't last much longer and we never had kids who might be able to help. But he's determined to stay here and I'm sympathetic as to why: not only is this house the nicest place he's ever lived, it's the *only* nice place he's ever lived; he grew up very poor, they lived in their car sometimes (in a place where it gets up over 100 in the summer! And his poor mom was pregnant!). It's a constant worry to me but I don't know what else I can do; we've discussed it 'till we're blue in the face but he's not moving. Period.

One thing I've discovered: I'm a member of a really large club; I keep talking to & hearing about more & more women in my age group who are in the same position. I told a middle-aged gal on a caretakers site who was venting about having to run back & forth to take care of both her and her hubby's parents and why oh why didn't they downsize out of their great big, now-unmanagable houses; I told her that I could really sympathize--I was about the only caretaker for 5 elderly parents altogether over a 10-year period--but that it was possible that at least 1 parent (usually the wife) on each side did want to downsize/see the need for downsizing years earlier but the spouse (usually the husband) wouldn't hear of it so that is a lot of the time the reason for what she's was going through.

Thanks for letting me vent; most of the women around here in my age group are divorced or widowed or of a fund. religious thing that the wife (even if she worked outside the home her whole adult life) must always do what the husband wants. So I mostly feel alone in this except for online. Thanks for listening.
Oh I feel for you in your situation, I really wish there was something I could suggest that might help, but I can't!!
 

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