The Best Active Adult Retirement Communities
We define "active adult communities" as housing developments restricted to and/or optimized for seniors and soon-to-retire Baby Boomers. Communities offering some level of healthcare or living assistance, often called "senior living communities," are not included. There are many other great websites that offer the specialized guidance seniors with care and assistance needs can rely on.
Our goal is to highlight some of the best active adult communities in the world. Active adult communities may or may not be age-restricted (usually 55+). The all-ages communities we'll highlight offer many important amenities for retirees—single floor living, exterior maintenance provided option, social activities and organizations, and ready access to transportation, medical care, shopping and pharmacies.The geographic areas from which we'll highlight communities are those that meet our warm climate criteria—palm trees and no snow, and our affordability criteria—median home prices of less than $250,000. In the USA, that includes small pockets of affordability in extreme southern and coastal California, north to San Francisco; Arizona from Phoenix southward; Texas from San Antonio southeastward, Louisiana delta, Hawaii, and most of Florida. Elsewhere, we'll highlight overseas retirement communities in Southeast Asia, northern Australia (where affordable), Oceania, central and northern South America, the Caribbean, and Mediterranean Europe.
No matter which communities we select, some of you will disagree, and others will think we left out the best. Rest assured, we are not compensated in any way for highlighting the communities on this page. We begin with a large community in Boca Raton.
Boca Del Mar - Boca Raton, FL
Boca Del Mar is a large master-planned residential community; in fact, it is an association of some 100 or so smaller communities. Amenities include country club, golf course, pools, exercise centers, dining, shops, and nightlife. I lived in one of the smallest of those communities many years ago and I never really thought of myself as a Boca Del Mar resident. The "official" entrance was a mile east of where I lived. The population is nearly 25,000; the size of a small city. Development began in 1971 and continued for decades. It is an all-ages community, but a large portion of residents are retirees. There are all types of housing, from million-dollar homes to small condos.What makes Boca Del Mar special? Location, stability, housing diversity, and location; yes, I mentioned location twice. This community is in a prime location in Boca Raton, one of the most affluent, clean, and safe cities in South Florida. Boca is about half way between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, and a short drive to all the best dining, entertainment, and culture that SOFL is famous for. Boca Del Mar lies along either side of Palmetto Park Road from the Florida Turnpike eastward to just west of the Palmetto Park exit of I-95.
There were 200 homes for sale recently (Nov 2011) and only 6 were foreclosures. Nonetheless, the housing collapse has turned this normally expensive community into bargain territory. Home prices were solidly in the $100s - $200s range, with the odd one-bedroom condo for less. There are a large number of rental opportunities there as well, with 1- and 2- bedrooms averaging $1000 or so. There are shopping centers within the community, and downtown Boca Raton and the beaches are a straight shot east on Palmetto Park Rd or Camino Real. Medical centers abound in South Florida, and you're never far from any product or service needed.
Of course there are negatives. Traffic, even in the off-season, is horrid. If you seek quiet, solitude, and a family-friendly neighborhood, this is not it. Overdevelopment is evident everywhere in South Florida and Boca is no exception. A great deal of what is known as West Boca (west of Powerline Road) has been developed only in the last 25 years and now is nearly half of the Boca population. East-west traffic has exploded over that time span, especially on Palmetto Park Road. More information at BocaDelMar.org
Sun City Center, FL (south Tampa Bay, Florida, with additional locations all over the Sunbelt states)
We highlight Sun City because it is one of the oldest, largest, and best known age-restricted retirement communities. You can read about Sun City Center on our blog; also read about Kings Point, an adjacent retirement community that is gated and offers more condominium homes. We visited there in 2009. Together they contain over 11,000 homes.
Since our visit, it appears that chaos is still occurring in the real estate market at Sun City Center, related to the national housing depression. There are nearly 500 homes for sale and prices range from $39K to $379K. This is a mature community in a great location, though, and offers a vast array of activities and organizations. Real estate supply will continue to be strong, as many of the residents are longtime residents in their 80s and 90s.
Watch this space for more top active retirement communities.
