55Places.com announced the top 10 active adult retirement communities in Arizona for 2009. Communities were evaluated based on location, amenities, lifestyle, homes and value. The results were compiled after an extensive two-month review. The information was gathered via community tours and interviews with homeowners, potential buyers and local real estate agents.
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Interesting ratings for the 10 best retirement communities in Arizona Bill. Sometimes i think the “glitz” of newer communities dwarfs what matters most in finding a retirement community that is comfortable and affordable.
I noted you gave Sun City West a nod and overlooked the best value in the entire country. The original Sun City is unique; it was the day it opened and as we near the 50 year mark, it is still one of the best kept secrets in the country.
While the experts tout retirement as a thing of the past, Sun City is an option that most folks just don’t see. They think of retirement as something that is just too expensive to even consider. And as we look around at most of the communities named in the survey, one can quickly see why they feel that way.
Developers foot the bill as they sell off lots and subsidize amenities. Once they are gone, the shrill fact is, those left behind have to pay for them. Add on never ending property tax increases to monthly amenity fees and a pending retiree begins to wonder how or if they will ever be able to afford to escape the grind and find their place in the sun.
Sun City is just the opposite of the money pit found in newer developments. As an unincorporated community our property taxes are affordable and our monthly assessments are ridiculously low in relationship to what we have (7 rec centers, 8 golf courses and 120 chartered clubs). More importantly, we run ourselves. As a self-governance community, we have to commit to being a part of the process or the entire concept breaks down.
Home prices are at an all time low. No matter whether you buy a one bedroom one bath quad for $60,000 or a $500,000 single family home on one of our two lakes, you buy into the value and the values Del Webb built into the community. It is the best bargain in retirement living in the country.
No offense intended to your survey Bill, but i would love to see a side by side comparison of what you get for what you pay. In the end, nothing compares. If money is no object, clearly other communities are newer and nicer, but frankly, it’s like comparing an old comfortable pair of jeans to a tuxedo. I’ll take comfort every time.