Florida Shooters Network

Anyone familiar with active 55+ communities in Broward or Palm Beach County, other than all the timeworn jokes about Cemetery Village, etc? To be honest, when I lived in Pompano Beach back in the 1980s, I was guilty of making some of the same jokes myself. Times change, though.

I’m 79 years old, and I’ve lived in St. Augustine Beach for 26 years. Sadly, my wife of 22 years died a year ago after a long, debilitating illness, and now I find myself rattling around a large three-bedroom condo full of unsettling memories. I need to move to a smaller, more manageable place, 800 sq. ft. or so, one or two bedrooms. somewhere with plenty of activities to keep me busy, and good public transportation as I don’t see myself driving too much longer. I’ve checked out communities in Palm Beach County, such as High Point and Villages of Oriole, but I’m really at a loss. One place that I know a little about through friends who lived there is King’s Point in Tamarac. And another place that seems to come highly recommended is—wait for it, wait for it—Century Village East in Deerfield Beach. All constructive comments appreciated.

I’m in Golden Lakes Village which is one mile west of Century Village in West Palm Beach. Plenty going on here. Lots of great restaurants close by, plenty of Walmarts, & Publix grocery stores. Oh, plenty of gun stores too. 1/2 mile from the Turnpike, & a few miles from I-95. GARY.

Do you play golf? Some of these communities have decent courses. Covid has changed how amenities are utilized and social distancing has forced many to cancel social programs like talent shows or dance and aerobics classes. We have friends that bought a winter condo at Kings Point in Delray and it’s been a bit hectic with all the work to bring the unit to their living standards but their 2 bedroom condo is looking really nice now. Historically these type of communities had seen very steady prices due to the age restrictions and honestly a steady stream of available inventory, but the spike in real estate prices since Covid has even impacted these communities as what was a $50k condo ten years ago is more than double now.

In Broward, you also have huge communities like Wynmoor in Coconut Creek with every amenity and centrally located. If your budget is higher, many developers such as GL homes or K Hovnanian have built upscale single family communities. If you are thinking of transitioning to assisted living down the road, there are communities that have independent living with the capability to easily transition to assisted living and even hospice like John Knox Village in Broward or Acts at St. Andrews in Boca Raton.

there are tons of Active Adult communities that are rentals with transportation and all the amenities you ask, there are even services that take you around to visit/view them....you've heard of " A place for mom", there are services, similar to that may be even called "a place for dad", just google around, my ex wife used to know a few in central Fl, not sure about south FL.....a suggestion, get rid of the big things, scale down to a few personal items, pass along stuff to the kids, grand kids, minimal furniture, get rid or the sentimental stuff now it so much easier....

Very useful information for me, as well. I'm 75 could go either apartment until my 80s, if I live that long, or just go 55+ rental from the start. I don't play golf, so that opens more. My first decision is whether to file for divorce, or just spend the rest of my life fully understanding an old joke.

I have no dog in the game but the majority of my relatives live in these retirement communities and some are in their early 50's.

The retirement communities sound like fun as they have lots of activities. But during the China Virus, it was not so much fun, as everything was closed and nothing at all was going on. They even force everyone that sponsored card games in their houses to shutdown. One set of relatives has a constant battles with the neighborhood Nazi's and gets in many arguments with the nosy neighbors. And then I have another that just gets to watch their neighbors die off.

In their neighborhoods you can get a great deal on a house where the kids want to get rid of it fast after the last parent dies or goes into the nursing home. But the majority of the good deals will require a full gut of the houses and it is hard to get workers to do anything even with all the people flooding over the boarder! Occasionally a house comes up that was totally recently redone, but those go fast and are not such great deals.

I guess it depends on your personality. For me, I would rather live in a cave. Seems like the neighborhood Nazi's do whatever they want without any recourse. For example, they put in speed bumps which piss me off as my car scrapes on them when I come in to visit. So I drive on the sidewalk to get around them. Then they close entrances without notice and I have to drive miles to go to another entrance. Then the Gestapo changes the internet/TV provider which you pay for out of the monthly dues and they are $hit and rarely work and so you have no recourse as there are no other providers in the development. And someone's relative gets a lucrative kickback!

Good luck!

From 1975-1991 I was the contracted photographer for Cenvill Development which built Century Village and Wynmoor Village.

It was a a profitable gig and I enjoyed all the locations with most people very nice ad considering the extensive activity opportunities I get why they are so popular. They have many shows and I think I saw about every great Jewish comedian at CV over the years (And enjoyed working with Red Buttons and Richard Simmons)

If you no longer drive they have tram service and do shopping trips etc with many businesses close by to cater to residents.

Wynmoor is to Century Village what Lexus is to Toyota a higher end version of the same thing

It is not for everyone certainly not me but then I hate people. I am no racist. I hate everyone equally now eff off

Wulfmann wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 3:05 pm
It is not for everyone certainly not me but then I hate people. I am no racist. I hate everyone equally now eff off

I favor euthanasia for old people, which I define as anyone 2+ years older than me.

Flame Red wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 2:59 pm For example, they put in speed bumps which piss me off as my car scrapes on them when I come in to visit. So I drive on the sidewalk to get around them. Then they close entrances without notice and I have to drive miles to go to another entrance.
Good luck!

They installed big speed bumps here. I remember telling my wife they’re so big that fire rescue will have to slow to a crawl to get to people with problems. Sure enough, three weeks later they were gone on orders from the county. They were going to install smaller ones, but gave up on that idea. GARY.

REDinFL wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 1:14 pm My first decision is whether to file for divorce, or just spend the rest of my life fully understanding an old joke.

At this point it's probably "cheaper to keep her"......it's that way for me.