"An Active New Way Of Life."

Discussion in 'Sun City General Discussions' started by BPearson, Mar 22, 2020.

  1. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    The signs posted around Phoenix stated it, the entry at Grand and 107th shouted it, and virtually everyone touring the community felt it...Sun City living was going to be an entirely different concept in how we lived out our later years. "An active new way of life."

    Before Sun City, retirement for most meant leaving work and doing the mundane. Catching up on chores around the house, an occasional golf game, friends over for bridge, baby sitting the grand kids and watching lots of television.

    Life was pretty much reduced to a more sedentary life style. If you think back to 1960, there were a handful of local golf courses, a YMCA somewhere in town, several service groups looking for membership and your local church always hoping to find volunteers.

    Almost every one of these meant driving at least some distance to be a part of what they were doing or to engage in what they were offering. In my mind, the concept of an active new way of life was driving force behind Sun Cities success. DEVCO consolidated everything to within a mile or two and then built a life style filled with opportunities.

    What they were selling didn't exist anywhere in the country. Nowhere! We were the first. The clubs, the golf, the lawn bowling, the archery, the shuffleboard, the swimming pools, the dancing and parties. It was an endless parade of fun unmatched across the USA. There's little wonder it exploded from the first day we opened.

    As the community grew, a wholly new meaning of staying active became critical to our success. Volunteering was ever present and opportunities were available on nearly every corner. There was way more to the Sun City way of life than just lazing or playing ones existence away. Residents found that giving back helped keep costs down and interests up.

    I wrote in another thread how from the outset, seniors buying here felt they were "back in the game." Retirees were almost always kicked to the curb and ignored by a younger working society. When they bought into a community of like-aged people, everyone was on equal footings. The community wasn't built on a social or economic status platform, but one that valued your willingness to help make it a better place to live.

    We were called early on "the great social experiment." In later years, we saw in John Meeker's journals that DEVCO intentionally built inexpensive homes next to the pricier ones. In age restricted communities these days, they segregate the expensive properties behind walls with gates and let the poorer folks live outside the gates. Class distinction is apparently important to some.

    We know Sun City home sales were spectacular in the first year or two. We know by 1964 home sales plummeted both in Sun City AZ but even worse in Sun City CA and Sun City FL. It got so bad Webb fired the three most important men behind Sun City (Tom Breen, Joe Ashton and L. C. Jacobson who was transferred to Las Vegas and quit about 6 months later).

    The bigger concern was Webb told John Meeker (sent to save the community) that if he didn't turn it around the age restricted community would end south of Grand Ave. Meeker quickly made massive changes. The one constant was the new active way of life was strengthened and enhanced. The real change came to building a true sense of community.

    I'll stop it here, but tomorrow you will see just how twisted my mind is...until then, stay safe.
     
  2. BPearson

    BPearson Well-Known Member

    We are a mere six days into this new normal. We all are finding way more unaccounted time on our hands than expected. We bought in Sun City because the options to stay busy were plentiful. The community was built on a platform of engagement and inclusion. From the first day i saw it, i knew it was where i wanted to live. As a workaholic, sitting doing nothing was a non-starter. I listed the organizations i was involved in the thread Establishing My Credentials; in part, it was to help folks get their arms around my background, but more importantly to fit into the discussion in this thread.

    Beyond the things i listed in my credentials, there are dozens more inconsequential things i have done. I knew walking away from work at 55 would leave a void. Sun City with all it offered was the perfect fit. Costs were an exceptional value for what we got. More importantly, the opportunities to stay busy were endless. Heck, i even played a lot of golf. I had to give it up. I could hit the ball a mile but never knew where it was going. I was terrified i would kill some little old lady and her dog walking the sidewalks in front of the homes that bordered the golf course.

    The point here is simple; i more than got my money's worth. I also gave back as good as i got. Sun City has always been a two-way street. Sadly, way too many must never have gotten that memo. It's why i shove the history at people. It's why i chuckle when i read crap from board members who act like they are the reason Sun City is as good as it is. Sorry, gang, there's been hundreds of thousands of residents who made it so. All of us are just another in a long line who shaped and built a remarkable place to live. It's why i get so angry/frustrated by those who rewrote documents and changed the nature of the community.

    I wear a shirt that says it all on the back: Sun City AZ. The Community That Changed A Nation. It is a powerful statement some might challenge. If you are one of those, let me dangle this thought in front of you: Think back over the last 6 days; that is essentially what life was before Sun City was built. Think about that for a minute. I know as i ponder these last 6 days, i hate what it has become. It's why to me Sun City was a game changer. Why it was the perfect place to retire and call home. I try and look for the good in every bad situation. This one, COVID19 and our lives being turned upside down should at the very least help you both appreciate and understand how and why Sun City became the incredible place it did.
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2020
  3. fixj

    fixj Active Member

    Watched this from 1600 miles away as my aunt and uncle moved to SC in 1967. They were both 55. Typical of their generation. I womdered about their moving to something as uncertain as a senior community in the AZ desert until we started learning about their new very active life. Never heard the term Rec Center before. Clubs for seniors? They took advantage of every activity possible. I have to believe that their move to SC contributed to my aunt living past 101. A 46 year retirement.
     

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