Has the Sun City Talk web site assisted you in purchasing your Sun City home?

Deleted.

 

LOL; I don't think the internet even existed when we bought...I need to check with Al Gore.

Very quickly though, let me say: In the summer of 1999 we bought our place; we were 51 at the time. We furnished it with odds and ends and by the fall, we had it on the market for rent. It went quickly (they always do in Sun City on short term rentals). It was amazing because we were able to write off trips and expenses to come to the rental property while not rented. Between the tax writes-offs and the money we took in rent, we covered all of the yearly expenses and then some.

Lord knows I've never been very good with money, but in this case, buying into Sun City and renting it before we could legally live here was one of the smartest things we ever did. Of course the downside was we couldn't come in the prime months January-April, but we knew it was just a matter of time before we would be here full-time.

Just something to consider eh?

 

I was using the internet in 1999 but it was a different place then. This site did not help me purchase but it did help me understand a few more of the inner workings of Sun City...good and bad.

 

First, let me say the contributors to this forum are great ambassadors for Sun City. The site has certainly helped familiarize us with the community and given us an appreciation of our future neighbors. For that we're very grateful. On the off chance others may find it interesting or useful, I thought I'd offer an overview of our experience looking for the right retirement community.

Our search for a retirement home began by deciding Arizona offered the most of what we're looking for. We like the climate and its proximity to attractions like national parks and California were appealing. Our research initially made us lean toward Prescott as our destination. The four season climate seemed more like what we were used to. Eventually we decided the Phoenix area was a better fit. We like the amenities and activities that a larger city offers and as we see travel being an important part of our retirement, the major airport was key.

Once we decided on Phoenix, we figured we'd be better off narrowing our focus to a specific area. I might add that we were initially looking at non-age specific housing. Particularly mid-century areas of Phoenix and Scottsdale. Then we decided a 55+ community sounded appealing. Once we came to that conclusion, we researched all the available options. After additional research we decided to narrow our focus to the west valley. Initially the communities that looked most appealing to us were Pebblecreek and Trilogy at Vistancia. Keep in mind that up to this point, the entire process was conducted from afar and over the Internet. Eventually, we added all the west valley 55+ communities to consideration. This included CantaMia, Westbrook Village, SC Festival, Sun City Grand, Sun City West (including Corte Bella) and Sun City. We even gave a quick look at Victory and Trilogy Wickenburg but quickly ruled them out due to newness.

Early on I had been studying up over on City-Data. Eventually, I began picking some brains on the forums there. I started seeing a lot of positive things about Sun City. What? My unfamiliarity and old stereotypes led me to believe Sun City was an aged (in more ways than one) community. Maybe this place was worth giving a look. As it turns out, I was directed to this site by a City-Data member. Perhaps it was one of you?

At this point, we had really begun to examine what we wanted from a retirement community. We wanted a place that offered its residents a wide variety of activities and had the facilities to accommodate them. We consider ourselves "regular folk" and were looking for a regular folk sort of place. In other words, we thought we would feel decidedly out of place in a country club atmosphere. Talk of Sun City was very helpful in us getting a feel for those that resided there. Our priorities seemed to be pointing us more and more toward Sun City and Sun City West.

By now, we had planned a trip to the area. We decided we would visit three communities with our realtor and do some freestyling the rest of the time. PebbleCreek and Vistancia were originally on the list but as the time grew near, we decided not to see homes at either. At this point we had also made reservations for the Sun City tour. As we were finalizing home showings just prior to our trip, we settled on Sun City, Sun City West and Corte Bella. Our first drive into Sun City almost sealed it. I cannot tell you how impressed we were. The community was so neat and tidy. It seemed to be laid out so well with a great variety of homes and home styles. It had condos and patio homes mixed in with detached. It had desert landscape and it had grass. It had towering cacti and palms and tall pine trees. The second day of our visit, we took the tour. That confirmed what we already knew: Sun City was our future home!

We continued with our trip, as planned. We saw homes in both SC West and Corte Bella. The latter confirming our feelings about country club living. We liked Sun City West. It's a nice community. It just wasn't Sun City. We drove around both Grand and Vistancia. Very nice. Not for us.

Now we have a closing scheduled in early August on a Sun City condo. I'll spare repetition, as recent threads have covered much of our house hunting experience. I can't say the way we went about this would work for others. I can't even say if it has worked for us! After all, we've yet to actually live in Sun City. I can say we're comfortable with how we got here. We're excited about spending our first winter in Sun City. And yes, TOSC has been an important part of the process. Thanks to you all.

 

This web site is invaluable to ANYONE considering a move to a 55+ community. As regular readers know I've spent a good deal of time investigating communities. We've been to AZ 3 times in the past year doing some leg work. I'll repeat myself here but I still believe Sun City may be the best value with the best amenities of any 55+ community IN THE NATION. There are other factors that weigh heavily on my final decision on a community but we still cannot ignore the lure of the benefits of this community.

This web site is a GREAT starting point for a prospective resident. Read the positives and the negatives. It allows a serious investigation prior to an actual visit.

 

Thanks for sharing your comments to M, R and C. It's really you guys who bring the value added component to TOSC. Those of us who live here have a built-in bias. We know it's a great place to live and want to believe it's the best. We all now that's a very subjective opinion and one I try and avoid. I think all age restricted communities have something truly appealing about them.

The key is to find the right fit for you; no small task unless you stay at one and buy-in without doing some comparisons. Like many of you, we found the original Sun City to be filled with people like us, pretty average folks who wanted both value and a community with values. After owning and then living here, we quickly came to understand our impression was our reality.

One other thing, a really pleasant surprise, was our history mattered. Being the first, being slightly different and being really successful was something that helped define us. Other community's don't have that...kind of like comparing Boston to Buffalo. It's one of those intangibles I talk about; one that gives us more options and more opportunities to stay active and engaged.

Thanks again for your comments gang and keep them coming; especially as you move here or any of the other wonderful choices out there.