# Searching for all-inclusive senior community



## nanakate (Feb 4, 2013)

Hi, my name is Kate. I live in New Hampshire, which I love, from April to October, but the winters have taken their toll and I've decided to head south for the winter months and since my grandchildren live in Atlanta I would like to find a 55 + retirement community within no more than 6 or 7 hours from Atlanta and either closer to the ocean or a by lake. 

I have been searching for a community that is all inclusive - that is, has a small town center with a small supermarket, restaurants and entertainment etc. and also has all the rest of the normal recreational amenities - I was hoping to find prices in the area of $150,000-$200,000 for a single family residence. Since I am now single, I would also like activities available that would encourage my leaving the TV for more social interaction with other residents. 

As I re-read this, it does seem like I'm expecting a lot for what I am able to pay, but since I have no idea where to even start my search I thought maybe someone reading this site has found that elusive life somewhere in SC, NC, GA or FL  And if you have, are retirement communities really as enjoyable as all the hype they claim? 
Thanks K


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## TWHRider (Feb 5, 2013)

You might consider looking outside the Chattanooga, TN area.  C.O.L.A. is not as painful in TN as the other states you have mentioned.  

Chattanooga is about two hours north of Atlanta.  The real estate market is starting to come back in TN, but you might still be able to find something respectable, in a good area, for your budget.

While we do have a 9.75% sales tax, there is no state tax and license plates for your car are $24.  Some counties, however, have smog fees and "privilege tax" fees tacked onto that $24.  And if you come to TN, thanks to 911, a person now has to have birth certificate in-hand to get a TN driver's license; I don't know if that applies to other states, but it's something to be prepared for.

You might Google "retirement communities near Chattanooga, TN" and see what comes up.  It would be worth your time to find a few places, then drive down to check them and the surrounding areas out.

Gas in my area is averaging $3.29/gal but Kroger has it for $3.26 and there's three cents off that with the Kroger card.  Chattanooga would most likely be higher.  I am an hour NW of Chattanooga.

And welcome to the forum, please don't make this your last visit


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 5, 2013)

Hi Kate, welcome to the forum! :wave: I don't have any suggestions for you offhand, but here's a blog that may have some useful info, may be worth a looksee...http://www.55places.com/blog/c/budget-communities.  Good luck in your search!


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## FishWisher (Feb 6, 2013)

Just a heads up about senior (or any HOA or common interest development) communities:

We've lived in one for 20 years now, and it's a lovely, well managed senior (55 and over - it was just 45 when we moved in) gated community. Everyone gets along pretty well, but we elect a board and hire a management firm, and it all costs money. There are the landscape, the roads, street lights, clubhouse, etc. maintenance to pay for. It's all governed by the state of Kalifornistan, as is almost everything that touches our lives here. It's difficult to stay legal with the state involved, and that's why we hire a management company. It gets pretty expensive.

We pay $306 per month as our HOA fee. That covers all the maintenance mentioned above, plus water, garbage, and basic cable TV. Still, it's more than we'd pay if we were living in a small town in Oregon. I would not live here if it were up to me. But Wifey loves the place and isn't inclined to move. 

Worst of all, in my opinion, is the extra layer of government one chooses to add to his/her life when living in a HOA. We have a lot of rules that anyone in town would not have to contend with. RVs, parking, pets, garage doors, signs, garage sales, visitors, visitor parking, and on and on are covered by the community rules.

Perhaps a condo type of community would be less intrusive; I don't know. But if you choose a gated community of single family homes you will likely add a lot of rules to your life.

But after all is said and done, a gated community really is a quieter, safer place to live than many other places. That's why we're here.


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## R. Zimm (Feb 10, 2013)

"Worst of all, in my opinion, is the extra layer of government one chooses to add to his/her life when living in a HOA. We have a lot of rules that anyone in town would not have to contend with. RVs, parking, pets, garage doors, signs, garage sales, visitors, visitor parking, and on and on are covered by the community rules."

Yes! Down here is Florida you could well end up under the thumb of a bunch of "little dictators" who band together with others in the community and it is very tough if you don't agree. My HOA is good and with a new management company has kept things going during the last few years with lower income. Bank owned forclosures do not pay maintenance fees so it increases the cost to those still in their homes. At least now in Florida an HOA can forclose on a property to collect back fees. Ours has done that to a couple and then rented them out so everyone wins.


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## TWHRider (Feb 10, 2013)

^^^that is why I have always preferred to live in the sticks.  I don't like those kinds of Rooh-ells.  I once thought about apartment life until I found out they wouldn't let me change the oil on my truck in the parking lot.

I would rather live in a "Ricky and Lucy" travel trailer in the woods - lol lol  I realize not everybody feels that way -- actually most folks probably don't feel that way -- "it's all the fault of my childhood" -- being raised on an "waste-not-want-not" Old McDonald's dirt poor dairy farm, three dirt roads back off the state highway


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## R. Zimm (Feb 13, 2013)

Once you move in anywhere it is hard to move again soon (and expensive). My wife and I have discussed where wwe might live when we retire and it all boils down to where the majority of our grandkids live. We want to be close to both sets, or inbetween at a reasonable drive. Then we can start narrowing it down. I want to live close to one or more universities for the connection to younger folks (I'm also a musician) and would prefer some land over an apartment but we may get an apartment while looking for another place.


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## TWHRider (Feb 14, 2013)

R. Zimm said:


> Once you move in anywhere it is hard to move again soon (and expensive).



That's the Gospel Truth.  Moving for retirement needs to be done with much thought, including all the "what ifs" one might encounter.

While the road we live on is straight out of Deliverance, we are only 12 miles from town in either direction and both towns have hospitals.  12 miles might seem like 120 to many folks, or it may not be far enough from civilization for others.

Many things need to be considered (including current health matters and "forecasted" health matters, since the Retirement Move may very well be the last move


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## R. Zimm (Feb 17, 2013)

^^^ It really just depends on how fast you can drive! If you are going for groceries, you should take your time but if there is an emergency you can always meet the ambulance half way.


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## TWHRider (Feb 17, 2013)

R. Zimm said:


> ^^^ It really just depends on how fast you can drive! If you are going for groceries, you should take your time but if there is an emergency you can always meet the ambulance half way.



My husband had a massive heart attack one year ago, April 1st.  He was clear up on the ridge spraying weed killer.  How he got the 4-wheeler and the pull-behind tank down off that ridge and to the house is beyond me.

I am a good driver - I have trophies from the drag strip and never lost a street, light-to-light race, so I got him to the hospital before the ambulance could have ever gotten here.  They, in turn, life-flighted him to Vanderbilt in Nashville.  Talk about your heart sinking when you see the helicopter lift off the pad and you know that's your husband they are carrying off.  

He is fine now but yes, you're right, the household better know how to drive, when living this remote.  He could return the driving favor, if need be as he has raced NHRA his entire life, winning the 1993 Pomona Winter Nationals in Stock Eliminator.


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## Ozarkgal (Feb 17, 2013)

TWH..if your road is from Deliverance, mine is Thunder Road, a bootleggers dream road.  LOL..

We subscribed to a helicopter ambulance service and they will come and land in our pasture if the situation is life threatening.  The annual membership is very reasonable, about $100 a year I think for both of us. It may be a false sense of security, but the nearest best hospital is an hour drive.  There is a smaller hospital a few minutes closer, but they aren't equipped to handle major emergencies.  

TWH..that story is unbelievably scary.  What a lucky man Mr. TWH is to have survived that.


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## TWHRider (Feb 18, 2013)

Ozarkgal said:


> TWH..if your road is from Deliverance, mine is Thunder Road, a bootleggers dream road.  LOL..
> 
> We subscribed to a helicopter ambulance service and they will come and land in our pasture if the situation is life threatening.  The annual membership is very reasonable, about $100 a year I think for both of us. It may be a false sense of security, but the nearest best hospital is an hour drive.  There is a smaller hospital a few minutes closer, but they aren't equipped to handle major emergencies.
> 
> TWH..that story is unbelievably scary.  What a lucky man Mr. TWH is to have survived that.



I LOVE "Thunder Road" !!  It was always a toss-up of who I thought I wanted to grow up and marry;  Roy Rogers or Robert Mitchum.  Opposite ends of the spectrum, dontcha think? lollollol

Are you talking about "Air Evac"?  I had a membership with them for several years but, when Mr. TWH had his heart attack, we didn't honestly think he was having a heart attack.  We thought he was having a reaction to the weed killer because he wasn't wearing a mask.  That's mainly why I drove him but before we got to the main road, he said he thought it was a heart attack and not a chemical reaction.  My poor little Saturn Sport Coupe had to do things its little 4-cyl self had never done before.

The helicopter that carried him to Vanderbilt was a Vanderbilt helicopter.  An hour-plus ride in the car to Nashville from our hospital was 15 minutes in the helicopter.

Mr. TWH made me come home to lock up the workshop before driving up to Vanderbilt, which never happened.  I didn't even have my clothes changed and the heart doctor called to say "the surgery was a huge success".  Surgery?  what surgery?  He chuckled and said "oh we don't waste any time up here.  Your husband had 85% blockage on the left lower portion of his heart".  You don't often see/hear/visualize me as being speechless but that moment went straight to Number 1.    85% blockage was a jaw dropper because he's never smoked, never done drugs, doesn't drink whiskey but does like his beer, eats ten times better than me, and still weighs what his skinny self weighed in high school.  Go figure.


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