Is healthier and helps encourage vitality as you age. Also, there can be more cross community support, more varied activities, etc.

Just my thoughts. I’m sure there are other pros/cons to consider.

fantasy, a barely disguised death wish, like a Thomas Kincaid painting. I don’t know why anyone would want to banish the world, as though children are somehow the problem. For me the downside would be boredom and a feeling like I’d given up on life and am waiting to die.

The ones with lots of super duper amenities tend to attract what I call rah, rah folks. People who must fill every hour with constant activities. They tend to run around constantly. It was exhausting. And most residents are very conservative and/or MAGA. Talking to you The Villages. Another one we reluctantly left, had just a few amenities and people were more like us who minded their own business and people were friendly, but not obsessive. Fees can be high to maintain the facilities and can raise at the whim of the company or Board. Important on fixed incomes. And physical problems mean activities can't be used, but have to be paid for. I guess personality can determine if you'll be happy or not. Good luck. We now are in just a regular apartment community and happy

(no school taxes) that you are referring to and have lived here for 33 years, through all the phases of retirement. I feel as though I live in paradise.I cannot think of any downsides to living here at all. if you need to see young children, they are abundant in the stores just a short distance away. I do enjoy seeing them when I go to stores or when neighbors have grandchildren visiting.

If you have any specific questions, please, P. M. Me and I will try to answer.

no one could take away from us. Of course, we hadn't figured in that taxes are being raised every year, it seems... not to mention homeowners insurance is almost out of our reach already.

A 55 and over community sounds terrific to me, to be honest. If I want young ones, like someone said, I can always go to town or to the mall. But it would be nice to be in a community where there were others around my age... people going through the same changes and hardships I'm going through. New friends who have not only age-related issues in common, but finding friends with the same tastes of leisure (besides golf) which we could share. Living in my home with my dementia addled hubby and my grandson and his new wife but without my friends... who are all still either working or taking care of their own kids/parents/both... it gets pretty damned lonely.

I wouldn't want to live in one of the "locked in" communities... too much like nursing homes for me. But damn! It sure would be nice to find people my own age who like my "oldies" music, maybe likes to get into deep conversations about space, what comes after death via what's being discussed today; maybe even some who don't think the Tarot cards are the devil's handiwork! (LOL)

I don't see how we could move into one of these "assisted living" areas, tho. The prices around here are more than hubby and I both bring in via Social Security... by lots. And we're in a small town.

It could be that, as I age in the world as it is today, I see comfort and safety in a "tribal" community of like-minded people. That's kind of how I look at it... and it's not meant in a derogatory way. My greatest desire is to live in an age-appropriate singly owned apartments, that have a common room AND a common kitchen... and a common rec space in the middle of the square or rectangle of homes and/or apartments. Even more so if everyone there was liberal Christian, Wiccan, Shamanist, Buddhist, Hindu, and other light seeking spiritual paths.

But, I've always been weird....

We like it. Honestly, the major downside for me is that it's solidly suburban, pretty densely populated, and I'm not a city kind of guy. In the community, it's more relaxed feeling, and there are bunches of amenities and things to do. It's disconcerting to live with all these old people-- not kidding, I suffer constant cognitive dissonance recognizing that grandparents who look like my grandparents did were likely as not freaks at the same time I was!

It's a nice community, even if it's bigger than most towns I've lived in. The "narrow definition" only applies here to people who want to regard it that way-- and there are some for sure.

But otherwise it's just that the folks you're sharing the experience with are the dominant age group you've always lived with, most of your life. I'm a solid boomer-- when I was a kid there were armies of kids everywhere, and when I was middle aged, that's where the American mean age group was, too. We've ridden that wave all our lives.

When I was an EMT-B, I worked at a Post 55 community in Surprise, AZ. They had EMT-B 24/7 and nursing staff during the day. The residents in there had more degrees then a thermometer and they were 70/30 liberal/progressives to conservatives. The Activities Manager kept the residents quite busy. I would move there if I could afford to.