55 plus Adult Active Communities in Florida Recommendations

Lynn CC

<font color=blue>DIS Veteran who is a veteran DISe
Joined
Aug 25, 1999
DH & I have decided to move to Florida & my DB & his wife are moving as well. We all want to find a 55+ community either on the Panhandle or West Coast. I would like it to be in Kissimmee at the Four Seasons K Hovanian, would be great to be so close to Disney. My brother wants to be near the Ocean though. He says it's nicer on the West side/Panhandle.
I just thought some of you may live or know someone who lives in Florida in a nice community that we could all go look at.
DH and I have an appointment this summer at 4 seasons (taking time out of our Disney trip to go look).
We plan to move in about a year to 1 1/2 years at most. Coming from The bay area in California.
I think we are going to love Florida! We are all going to retire together! Can't wait, I feel so blessed.
 
Unfortunately, I don't know anything about 4 seasons. We live in South Florida now. Based on this area, my suggestion is to not buy into one of the 55+ mobile home communities that charge a lot rent. I don't know if this is an issue in the area you're looking at, but we've met many people who can't give their practically new, double wide, mobile home away, because the lot rents are so high. I would never buy into one of those communities.

We moved to South Florida from Tampa for DH's job. If I was choosing my ideal place to live, I'd look at Clearwater & St. Petersburg. IMO, the beach & weather are perfect. The Gulf in that area is like a warm, clear lake. The beaches are wide with white sand. IMO, the weather is much better there than in the Panhandle. My niece lives in the Panhandle. We evacuated there to escape hurricane Irma last September & froze. Their weather can be much colder than what most people think of as warm, tropical, Florida weather. Obviously, the further south you go the warmer the weather is. The weather in the Clearwater/St. Pete area can be colder than the weather in South Florida, but it's still much nicer than in the Panhandle.

In the Clearwater/St. Pete area you aren't far from Disney & you have Tampa nearby, which has many things to offer. If you're into pro sports, Tampa has it covered, except for the NBA. That's in Orlando. Tampa also has Busch Gardens, Adventure Island, a great Aquarium & other museums. There's also good restaurants & a good nightlife, if that interests you

South Florida also has nice beaches with clear, ocean water, the Everglades & a large lake nearby. We live between Ft. Lauderdale & Miami. Our beach has Caribbean like water, unless there's a storm churning in the Atlantic. Between the two cities, we have pretty much anything you could want to do. Unfortunately, the further south you go the more expensive everything gets. The amount of crime also goes up. Between the two areas, I would choose the Tampa/Clearwater/St. Pete area, but I suppose that's personal preference.

I would be remiss to not mention The Villages in Central Florida. It's a huge retirement community, with constant activities for the residents. It doesn't interest me, because I'd rather be near the ocean. If the ocean doesn't interest you, you may want to check it out.
 
I'll be watching this thread. My parents are also looking into over-55 communities (homes, not mobile homes). They go back and forth about weather to move to Florida for this and be so far away from me in case something happens or buying over-55 where we are (but so much more $$$).

The Four Seasons neighborhoods by K. Hovanian are nice. I have one about 10 minutes from me in Virginia. My parents would prefer to be around Naples, Florida but it's pricey and no places are geared toward over 55.

They stumbled upon a place on the internet called the The Villages of Seloy in St. Augustine so they may make a trip there.
 
My aunt & uncle used to live in Highland Lakes in Palm Harbor FL (close to Clearwater/Tampa). It's about 90 minutes from Disney and maybe 20 minutes to the beach.
https://www.highlandlakeshoa.net/home.asp

I have another aunt & uncle who live in Timber Pines in Spring Hill, FL. It's on the west coast but more north.
http://www.timberpines.com/


I also came across this website https://www.after55.com/ It may help you identify and possibly narrow down communities based on location and amenities.
 


Where do you want to place your priority (proximity to WDW or ocean)? Being in central Florida, it is nice to have WDW/Universal/etc. very close. But, it has been said many, many times that choosing to move to Orlando for the theme parks usually is not a good idea. You would be coming to an area that is trying to keep up with a huge demand and is infrastructure challenged. Just look at Orlando International Airport and the expansion of accommodating 2 million additional visitors/year over the next 3+ years (projected). However, don't let that discourage you. I think you need to do at least 2-3 visits of any area when moving to Florida, preferably one of them in the dead heat of summer and at least 2 weeks. If you are not a fan of heat and high humidity, you may want to temper your expectations.

Destin (panhandle) is a great spot. You will be more prone to hurricane damage, but the water/beaches are wonderful.

HOA fees are the norm in most, if not all, of the 55+ communities. I know for a fact that they can be a huge financial burden as I have yet to see an HOA decrease or stay static.
 
We don't want mobile home, we are interested in NEW homes 2, bedroom in a community with lots to do. We are all 55 & very active.
 


Clearwater, Tampa, Naples area sound great... there doesn't seem to be anything 55 plus up by Georgia , Alabama line ? North
 
Where do you want to place your priority (proximity to WDW or ocean)? Being in central Florida, it is nice to have WDW/Universal/etc. very close. But, it has been said many, many times that choosing to move to Orlando for the theme parks usually is not a good idea. You would be coming to an area that is trying to keep up with a huge demand and is infrastructure challenged. Just look at Orlando International Airport and the expansion of accommodating 2 million additional visitors/year over the next 3+ years (projected). However, don't let that discourage you. I think you need to do at least 2-3 visits of any area when moving to Florida, preferably one of them in the dead heat of summer and at least 2 weeks. If you are not a fan of heat and high humidity, you may want to temper your expectations.

Destin (panhandle) is a great spot. You will be more prone to hurricane damage, but the water/beaches are wonderful.

HOA fees are the norm in most, if not all, of the 55+ communities. I know for a fact that they can be a huge financial burden as I have yet to see an HOA decrease or stay static.
 
My priority would be near Disney but I also like the Ocean, so we all decided the Ocean it is! We will be traveling in summer months, from about May through October., RV.
I should add we are looking for two homes preferably single family one for my brother & one for us. New construction & an upscale 55 +community. ( those are my brothers words, lol.
We would also consider a villa, so two homes attached, but not a condo complex.
There is so many of them it's overwhelming.
 
My aunt & uncle used to live in Highland Lakes in Palm Harbor FL (close to Clearwater/Tampa). It's about 90 minutes from Disney and maybe 20 minutes to the beach.
https://www.highlandlakeshoa.net/home.asp

I have another aunt & uncle who live in Timber Pines in Spring Hill, FL. It's on the west coast but more north.
http://www.timberpines.com/


I also came across this website https://www.after55.com/ It may help you identify and possibly narrow down communities based on location and amenities.
 
My priority would be near Disney but I also like the Ocean, so we all decided the Ocean it is! We will be traveling in summer months, from about May through October., RV.
I should add we are looking for two homes preferably single family one for my brother & one for us. New construction & an upscale 55 +community. ( those are my brothers words, lol.
We would also consider a villa, so two homes attached, but not a condo complex.
There is so many of them it's overwhelming.


Check out that one I posted above in St. Augustine. Close to beach and the homes are like villas in that they are joined at the garage.
 
I can't recommend any, because I don't know anyone who lives in them, but I do know that there are several communities of this sort in New Port Richey, in Pasco County.
 
I can't recommend any, because I don't know anyone who lives in them, but I do know that there are several communities of this sort in New Port Richey, in Pasco County.

Thank you
I'll check to see if I can find some there.
 
Jimmy Buffett is building a 55+ margaritaville active community by watersound in the panhandle.

I don’t love 55+ active communities, but I would be interested in that one :)
 
For every community w a big web presence there are tons without

My parents settled in Seminole, fl, about 15 minutes from Clearwater. Small park, each owner also owns a share of the land. The park cannot be sold out from under them. Inexpensive monthly fees. Places are never sold w a real estate agent, word of mouth sells do each place easily

Try to rent before you buy. Get a real feel for the place before you buy. Also visit during different seasons. Many places may have only a small percentage of year round residents vs snow birds
 
Jimmy Buffett is building a 55+ margaritaville active community by watersound in the panhandle.

I don’t love 55+ active communities, but I would be interested in that one :)

There are 2 others in Florida; one in Daytona, and another in Bradenton, called One Particular Harbor (though that one is apparently not limited to over-55). OPH is all high-rise condos, though, and not as Parrothead-intensive as the others.

DH & I are over 55, but we're not eligible to live in one of those communities even if we wanted to; we have a 10 yo.
 

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