Not sure where to post - Retirement Communities near WDW

After a couple of decades, I recently, 7 weeks ago, retired from Disney and I'm moving to the Atlanta area very soon. Why, because the kids and grand-kids have been to WDW so many times that it's become "been there, done that" and for the last few years I've traveled to the Atlanta area on a regular basis. I might as well just live there. We feel that it's more important to be near family than to WDW, but that could be just us.
 
My dad and I are going to make two first initial trips - June will be to the Deerfield Beach area to check out Century Village and the areas that he is familiar with. Then in August I will go with him when he visits his brother in Leesburg and we will check out the surrounding towns. Thanks everyone for giving me some ideas. The hope is that he can spend the colder months in Florida and the spring/summer/fall up near us. We will see!
 
We live in Solivita south of Disney part time for the past 8 years. It's closer to Disney than The Villages. We have friends who live in The Villages and visit them often and it's a nice place too.
 
DW and I drove up to The Villages from Orlando during our vacation two weeks ago to visit a friend who moved there. Now DW wants to move there too. Mainly because there were many people driving golf carts around the neighborhood and even to Walmart. She wants a golf cart.

And we saw a few golf cart dealerships in the area. Dozens or even hundreds of carts on the lot, just like a car dealership.
 


Love the Dis so felt best starting here.

I'm starting to help my dad figure out where to retire. Unfortunately my mom passed away about 2 years ago and he's in this alone. He'd be moving away from me/grandkids (northeast) and while heartbreaking, he needs warm weather and a community to keep him "going." My family (not him though!) loves all things Disney, so why not explore the WDW area with him, right?? He has a VERY limited budget.

I don't know where to start!


just a suggestion from a current retiree on something to start with-if your dad gets any kind of health insurance through a former employer CHECK THE OUT OF STATE RATES. i say this b/c most plans don't have a snowbird clause that allows you to be in one plan part of the year and another the other so unless he's willing/able to travel back and forth for medical care he may have to make a choice on where he has his coverage for all but emergency care and for some of us that can be a financial decision that can cost upwards of quadruple (our share) premiums. medicare doesn't cover everything so allot of retirees have either old employer/pensioner plans or private medicare supplement plans and it's important to see how those costs will be impacted if he snowbirds to another state (cause you don't want him forgoing care just b/c he's trying to hold off until his next scheduled trip 'home' b/c he did'nt plan on paying many hundreds more per month in premiums and just opted for the cheapest plan).
 
Look at Top of the World in Ocala. Deerfield is not the same place it was when I lived there from the 70s through 1996, the traffic is much worse and at at least one walmart I stopped at, the parking lot was so big it had benches and shade areas to rest at.
 
just a suggestion from a current retiree on something to start with-if your dad gets any kind of health insurance through a former employer CHECK THE OUT OF STATE RATES. i say this b/c most plans don't have a snowbird clause that allows you to be in one plan part of the year and another the other so unless he's willing/able to travel back and forth for medical care he may have to make a choice on where he has his coverage for all but emergency care and for some of us that can be a financial decision that can cost upwards of quadruple (our share) premiums. medicare doesn't cover everything so allot of retirees have either old employer/pensioner plans or private medicare supplement plans and it's important to see how those costs will be impacted if he snowbirds to another state (cause you don't want him forgoing care just b/c he's trying to hold off until his next scheduled trip 'home' b/c he did'nt plan on paying many hundreds more per month in premiums and just opted for the cheapest plan).
Wow. Something I am not even aware of. We definitely need to learn a lot!!!!
 


DW and I drove up to The Villages from Orlando during our vacation two weeks ago to visit a friend who moved there. Now DW wants to move there too. Mainly because there were many people driving golf carts around the neighborhood and even to Walmart. She wants a golf cart.

And we saw a few golf cart dealerships in the area. Dozens or even hundreds of carts on the lot, just like a car dealership.
Sounds like Peachtree City, GA
 
My dad moved to Florida last year at 82 years old and alone. To say that I was taken aback is an understatement and another story for another day. @Christine, he went to Florida for vacation to look at The Villages as he had heard so much about it. He was shocked at how large The Villages is, and still building. He loved the area and started looking at homes. While he nearly bought in The Villages, he chose a 55+ community in Summerfield, 2 miles from The Villages (at least the Spanish Springs Town Square) He decided for the premium he’d pay in The Villages he wouldn’t utilize enough of what they offer. However, he does go to the Town Square for dinner. When we visit, we go there as well. We have had a lot of fun looking at all the golf carts and listening to some of the music.
 
My dad moved to Florida last year at 82 years old and alone. To say that I was taken aback is an understatement and another story for another day. @Christine, he went to Florida for vacation to look at The Villages as he had heard so much about it. He was shocked at how large The Villages is, and still building. He loved the area and started looking at homes. While he nearly bought in The Villages, he chose a 55+ community in Summerfield, 2 miles from The Villages (at least the Spanish Springs Town Square) He decided for the premium he’d pay in The Villages he wouldn’t utilize enough of what they offer. However, he does go to the Town Square for dinner. When we visit, we go there as well. We have had a lot of fun looking at all the golf carts and listening to some of the music.

So your dad is doing okay alone? I'm shocked my parents went. Didn't think they ever would. They are on their 3rd week there now and they seem to be enjoying it. The neighborhood "coordinator" stopped by to welcome them and invite them to one of the holiday parties next week so they'll be doing that. It will be interesting to see if they purchase a golf cart. During their trial stay they had one to use for 4 days and they liked it.
 
Each insurance plan may be different, so good to check into the specifics of the one you have. However, living part of the year in a different state does not change your legal residence (think of income tax filing, driver's license....etc.) Just being someplace else for part of the year (much like an extended vacation) doesn't mean you get a new driver's license and what you list as your legal residence on your federal tax forms also doesn't change.

If your permanent residence changes, you would apply for a new driver's license and have to turn in the other one. As far as I know, you can't have driver's licenses from multiple states.
 
Both of our sets of parents live in The Villages. My in laws moved there first in 2011 and my parents went to visit them in 2013 and bought a house in the 4 days that they were there. Both sets love it there. My parents are on the “younger” end of their neighborhood and my dad has become the neighborhood handy man for the older couples. I was worried about them at first because they aren’t very social but both have seemed to find their groups and made some good friends.
 
My dad is 72 and he recently got diagnosed with Parkinson's. Only time will tell how it will progress. I'm going to worry about him when he is away in the winter. I guess nothings a done deal until this all actually happens.
 
Each insurance plan may be different, so good to check into the specifics of the one you have. However, living part of the year in a different state does not change your legal residence (think of income tax filing, driver's license....etc.) Just being someplace else for part of the year (much like an extended vacation) doesn't mean you get a new driver's license and what you list as your legal residence on your federal tax forms also doesn't change.

If your permanent residence changes, you would apply for a new driver's license and have to turn in the other one. As far as I know, you can't have driver's licenses from multiple states.


good points-i would also look at what this means for auto insurance/car registration. different states/different insurance requirements and in some if you are 'visiting' over 30 days you have to meet their requirements.

it's good to look at the misc expenses as well-the 2nd cable/satellite, internet, utilities (have to keep them going if you're home or not)...doubling up on stuff impacts the budget. look at local taxes as well-the state next to us taxes groceries so someone moving there even part time would see their food budget go up.
 
Each insurance plan may be different, so good to check into the specifics of the one you have. However, living part of the year in a different state does not change your legal residence (think of income tax filing, driver's license....etc.) Just being someplace else for part of the year (much like an extended vacation) doesn't mean you get a new driver's license and what you list as your legal residence on your federal tax forms also doesn't change.

If your permanent residence changes, you would apply for a new driver's license and have to turn in the other one. As far as I know, you can't have driver's licenses from multiple states.
In/out of network providers and hospitals may be an issue though.
 
So your dad is doing okay alone? I'm shocked my parents went. Didn't think they ever would. They are on their 3rd week there now and they seem to be enjoying it. The neighborhood "coordinator" stopped by to welcome them and invite them to one of the holiday parties next week so they'll be doing that. It will be interesting to see if they purchase a golf cart. During their trial stay they had one to use for 4 days and they liked it.

He’s not doing bad alone. However, the last couple of weeks he’s had pain in his hip and doctoring, MRI, x-rays, ER. I hate that he is alone and I can’t easily check on him. I told him I would come down and got a firm NO, he is fine. Spoke to him today and he canceled his 22 day cruise he was taking starting on 12/18 due to the pain. At this point, he doesn’t think he could manage the trip to MCO, let alone the plane ride to San Juan. Other than that, he seems to be doing well. His neighbor has a golf cart and takes it to Walmart. However, hers isn’t the decked out ones like in The Villages. The Villages is an amazing community and for those that want to part take in the offerings, will never be bored.

My dad likes venturing out and exploring different areas. My parents only traveled to Florida a few times, so this is all new territory to explore.
 
After a couple of decades, I recently, 7 weeks ago, retired from Disney and I'm moving to the Atlanta area very soon. Why, because the kids and grand-kids have been to WDW so many times that it's become "been there, done that" and for the last few years I've traveled to the Atlanta area on a regular basis. I might as well just live there. We feel that it's more important to be near family than to WDW, but that could be just us.
I just recently talked to a lady that worked in Orlando. She was a para-legal for a lawyer for 42 years. Her boss was sending her on a cruise for her retirement. She needed some records to apply for a pass port. She told me she never ever went to any of the parks. When her kids were in school, she sent them to grandmas in Wisconsin all summer and her vacation was taking off 2 weeks to pick them up in August. She retired to Wisconsin because all her kids moved back to Wisconsin. So you are not the only one.
 
His grandchildren will only be able to visit a few weeks out of that 6 months, so he should choose based on what HE wants to do with his days. If he is into fishing, for instance, it makes no sense at all to live that far inland. Proximity to medical facilities is very important (will he use the VA health care system?), as is proximity of services if he has to give up driving -- you don't want him to be 15 miles from a supermarket. I recommend NOT trying to combine trips to see Dad with trips to WDW unless you sequence them; it's really never easy to venture too far away from LBV in the middle of a Disney trip.

My DS lives in Pinellas county, and there are a very large number of over-55 complexes there that cater to snowbirds, both in the cities and on the barrier islands. (I know this all too well because the most affordable places won't rent to younger residents, so he had a hard time finding a place he could afford.) Pinellas, in particular, has a very large number of 55+ complexes that keep costs quite low in the rental market, though downtown St. Pete is no longer the retirees' haven it once was -- downtown has gone hipster, and is very much the territory of the young these days.

I'd definitely recommend that your Dad try renting for a season before purchasing a home, wherever he decides to go. (Many older folks who are not into golf find that they really like beach-walking for exercise. That works if you are under 30 minutes from the shore, but not so much when you have to drive 90 minutes to get there.)

If he wishes to establish Florida residency for tax purposes, be aware that the requirements for that are strict and require establishment of multiple commercial relationships with Florida service providers, such as bank accounts, insurance policies and medical care arrangements. Consulting a Florida attorney about the process is highly recommended.
 
His grandchildren will only be able to visit a few weeks out of that 6 months, so he should choose based on what HE wants to do with his days. If he is into fishing, for instance, it makes no sense at all to live that far inland. Proximity to medical facilities is very important (will he use the VA health care system?), as is proximity of services if he has to give up driving -- you don't want him to be 15 miles from a supermarket. I recommend NOT trying to combine trips to see Dad with trips to WDW unless you sequence them; it's really never easy to venture too far away from LBV in the middle of a Disney trip.

My DS lives in Pinellas county, and there are a very large number of over-55 complexes there that cater to snowbirds, both in the cities and on the barrier islands. (I know this all too well because the most affordable places won't rent to younger residents, so he had a hard time finding a place he could afford.) Pinellas, in particular, has a very large number of 55+ complexes that keep costs quite low in the rental market, though downtown St. Pete is no longer the retirees' haven it once was -- downtown has gone hipster, and is very much the territory of the young these days.

I'd definitely recommend that your Dad try renting for a season before purchasing a home, wherever he decides to go. (Many older folks who are not into golf find that they really like beach-walking for exercise. That works if you are under 30 minutes from the shore, but not so much when you have to drive 90 minutes to get there.)

If he wishes to establish Florida residency for tax purposes, be aware that the requirements for that are strict and require establishment of multiple commercial relationships with Florida service providers, such as bank accounts, insurance policies and medical care arrangements. Consulting a Florida attorney about the process is highly recommended.
Thank you for all of this helpful information. I definitely picked the right board to post this question on - everyone has added great comments. I have a brother as well with a new 5 month old baby and he lives all the way in California (15 minutes from Disney!). So my dad will also be splitting his spring/summer months visiting him as well. He thinks (at least for now) he will do a mix of staying at our houses and renting Air BnBs (or something similar). This is all talk, but he had a looooong conversation with his friend who is retired and has dealt with a lot of this already and he's going to be guiding him along the way as well. My dad likes the beach - I have a strong feeling central Florida will not be his choice. He is also a creature of habit and if I were a betting gal, SE florida will be his decision.
 
I wish your dad the best. Hope that he can enjoy some winter warmth down south for the coldest months. I, personally, could not take severe winter cold, snow, ice, being a southern person.

We have had some very personal dealings with Parkinsons, and it could impact his traveling alone, even being alone - just something for y'all to consider. :hug:
 

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