50 Best Active Adult Communities for 2010
Category: Active adult communities
July 20, 2010 — There was one very big surprise on the annual list of the best active adult and 55+ communities which was just published by Topretirements.com. It wasn’t that Arizona, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, California, or South Carolina had plenty of representation on the list. The big surprise was that tiny Delaware, the nation’s second smallest state in terms of geographical area, had 5 winners on the list (10% of the total)!
We speculate there are a couple of different reasons why Delaware was able to match its Sunbelt rivals with its active adult community popularity:
– Delaware has a reputation for being tax friendly with no state sales tax and lower than average property taxes
– According to the Tax Foundation, Delaware’s total tax burden is the 24th highest of all the states
– $12,500 of pension income is exempt from state income tax
– Close to big population centers, yet a much less crowded environment
– Access to the ocean. Towns in the Rehoboth Beach area are magnets for retirees who want to have a relaxing lifestyle
Go here to access the entire list of 50 most popular active adult communities for 2010 or the full release on the 2010 Active Adult Community Popularity Contest.
Comments on "50 Best Active Adult Communities for 2010"
Ron says:
'Most popular' may not be the best metric. Case in point. I recently visited Four Seasons Charlottesville. Nice location, excellent home designs, outstanding clubhouse. However, initial land investor went belly-up, and only about 120 out of the planned 600 homes have been built/sold. If project is not completed, present 120 homeowners may have to support a clubhouse built for 600. Fees could be enormous. As I understand, negotiations are ongoing to circumvent this.
There is no substitute for an independent objective analysis of these communities. I'm surprised Heritage Hunt, Gainesville, VA, is not on your list.