Delaware 55+ Communities vs. The Villages: Which One Actually Fits You?

If you have spent any time researching 55 plus communities, you have most certainly come in contact with The Villages, which is a massive active adult community in central Florida. It has over 150,000 residents, over 50 golf courses, and it has three town squares, all with live music every single night. It is by far the most famous active adult community in the entire country, and it did not get its reputation by accident. And you're probably wondering why I would be bringing up The Villages if I am a Delaware realtor. And the reason being is that this video is not to say Delaware is cheaper, that The Villages is a bad decision. This is really just to shed some light on the differences between The Villages in central Florida and active adult communities here in Delaware. Because through experience of working with clients, almost every single person that I work with normally brings up something about The Villages. So in this video, I want to show the differences between The Villages and our 55 plus communities here in Delaware. So let's start off with how big the communities are and also the cultural differences. All right, so we are going to start here. The Villages is not a community. It is a self-contained city. You literally do not need to leave The Villages for anything, not for grocery stores, not for medical, not for entertainment, not for bingo. I mean, anything you can name, you never need to leave The Villages because it is all inside of The Villages. The Villages also spans four counties. So that's how large it is. I mean, honestly, if I said it was 150,000 residents, that just shows how massive The Villages are. There is a golf cart network. There are thousands of clubs. You literally do not need to leave at all. Nothing. It is all right there for you. On the other hand, Delaware 55 plus communities do not work like that. We actually do not have a community like that at all. The most comparable to that would be traditions at Whitehall, where Whitehall is trying to bring that community feel and the medical without having to leave the community. They are actually trying to get their own zip code. But currently, we do not have anything that is as massive as The Villages, nor does it have all of the amenities that we just talked about. But communities like Independence, which is in Millsboro, is a 55 plus community. But it is really just for your house and your club and your clubhouse and outdoor pool, indoor pool, fitness center. But anything else outside of that, you are going to have to leave the community. So if you want to get to medical or restaurants or anything else like that, golf courses, that is where you're going to have to travel outside of the community. So this is something to consider when you're looking at The Villages or a 55 plus community in Delaware. If that is something that is very important to you that you don't have to leave that you could just take your golf cart to then The Villages may be the place for you. If you're interested in something that maybe you don't want all of those things. Maybe you do want to step out of that bubble and maybe go to a different restaurant or medical or have the ability to pick your own doctor or something like that. Then at that point, maybe a Delaware 55 plus community will work for what you're looking for. So there is one thing I do want to bring up the differences between Florida and Delaware. It is known and I've heard multiple clients tell me this, that Florida is swampland. So you could be passing a stormwater management pond or any kind of pond or river. And there is the possibility that you do see an alligator. There have been some that have said that they were nervous for their small dog or their smaller animals or children or living near that pond. And it is not uncommon to see an alligator walking across your backyard. So there's something to keep in mind. But that is not to say that Delaware doesn't have our own set of creatures. So Delaware does have ticks and mosquitoes. And I will say that ticks are a very, very high possibility that you will run into in Delaware. Some of them could be deer ticks. Some of them could be the Lone Star tick. There could be other ticks, but you definitely want to protect not only yourself, but you're also your animals as well. Also, because we do have wetlands in Delaware, you will see that we do have mosquitoes as well. Now, DENREC does try to take care of the mosquitoes in our wetlands. You can actually call DENREC and you can call them and they will come spray your property for mosquitoes. Now, depending on how wet it is that time of year and how much they fogged your property depends on how long that actually lasts. I will say that if you take it upon yourself to either call DENREC or get a mosquito guy to come out or do it yourself, it does cut down on the amount of mosquitoes that are on your property. But it's just something I like to bring up whether you are interested in living in mosquitoes and ticks or you are interested in living by alligators. It's really just a personal preference. Me personally, I would take the ticks and mosquitoes over alligators because I'm literally terrified of that. But anyway, let's get back to it. If you are trying to sort through all this information, I did make a Delaware versus Florida retirement guide that kind of breaks down all of the numbers as well as the environment and the climate and the culture. And that is all in a nice little guide for you. And that is down below in the description. So go ahead and grab that if you are interested. Next, let's move on to something that is almost always, always, always brought up. And that is the cost. This is the part that everyone assumes that they already know. And honestly, there are some surprises that you probably don't realize. So here's something that I found in my research that if you say Delaware is just cheaper is actually oversimplified as saying, well, Florida is cheaper because it has no income tax. Actually, if you look at the numbers, neither one of those statements survives because what actually moves your reoccurring cost isn't actually the state that you choose. It's the community structure that you choose. The villages runs on what's called a CDD bond structure. What that means is that the developer put in streets, they put in the water, street lights, they put in sewer. All of that is expensive. So what they do is the district borrows the money the same way that you would take out a loan to build a house. And every home that is part of that section gets handed a slice of that loan that needs to be paid off annually. And as the years pass, that loan starts to decrease until it is actually retired. Now, that does not mean that your house value decreases or anything like that. It just means that that bill disappears and it is paid off. Most of our 55 plus communities do not have this bond payment. The only 55 plus community in Delaware that has this bond payment is Heritage Shores, which when you are looking in Heritage Shores, which is located in Bridgeville, you will need to either look to see what the bond payment is and how much it is and just know that it goes up 2% annually. And then you have to figure out how many years are left on that bond. Or the agent may have already included that bond payment in the taxes that you're seeing on the MLS or on Zillow or realtor.com. So what you want to do is have your agent ask, does that include the bond payment? What is the bond payment? How many years are left in the bond payment? And then just know that it goes up 2% every single year. But if you were looking at any of the other 55 plus communities, say Independence, which is located in Millsboro, Delaware, you will see that you do not have that bond payment. You just have your mortgage payment. Or if you are not financing, you would have your property taxes and your HOA fee. Most of the time, your HOA fee is going to include your snow removal, sometimes your trash, your lawn care, and then full access to your amenities. And in this case, Independence, you have a beautiful clubhouse with an outdoor pool, indoor pool, fitness center, yoga studio, a bar area, a billiards area, and just a hangout lounge. And also a room where you could have parties, a wedding, I mean, banquets. There's so many different things you can do with this room. And while no, this does not compare to what the villages is offering. It's just a matter of the differences in cost. Because living in the villages, you also have that bond payment, your mortgage payment, your HOA fee, and your property taxes. And speaking of property taxes, because this just popped up in the news, it has been stated that Florida is thinking about reducing, if not getting rid of, property taxes in Florida. And that is on the ballot come this November. And while that may sound amazing on paper, especially for seniors that are on a fixed income, that does come with other stipulations. Because even though it's in the amendment, it does say that fire, police, and school is all protected. It also has language in the bill that states that the local authorities do have the ability to move money to what they see it needs to be prioritized. So while yes, it does have in the amendment that the fire, police, and school is protected, it doesn't seem as airtight when you have this other language in there that allows the local authorities to move the money where they see it needs to be prioritized. So this is something to take into consideration when thinking about the villages. Is stormwater management, any of the paving of the roads, any snow removal, things like that may not be taken care of as property taxes are reduced or go away completely. Because that money that was being spent there is no longer there and they would need to figure out where else they're getting that money from. But on the subject of taxes, because I know I have talked about this in my Delaware versus Florida retirement video, Florida does not have any state income tax. On the other hand, Delaware exempts $12,500 off of your retirement income and it goes up to $25,000 for a married couple. And how much that matters to you really depends on your retirement picture, whether you have an IRA, a pension, or a 401k, and how much you're actually withdrawing yearly depends on what is going to work for you and what will be beneficial for you depending on if you choose Florida or Delaware. And I really recommend that you sit down with either your financial advisor or your tax preparer to see what that actually looks like for you. And keep in mind, I did make that guide, Delaware versus Florida, so that I wrapped it all up and all of those numbers are in there. So if you want to grab that, once again, it is down below in the description. All right, so let's talk about a difference between the villages and 55 plus communities here in Delaware. One being the healthcare, which I know I mentioned earlier in this video. Florida has all of its healthcare built into this city in the villages. You do not have to search for a doctor. You do not have to go outside of the community to even go to a doctor. It is all right there. You can take your golf cart. On the other hand, Delaware 55 plus communities do not offer that. So you will need to find your own doctor. You will need to set up an appointment. You will need to drive to there. If you cannot drive, you will need to figure out transportation to get there. In some cases, they do offer a shuttle depending on the doctor's office for seniors, or you could take public transportation or you can have a friend drive you or a spouse drive you. Or if you can drive, you could drive yourself. So it really isn't which state is better for healthcare. It's really about a personal preference and what you are actually looking for. I do want to mention that Bloomberg law as of late August did report that the villages agreed to pay $542 million as part of a settlement for allegations tied to the medical advantage coding system and how it was put into the system. Now, this is not speculation. That is just something that has come up on the radar for the villages. So keep that in mind that that they did just have a to settle a lawsuit. On the other hand, in Delaware, I do recommend that if you are moving here and say you're purchasing new construction, I would get set up with your doctor beforehand. So this way you have a smooth transition and you can make that relationship with the doctor, maybe possibly before you move here, or even so when you first move into your house. So what does this all actually mean for you? What it means is, is that there are differences between the villages and also Delaware 55 plus communities. And just because I hear this very, very often, people are looking for something like the villages in Delaware. Unfortunately, we do not have anything like that. We do not have a self-contained city that has all of these different things available to you. If that is something that you were looking for, then possibly the villages may be the best option for you, but maybe you're just looking for the amenities and you want to be in a 55 plus community and you're okay with driving to doctor's offices or the grocery store or even restaurants, then Delaware 55 plus communities may be an option for you. Keep in mind that in the villages, you have that bond payment in Delaware. We don't really see that except for at heritage shores. So it really is a personal preference and what financially works for you. And I keep wanting to come back to that. It is really all about your financial picture and what makes sense for you. And not just right now, but five years from now, 10 years from thinking about the cultural differences. If you are someone that maybe you want all four seasons, Delaware may be the place for you. If you are someone that it does not care, if it is scorching hot, the villages may be the place for you because that is something that I keep hearing over and over again is the villages being in central Florida. It is very hot and humid and you can have a pop-up shower whenever. So really what it breaks down to is it is a personal preference for you and what you are looking for. I really hope this video helps explain the differences between the villages and Delaware 55 plus communities. Like I said, I have a full guide on Delaware versus Florida retirement, and that is down below in the description. If you are interested in retiring to Delaware, I would absolutely love the opportunity to help you. And my information is down below in the description. So go ahead and set up a calendar meeting with me or a phone call or send me an email or even a text. And I will be happy to respond and get you on my schedule. Once again, I really hope this video helped. If it did, be sure to give me a thumbs up, be sure to subscribe to the channel, and I will see you on next week's video. Hey, thank you so much for making it this far into the video. If you are interested in more Delaware retirement content, check out this video right here. And if you would love to tour Delaware 55 plus communities with me, check out this playlist right here. And don't forget, subscribe to my channel.