Once you have decided to be a snowbird, have chosen to buy a home and have decided on a freestanding or condo home style, the next thing to consider is do you want a gated community.
To me, unless you have a caretaker or a friend who lives in the same building and even on the same floor, your home will be unoccupied and alone for at least part of the year. If you have someone who can keep an eye on your home every day, then you don't need to be in a gated community.
In our particular case, Al's brother does keep an eye on our house, which means they come over occasionally. This is all right since we are in a gated community. If we were just in a neighborhood, our home could be broken into and it might be weeks before anyone would know.
In our community of Oak Run, two of our three gates are manned 24 hours a day and the third gate closes at 10 p.m. You need an up to date barcode to get in without stopping to register. While I realize no place is completely safe, this does make me feel much safer when I am in my home and when I am away.
Do we pay for this feeling, certainly, it is part of our HOA fee which is very reasonable.
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