There’s a lot of reasons why so many people choose to retire to Florida each year. Florida has amazing warm weather year round with plenty to do outside, from spending the day at one of the country’s best beaches to playing golf at an award-winning Florida golf course to visiting one of its many internationally famous tourist destinations like Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Along with all this fun in the sun, Florida also has some of the most favorable retirement taxes in the country, meaning your retirement dollars are likely to go a long way if you live in Florida. But along with these amazing benefits, Florida is such an amazing place to retire because of all its top of the line active adult communities. Florida is something of a hub of active adult community building - not only does it have the highest number of active adult communities of any state in the country, it also has some of the country’s most popular active adult communities. While there’s certainly no shortage of amazing active adult communities in Florida, the below list details some of the most popular active adult communities in the state:

The Villages - The Villages, Florida  

Topping the list is not only the most popular active adult community in the state of Florida, but the most popular active adult community in the entire country: the Villages. Not only are the Villages the country’s most popular active adult community, they’re also one of the most popular places to live in the entire country across all forms of housing. Specifically, from 2010 to 2020 the Villages was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the entire country, growing from 93,000 people in 2010 to 130,000 in 2020. And it’s easy to see why the Villages is so popular, with over 50 golf courses, 2500 clubs and activities, and 3 town squares (just to mention a few of the amenities and social options) the Villages offers a truly unique level of amenities. Along with all of these amenities and activities, the Villages also has seemingly endless shopping and social opportunities, from the many downtown restaurants to The Villages’ famous Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center, which has attracted world-famous acts like the Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, and Jerry Lewis.

Latitude Margaritaville - Daytona Beach, Florida

Sticking with another nationally famous brand name is another of the country’s most popular active adult communities: Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach, Florida. Named for, and inspired by, the life and music of iconic musician Jimmy Buffett, Latitude Margaritaville embodies an easy and laid back retirement life. Much like the Villages, Latitude Margaritaville offers a vibrant town square full of world-class amenities like the community’s fitness center, its bar and grill, or its live musical venue, the Last Mango Theater. Not only does Latitude Margaritaville have everything you could need on-site, it is also right next door to a 200,000 square-foot shopping center that is easily accessible by golf-cart and makes it a breeze to go shopping for anything from groceries to sportswear. 

Solivita - Kissimmee, Florida

Located near downtown Orlando, Florida, Solivita in Kissimmee, Florida offers retirees a beautiful active adult community surrounded by Solivita’s distinctive bodies of water including lakes and streams. So even though Solivita is located away from the coast, residents still get to enjoy living by the water. Set on over 4,000 acres, Solivita has roughly 6,000 homes and features almost 150,000 square feet of space for recreational activities including Stonegate Golf Club at Solivita. Helping you take advantage of all of these amazing recreational opportunities is Solivita’s full time activity director, who will help ensure there’s never a boring moment at Solivita. 

On Top of the World - Ocala, Florida

Staying off the coast and heading north from Orlando we find one of Florida’s most popular cities for retirement - Ocala, Florida. Ocala, Florida, also known as the Horse Capital of the World, is a gorgeous retirement destination whose over 400 thoroughbred farms and training centers dot the area’s rolling green hills. Along with this natural beauty, Ocala is a fast growing retirement destination because of all the amazing active adult communities in the area (not to mention all the amazing active adult communities still being built). Leading the charge is On Top of the World, a community that is growing so fast that it is expected to have over 10,000 homes when it is completed. Keeping all of these residents active are On Top of the World’s amazing offering of amenities, including not only the classics like golf courses, fitness centers, pools, and restaurants, but also even an R/C airplane field and race car track. 

Stone Creek - Ocala, Florida

Sticking in Ocala we find another active adult community that is helping to drive the city’s popularity: Stone Creek. You really feel that you are in horse country at Stone Creek, as the community’s landscape mirrors that of the surrounding area with plenty of rolling hills, beautiful oak trees, and lakes. At the center of Stone Creek is the community’s state of the art, 60,000 square foot recreation complex. In this complex you’ll be able to take advantage of a wide range of activities geared towards your social life and your wellness, from cooking classes and game nights to relaxing or exercising in the community’s pool and spa. The surrounding area also offers plenty of opportunities for excitement, with the Gulf of Mexico just 30 miles away and Orlando, with its world famous destinations like Walt Disney World Resort or the Kennedy Space Center, just 80 miles away.

Palms at Serenoa - Clermont, Florida

Located within the beautiful Serenoa master planned community is the gated active adult community the Palms at Serenoa, featuring over 500 low maintenance, single-family homes. Located in Clermont, Florida, nicknamed the “Choice of Champions” due to its reputation for world-class athletic training facilities, the Palms at Serenoa sits in Florida’s Lake County, a prime tourist destination just west of Orlando featuring beautiful outdoor adventures like nearby Lake Louisa State Park. The Palms at Serenoa feature a host of top of the line amenities that make it a popular retirement choice, the most prominent of which is the community’s resort-style clubhouse, which features plenty of room for socializing or exercising.  

Pelican Preserve - Fort Myers, Florida

Moving back down South and over to the Gulf Coast is Pelican Preserve located in Fort Myers, Florida. With over 2,500 homes spread over the community’s 1,100 acres, Pelican Preserve offers plenty of activities and amenities for its residents. At the heart of all of this activity is Pelican Preserve’s 70,000 square foot clubhouse which features just about every amenity you could imagine - from a fitness center to a ceramics studio and even a 100-seat movie theater. In addition, not only does Pelican Preserve offer your traditional outdoor activities - like a pool and plenty of pickleball courts - it also has a beautiful 38-acre nature preserve. And for Golf fans, Pelican Preserve residents can also join the Pelican Preserve Golf Club, which features 27 amazing holes as well as its own luxury clubhouse.

Latitude Margaritaville - Watersound, Florida

You might be asking yourself - wait a second, didn’t they already cover Latitude Margaritaville? And while the answer is yes (Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona, Beach is definitely one of the state’s most popular active adult communities), its companion community in Watersound, Florida was just too popular to leave off this list. Like Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach, the Watersound location offers a laid-back, low maintenance lifestyle inspired by the music and lifestyle of Jimmy Buffet. This means plenty of golf cart rides to relax at the pool, or into town to get dinner and drinks with all the friends you’ll make at one of Margaritaville’s many amazing restaurants. 

Sun City Center - Sun City Center, Florida

Located along Florida’s Gulf Coast just south of Tampa is another of the state’s large and incredibly popular active adult communities: Sun City Center. A small town unto itself, Sun City Center features over 9,500 single family homes of varying designs, and offers everything you could ever need in your retirement right on site (and accessible by golf cart) from a barbershop to a hardware store to restaurants and hospitals. Along with having all the necessities right at your fingertips, life at Sun City Center also comes with plenty of activities at one of the community’s many amenities like its clubhouses and recreation centers, or its pools and spa. 

Kings Point - Sun City Center, Florida

Located near Sun City Center is another incredibly popular, but slightly smaller, community named Kings Point. Kings Point offers over 5,000 homes and an array of state of the art amenities, including 27 holes of golf, 6 pools, tennis courts, and over a hundred social groups and clubs to keep you entertained and engaged. Along with these amazing amenities, Kings Point also has a great location between the bustling city of Tampa and the relaxed, white sand beaches of Sarasota. 

Sunbound is the best way to pay for senior living. If you want to learn more about how Sunbound can help make senior living more affordable for residents and easier to manage for communities, email us at info@sunboundhomes.com or request a demo here. Sunbound is on a mission to make senior living more affordable for everyone.