Housing market: How about manufactured home communities?

Golf Vista Estates, a community just 30 miles outside of the Chicago metro area in the Village of Monee, features a 9-hole golf course for residents to use anytime. The luxurious, Dolce Vita located just east of Phoenix, AZ offers beautiful Superstition Mountain views from their resort style, beach entrance pool. Crystal Lake in Zephyrhills, FL features a revitalized shuffleboard court that regularly has residents heading outside to enjoy this favorite community activity. Bay Indies in Venice, FL has beautiful pickleball courts where the sport has become so popular, they host regular tournaments for residents. 

Many manufactured home communities also commonly host daily social events and leisure activities in their clubhouses and other facilities, as well as organized group outings. This ensures residents can avoid many of the negative effects that social isolation can have and that are facing many older adults today. For example, residents at Mid Florida Lakes in Leesburg, FL can exercise their creativity as they craft beautiful pieces of pottery in the community’s pottery studio complete with professional potters wheels and kiln. Monte Vista Resort in Mesa, AZ features a 5,000 square foot professional-grade woodshop for residents to craft beautiful pieces of woodwork.

These neighborhoods offer new residents an instant sense of community. In age-qualified communities, residents are typically in similar life stages (nearing or enjoying retirement) and share common interests which can create the perfect environment for establishing life-long friendships. For example, the spacious Colony Cove in Ellenton, FL and Pine Ridge at Crestwood in Manchester Township, NJ have community gardens where residents bond over tending to their fruit, vegetable and flower plantings. At Hacienda de Valencia, located in the heart of Mesa, AZ, three residents began a group to donate handmade items to the local hospitals for women going through breast cancer treatments. The group grew not only within the Hacienda de Valencia community, but surrounding communities joined their efforts and they have donated nearly 20,000 handmade items including drain aprons, chemo hats, lap throws, totes and eye masks.

Immersed in unique amenities, fun activities and planned events within their neighborhoods, residents of communities like these find it easy to stay active and social, reaping the substantial inherent health benefits. When shopping for your next home, remember to look beyond the obvious elements of size and cost, and consider whether the neighborhood will facilitate an active and social lifestyle – facilitate your good health – before making your purchase decision.

When it comes to social and active lifestyles, there are plenty of studies that show considerable health benefits. According to one study conducted by PLOS Medicine indicated a 50% increased likelihood of survival for participants with stronger social relationships. Additionally, studies have shown that older adults who practice regular physical activity over a two-year period were less likely to experience a major disability (Population Reference Bureau study). 

Living in a community or neighborhood that facilitates an active and social lifestyle can make a substantial impact on health and should be among the considerations factored into the homebuying decision.

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