Planned Communities

[Chrisada]

So in our epic house search, we originally wanted an older all brick home on a bigger lot, spaced from neighbors. But it seems like these neighborhoods are not as family oriented and usually don't have small kids. Our boys currently play with friends several hours each day within our n'hood. It's very important that they can do this when we move... so I'm now leaning more towards the cookie cutter house where the homes are new and closer together and there is a swimming pool and greenway. But with this comes an HOA and all that crap. So anyone in planned communities and love it?


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[SoonerTexan]

I spent my high school years in one and it was really nice.

[Auspicious]

I could have written your post, Chrisada. We live in a planned community now. I'm not sure I'd phrase it that I love it, but I'm pretty comfortable with the tradeoffs involved for this stage of our lives, which I think you already explained well in your own post. If you'd told me five years ago I'd be living in a place like this, though . . . I understand the criticisms of this type of community (McMansion, blah blah blah), I just, like I said, am willing to make the tradeoffs.

Also, we rented here first, in a different "neighborhood" within the larger planned community, so we had an idea of what kind of neighbors it attracted.

So far none of the stuff restricted in our HOA is stuff we'd be interested in doing, anyway. Definitely if you think you'd be bumping up against the HOA all the time, I'd look for a different place. One of my husband's partners wanted outbuildings for his dirtbikes and ATVs and whatever else and he lives not too far from here on his own land where he can do all of that and is perfectly happy with it.

(Children destroying house, must go . . .)

[Chrisada]

The one thing we want is a nice in ground basketball hoop. Apparently this is not allowed in a lot of the newer HOA communities. The plan is to also move into our dream home once our seven year old reaches middle school. So this would be 4-5 year home for us.


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[Pollyanna]

The planned community we are moving to also includes Julie from The Love Boat . If it's a well planned and maintained community I think it's great. They might even have a basketball court in the neighborhood.

Keep us posted!!!

[Michele]

I live in one for the reasons you mentioned. It's super family oriented!!! The biggest downside for me is lack of single parents to commiserate with. The culture is very "keeping up with so - and - so" and can be very gossipy/nosy. But the nosiness actually seems safer for the kids. A stranger is noticed within minutes and reported to security/police.

My neighborhood has several basketball courts and even a skate park for boards and inlines. Three pools, a mini water park, deluxe gym with group classes, 3 playgrounds, etc.

[Chrisada]

So I don't think the house we're getting is in a complete planned community, but they do have a swimming pool, kiddie pool, neighborhood Easter egg hunt, backgammon club, and neighborhood garage sale. But no greenway or sidewalks....


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[ides]

I hate no sidewalks!!

[Chrisada]

Me too, but they're not that common in this area. I did let the sidewalks go, bec we're in a very quiet subdivision and on a cul de sac.


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[ides]

Me too, but they're not that common in this area. I did let the sidewalks go, bec we're in a very quiet subdivision and on a cul de sac.


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Sounds ok. We are mid city with some traffic and two busy streets 1.5 blocks away. There are only sidewalks in a few choice neighborhoods. Even some busy busy streets have none and nut jobs walk in the street. Drives me nuts.

[moonlight]

Sorry you are not getting everything, but it sounds very promising!!

[GrayMatterWife]

We looked at a planned community within walking distance of Emory. Man, those houses are AWESOME. Mega-mansion-y, spacious, great kitchens. Not tacky, but definitely big. Huge, finished walk-out basements, a neighborhood pool, three-car garages, wide sidewalks for jogging, planned green spaces. The whole nine yards.

We ended up moving elsewhere and we do not live in a planned community. Personally, I prefer our privacy here at the place we ended up buying, but every so often, I wonder if--for the kids--the planned community would have been better because it is so near to other kids.

But, that being said: we drove past the pool repeatedly…and no one was ever in it. EVER. In August. In Atlanta. ??? It was a beautiful pool that should have been crammed full of kids from dawn to dusk. Turns out, in Atlanta, where you swim is a BIG deal. (We now swim…at the Emory pool. It goes without saying, we are slumming it…ha!) The people who could afford to live in that community all belong to private country clubs, and apparently wouldn't be caught dead swimming anywhere else. Uh…um…oh, ok, then?!...

And we never, ever, EVER saw kids playing outside. Not in the backyards, not in the front. There just weren't outside. Not in the lawns, not riding bikes. It was like the community was a desert of human life. Really beautifully trimmed lawns that no one ever walked on.

It wasn't our deal. Our kids love to be outside and we wanted a larger piece of property with trees. Yeah, our front lawn is not formal and awesome, but there is tons of play space.

All this to say: I would go back to the community multiple times, to get a "feel" for it. Do you want lots of privacy and no kids in the streets playing stickball? DO you want no dogs running around, pooping up your yard? Do you want free-range children roaming the streets on bikes and skateboards? Does anyone actually use the pool? I'd spec it out, to see it is fits your needs.

I am definitely not opposed to planned communities. Where DS has his Math Olympics group…out in a way-out suburb of Suwannee, all the houses are planned. And the feel of the communities is different. DS has said in passing before, kind of wistfully, that he wishes that we could live somewhere like that, with all the kids and the big sidewalks--where he could "roam free" off the property a bit more. We can't move out to the burbs--Atlanta traffic is bad. But I see his point. There is a lot to be said for living in that kind of community, especially when your kids are younger.

[Chrisada]

Planned Communities

Did you see my house thread GMW? The house we chose is on there. Funny you bring up empty pools. Our new n'hood has a pool, but our realtor says "everyone" joins a country club to swim. Welcome to the south ya'll!!!


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[Chrisada]

Planned Communities

And the houses we looked at in the planned community were just not as nice in terms if quality materials as the one we selected. Siding (we really wanted all brick) NO privacy even in the bedroom unless the shades are closed, etc. you also couldn't even put a basketball hoop into the ground. So we picked a higher quality house with everything on our dream list and gave up the sidewalks and possibility of kids everywhere. DH was never sold on planned communities. He really likes his privacy.


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[GrayMatterWife]

He really likes his privacy.

Congrats on your new place!! What a happy occasion for you guys!

And I am with your husband on that…I LOVE MY PRIVATE HOUSE. I can walk around stark naked in my bedroom and NO ONE can see in. Of course, I don't do that…because I get cold really easily, but theoretically, I could be running a nudist colony!