Pros and Cons of living in Sun City Georgetown (Dallas: foreclosure, appliances)

[BijouBaby]

IC_Delight: to clarify - the residences' ages are diverse within the required resident age range of 55 and up. Meaning it isn't just mainly people over 70, but many nearer 55 as well. And the fondness of my memories of the neighborhood I grew up in has nothing to do with the ages of it's residents. It's more about the friendliness and cohesiveness of the people in general, which seemed to be more prevalent in society many years ago.

I can't comment on the rest of your post, which appears to be pointless rhetoric.

[Texaswriter716]

Originally Posted by Jimrob1

I keep hearing about this Georgetown in regard to the Austin area for retirees. What I would like to know is Austin itself a poor location for younger retirees due to what seems to be a young age population in that city. I posted this sometime ago, I did not even get one response, I felt it was a red flag the population was young and would not reply to my post. I have heard Austin compared to Portland on a number of things including the young age population. I don't want to live in Portland south, is Austin really that young and out of sync with other age groups. Georgetown sounds very nice, but I don't feel Im ready for that type of setting yet. I really want out of this climate next year, but my research on city data is really not getting me anywhere. Thanks.

Don't move to Sun City / Georgetown. It's overpriced and it will be hard to resell your home if you decide to move. It's also in the midst of heavy traffic going into Austin. Come to Kerrville, Texas, which is 100 miles west of Austin in the beautiful hill country. It's a town of 25,000, mostly retirees. There is a small university here and it's right on the Guadalupe River. We have a concert hall, a great senior center, churches, and a lot of activities. Also look at Fredericksburg, 20 miles from Kerrville, although housing is more expensive there.

[mhudson78641]

Originally Posted by Texaswriter716

Don't move to Sun City / Georgetown. It's overpriced and it will be hard to resell your home if you decide to move. It's also in the midst of heavy traffic going into Austin. Come to Kerrville, Texas, which is 100 miles west of Austin in the beautiful hill country. It's a town of 25,000, mostly retirees. There is a small university here and it's right on the Guadalupe River. We have a concert hall, a great senior center, churches, and a lot of activities. Also look at Fredericksburg, 20 miles from Kerrville, although housing is more expensive there.

What do you base your will be hard to sell later on?

[PittsburghAustin]

Originally Posted by mhudson78641

What do you base your will be hard to sell later on?

I wish I would have purchased one of these overpriced houses, I would be sitting on a nice profit. They are building a whole new section, guess the builder does not know what he is doing.

[caad]

Thanks for the forum and those telling me how the people in sun city like it there. Where are most of you from?
. We are from Indiana and moving that far is weighing on our decision as our grown up children are east. We love Texas though. And do many of you travel down to South Padre Island? Warmer there in winter maybe.

[JPS1]

Texas was the former home location of more Sun City residents than any other state. Many of them have come from Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, etc. California, as well as the upper mid-western states, i.e. Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc., are the former home locations of many people who have moved to Sun City.

It is approximately 400 miles from Sun City (Georgetown) to South Padre Island, which is located deep in the Rio Grande Valley. It takes approximately six hours to drive there from Sun City. A non-stop flight from Austin to Harlingen, Brownsville, or McAllen takes a tad over an hour. However, most of the flights require a stop or change of planes in Houston or DFW, so the most realistic time for a flight is roughly three hours.

On average it is 10 degrees warmer in the Rio Grande Valley during the winter months than it is in Georgetown. Because of the on-shore breeze, especially near the coast, the Valley temperatures are slightly cooler in the summer than is the case for Sun City.

[JPS1]

Originally Posted by Pinkribbonaustin

I have lived here 5 years and agree 99% with what BijouBaby said. I love it here and I love Georgetown and all the new growth and stores and restaurants that are coming here.

I can, however, say I have experienced some cliques, disgruntled men and women and people that don't have anything nice to say about anything.

Williamson County, which is where Georgetown and Sun City Texas are located, is one of the fastest growing areas of Texas. It has become a retirement mecca.

As noted previously Pulte is expanding Sun City Texas from 7,500 rooftops to more than 10,000 rooftops. It is a cash cow for the company.

Unfortunately, there are no announced plans to expand the supermarkets in Georgetown. HEB is the only realistic game in town. They have a lock on the grocery market, and they know it. Oh, one can drive roughly seven miles to buy groceries at Target and Walmart, but they are relatively restricted outlets.

If a resident has a legitimate, alternative proposal for managing the SCTX HOA (Community Association), i.e. eliminate the transfer fee and roll the revenue requirement into the HOA dues, she is frequently labelled as disgruntled resident as opposed to someone who may have a better way of doing things.

[JPS1]

Although most Texans can shop the deregulated electricity market in Texas for a contract that best meets their needs, most of the people in Georgetown don't have a choice. They must buy their electric energy from Georgetown Utility Systems. As a result they probably pay more for their electricity than many if not most of their fellow Texans.

The Georgetown City Council, which oversees GUS, does not allow any competition. No choice! One size fits all.

GUS’s retail electric energy rate is 9.4 cents per kWh. There is no discount for volume use. In addition, retail customers pay a fixed charge of $20 per month.

In 2015 the cost would have been 13.4 cents per kWh for 500 kWh. The cost would have been 11.4 cents per kWh for 1,000 kWh a month. Both figures include the allocation of the $20 per month demand or fixed charge.

An electric utility customer in Round Rock, Texas, which is next door to Georgetown, can shop for electric energy. She can select from more than 340 retail energy plans offered by numerous retailers.

The average rate for 500 kWh per month in Round Rock, on a 12 month fixed rate contract, from a service provider with a customer service score of 2, 3, or 4, is 9.2 cents per kWh. Electricity may cost as little as 6 cents per kWh on a 500 kWh, 12 month fixed rate contract, if the customer service scores are ignored.

The rates for spot market and longer contracts, as well as higher volume contracts, may be less than the average rate shown for the 500 kWh 12 month contract. However, if a customer terminates the contract before the end of the contract period, he will incur an early termination penalty, which would increase the allocated rate per kWh.

A Round Rock electric service customer who wants to go all green would have to pay approximately 12.8 cents per kWh for a 500 kWh 12 month contract. This is still less than what a GUS customer currently pays for 500 kWh.

[JPS1]

Originally Posted by JPS1

The dust created by the mining is not the biggest issue, although some residents have complained about it.

The trucks are a concern. Just yesterday one overturned at SH 195 and Shell Road. Most of the gravel was dumped onto the shoulder of the roadway. Mercifully, no one was hurt. If the truck had flipped over onto the adjoining lane, when it was occupied by a vehicle, it could have been a bad scene.

According to the Williamson County Sun, which is Georgetown's local paper, a Sun City resident was killed on February 17th at SH 195 and Shell Road. Two other people were hurt; one of them is still in the hospital.

As per the Georgetown Police Department, as quoted in the Sun, "The wreck happened after an 18-wheel gravel hauler ran a red light."

Anyone pulling onto SH 195 from Sun City Blvd, or another of the other SH 195 intersections, needs to look twice before entering the highway. They should not count on the motorists on SH 195 stopping for a light that is turning red or has turned red.

[JPS1]

Last month my full cost for electric energy purchased from Georgetown Utility Systems - the only game in town - was a mind boggling 24.3 cents per kWh. I am a low volume user, i.e. less than 200 kWh per month, so I get hit hard with the fixed or demand charge.

In most of Texas people can shop for electric energy in the deregulated energy market. Not in Georgetown, however, because it is owned by the city! And the last thing the public servants of the city want their constituents to have is choice. Which is understandable. Because if the city owned utility system had to compete against the investor owned electric utilities, it would go out of business within a month.