Why You Might Want To Live In A Gated Community When You Retire Overseas
This is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. You'll want to be comfortable. That's a fundamental human desire and one that means something different to each of us.
It's one of the reasons we suggest you rent before you buy. We've seen people, in our own little town in Ecuador, for instance, rent an apartment or home sight unseen before their arrival. Just to have something...
While this approach can work out, it often doesn't. The photos don't reflect the truth of the matter. Sometimes the location isn't great ... there is a school next door where the children arrive at 7 a.m. and start the day with a rollicking song over the loud speaker ... and then there are playground sessions and on and on...
For some, being close to a school full of happy children would be a pleasant thing. To others, not so much.
But what if your new apartment is next to the local dump ... or the fire department where sirens can blast any time day or night? We think you get the drift.
Often, too, when you rent sight unseen or even once you've arrived and done your on-the-ground research, you may find yourself living in an apartment on the far side of town ... far, that is, from new friends and the activities you may want to take part in.
We've seen several newbies who have lived in three or four different locations before they found the spot that was right for them.
But what does this have to do with gated communities?
It's simply this: don't rule out anything when you move overseas.
We've met plenty a potential expat who says, "I will never live in a gated community. I want to live amongst the locals and experience local culture."
And that's an admirable approach. We've done it ourselves. But what if your neighbors have roosters ... or pigs that they butcher on occasion (yes, that can happen). Or what if your neighbor likes to blast his music until 4 a.m. on the weekends? If you can live with things like this, that's great. Because you'll have to live with it, especially if you are moving to Latin America where there are very few zoning laws.
Now, about those "gated" communities. "Gated" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing in Latin America as it might where you live now. In a large city, it might be a tall condo building with a security door or even a full-time security guard.
It might refer to what looks to be a regular neighborhood, but with a boom bar across the entry street that raises and lowers to allow residents in and out. (This is the case in Coronado, Panama ... the guard allows you in or out at his discretion ... we've never seen anyone denied entry.)
Or it could be a walled compound of any size. In the case of Coronado, this gated community is the size of a small city with restaurants, beach clubs and more within the gates.
Similarly, the Playacar community in Playa del Carmen, Mexico is an example of a large gated community with boundary areas but without gates at all. Anyone is free to drive through.
Of course, you'll find gated communities where the entrance is well secured ... where you have a locked entrance or a keypad or even guards who ask for identification of anyone who seeks entrance and, in some cases, will hold onto that ID until the visitor leaves.
So why would you want to live in one of these gated communities? Because within them, there are ... most often ... some types of regulation. You won't have to worry about someone opening a noisy woodworking shop next door. There may be rules that limit dogs or loud noise after a certain time at night. If a home is abandoned, you won't have to worry about squatters moving in.
There can be little traffic inside the gates, so you can walk the dog or ride a bike or let the kids go out to play without much worry.
There may be community water cisterns, electric transformers and backups to provide reliable utilities in case of an outage. Perhaps the community has its own high-speed Internet service.
There may be a community center with a pool and/or gym and community gardens where you are welcome to help out and/or harvest fresh produce any time you like. There will be employees who take care of all this ... keep the grounds tended, the swimming pool and community areas clean ... so you don't have to.
(Typically your monthly assessment for these fees, at least in Latin America, will be quite low. In Ecuador, ours are but $100 a month.)
Importantly, these communities will provide some semblance of security. If there is a guard on duty, they can help you make a call if you should need emergency medical assistance of some kind. This can be welcome assistance if you don't speak the local language.
One more point to make: In Latin America, you'll typically find many locals living in these gated communities -- especially in communities like Coronado, Panama, that's a popular beach resort destination for locals. So don't feel that if you live in one, you'll leave the local culture behind.
Locals, too, appreciate the services of these types of communities, especially if they use their property for a weekend getaway or vacation home. Because the biggest value of all is that in the right community you should be able to comfortably "lock and leave" -- lock the door and walk away should you want to head off and travel for a while.
So why wouldn't you want to live in a gated community? Well, they're not for everyone. Some people don't like rules at all ... until that neighbor blasts his radio at 3 a.m. Some want to be on a farm away from all of us. The good thing is that in this great big world, there is something for all of us.
Watch for our upcoming article: Why You Might NOT Want to Live in a Gated Community When You Retire Overseas.
In it, we'll explain some of the pitfalls of gated community living and offer some tips for how to do your due diligence and decide whether a certain community is...or isn't...for you.
Related Articles:
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