I received the following email:

We enjoyed your web pages about Sun City Center... We visited last February and really liked the town. We are considering moving there soon.

However, it is very confusing trying to figure out where to live. One side of town goes to the Sun City Center Club and the other to the Kings Point Club. We have not quite understood the membership. Why can one not join where they wish to join, regardless of location of home, or why not have the opportunity to belong to both? And what is the relationship of the Golf & Racquet Club?

I suppose we need someone to clear up the questions, the realtor did not seem to know...anything! Since you are a resident of SCC, perhaps you can set the record straight. We would so appreciate it. Thank you.

And here was my reply:

I hope the following will answer your questions, but if you want clarification, please write again...

First of all, the Golf & Racquet Club is a country club in the traditional sense that anyone can belong who pays the dues. Some people join so that they can play golf. Others join for the social aspects. They have a good restaurant there.

You refer to Sun City Center and Kings Point as being "clubs". That is a misnomer. Actually, Sun City Center and Kings Point are legally two different communities. Each has recorded boundaries. Each is organized under different state statutes. Each has separate facilities and management. We are entitled to use the facilities in our own community. One may use the facilities in the other community only as provided by their governing documents.

Sun City Center is more of a traditional community with larger lots, more open views, four large lakes, sidewalks and individual responsibility for maintaining the property. Kings Point is a gated community with a building density of about eight homes to the acre, although there are some free-standing condos. There are few sidewalks. The responsibility for yard maintenance and the exterior (including the roof) of homes is divided between Florida Design, the area associations and the homeowner depending on the rules for that particular section. The fees may range up to several hundred dollars a month.

Florida Design will happily build you a house in either community. In fact, they are setup to build, finance, decorate and provide closing services on new homes. If you plan to buy a new home from Florida Design, you should read my page about buying a new home here. Also, Florida Design has a rather poor reputation for quality control so you'll probably want to check out my page about their poor workmanship.

As for shared use of facilities, there are only a few areas where there is sharing. One is the Computer Club, where we tend to meet in Sun City Center but the classrooms are in Kings Point. As part of the Computer Club's help-line, I help people with Internet problems. I am happy to help the Kings Point people. And the help-line volunteers from Kings Point willingly help Sun City Center people. The ham radio clubs cooperate a lot - we go to each others meetings, dinners, picnics, etc. The bridge players also cooperate.

Sun City Center residents cannot use the Kings Point library but they can use ours. Sun City Center does not restrict who buys tickets to performances and trips. Kings Point gives first choice to their residents and then opens it to Sun City Center residents a week later if any seats are left. Sun City Center opened its pool to them when theirs was being repaired. Kings Point did not reciprocate was ours was out of commission. Up until last year, a joint phone book was published. Last year there was a quarrel over the sharing of profits, so each side published their own. Now the powers that be have gotten back together to publish just one phone book.

According to the last census, Kings Point has a higher percentage of Jewish folk while Sun City Center has a higher percentage of Protestant and Catholic folk. The majority of Sun City Center residents are Republican while the majority of residents in Kings Point are bleeding heart, liberal, leftwing, commie, son-of-a-bitch Democrats.

There are almost no blacks in either Sun City Center or Kings Point. I think altogether there are less than six couples in the entire population. This is not due to racism! I suspect that it is because not too many of the last generation of retiring blacks in the 1960's could afford to retire to Sun City Center, and now, retiring blacks who see only whites living here shy away, just as I would shy away from living in Harlem. (If the use of the words blacks and whites offends you, then please substitute the words Afro-Americans and Caucasians.)

Since Kings Point is a gated community, it is very safe. Sun City Center is also safe because it has a 4-car around-the-clock, every-day security patrol which makes it the safest community in the county. You can go for a walk at night or before the sun comes up in complete safety in either community - although the security folks will probably stop you to make sure you haven't wandered away from your home.

I have the feeling that people who move to Kings Point want to shed as many responsibilities for home care as they can. Because Sun City Center residents have sidewalks and yards, I think there is more of a neighborhood spirit here.

In Sun City Center, you can have pets as long as they don't run loose. In Kings Point, you can move in with a pet but when it dies, you can't get another one. (However, I understand that people will buy another cat or dog that looks the same, and no one is the wiser.)

Florida Design gives the Sun City Center Community Association part of the money from each house which is sold, to build facilities. In Kings Point, I think Florida Design decides on the amenities.

Much of the friction between Sun City Center and Kings Point is political and occurs at the higher levels, which means that we retired people have too much time on our hands and that many of us come from a managerial or engineering background where we had a reasonable amount of control. Here the problems stem from too many Chiefs, who know everything. After all, one of the things about being old is that you know everything about everything. I understand that this is a problem in all retirement communities! I try very hard to stay out of the community "pissing contests". If I feel my adrenalin rising, I know that I'm in a bad situation and get out. The nice thing about being retired is that if you don't like something, you don't have to participate.

The relationship between the residents of Sun City Center and Kings Point is very good. Since most of the people come from a similar (upper middle-class?) background, it's easy to find common interests.

Some of the above might sound somewhat negative, but given a choice to live anywhere else year round I would choose Sun City Center (or even Kings Point, for that matter) again. I love it here. I like the climate, the people, the peace and quiet, the vegetation, even the lizards!