“It’s Always a Beautiful Day in the Villages”: Management Challenges for Large-Scale Retirement Communities

Abstract

Over the past few decades, there has been explosive growth in the luxury large-scale over 55 community sector. The state of Florida has been one of the largest recipients of the influx in residents to the state seeking such a retirement lifestyle. While many tout the benefits of living in such luxury settings, these communities are not immune to the particular social and managerial challenges that result from rapid growth. In this research, we focus on a specific luxury large-scale over 55 community in Florida, the Villages, to explore the various positive and negative aspects that accompany this lifestyle. Through semi-structured interviews with residents and observational netnography, we find several major challenges. These challenges surround the management of political signage, growth, and the equal application of community rules, to be at the center of residents’ critiques of the community. We offer implications and recommendations on how management can handle these challenges.