Selecting the right retirement community is an important decision that involves more than simply choosing a floor plan — it's about lifestyle.

Many of our articles lately have been focused on some of the finer details that are involved with moving to Florida, but let’s zoom out for a minute and take a wide-screen view of this life-changing decision.

 Once you decide that Florida is the right place for you to spend your retirement, you are going to want to start by looking at the entire state and then zoom in on the places that will best fit with your lifestyle expectations. 

Here are six critical things you will absolutely want to consider before you decide on moving forward with any one particular retirement community. 

Location  

Location is the name of the game in the real estate world. And that holds true here in Florida as well. 

You are first going to have to decide what part of Florida is right for you.  Obviously, we think Citrus County is the perfect place, but you should make sure that you agree.

 You will also want to assess the location of a community with respect to nearby towns and cities. Your dream retirement community could turn into a nightmare pretty quickly if you have to drive for over an hour every time you need groceries!

Lifestyle 

 One of the most common mistakes that people make in searching for a retirement community is trying to determine whether their lifestyle would fit into a particular community. Instead, you should be asking if the community promotes the type of lifestyle you are looking for! 

There are large and small communities out there. Some are very active. Some are more on the quiet side. Whichever type of lifestyle fits your goals is where you should be looking to retire. 

Amenities 

Just about every retirement community these days has some pretty impressive amenities. But another thing to consider is how well the amenities of a particular community fit with your lifestyle. 

Having a beautiful 18-hole golf course won’t be all that helpful if you aren’t a golfer. If you are a big-time golfer, that same course might not be enough.

You should focus on evaluating the amenities that you will actually be using and how well they fit your vision of retirement.

Square Footage 

You also don’t want to find the perfect community only to realize that the homes there are all either too big or too small for your needs. 

Understand exactly how much space you are going to need, how much you can afford, and where you are willing to be flexible on both counts. 

Neighbors 

This one is pretty simple. If you don’t like your potential neighbors after meeting them for a few minutes, how are you going to feel after living next to them for ten years? 

Be very careful about choosing a location where the general vibe of the people in the community fits with your lifestyle goals. 

Travel Time

Some might consider this a part of analyzing the location, but it is so important that it also gets its own section. 

If you are going to be traveling back home, inviting friends and family to come visit you, or planning to vacation regularly, you are going to want to have easy access to Interstates and airports. 

Figure out how long it will take you to travel to wherever you might be going and whether that is an acceptable distance.

These are all pretty obvious things to consider, but if you happen to commit to a home where one of them doesn’t fit your lifestyle, you could be in for a long retirement filled with regrets. 

Don’t let that happen to you!