Retama Village is a 55+ development in the Rio Grande valley in south Texas. We’ve never really looked into a “retirement” community before, but we’ve found this one to be well planned and laid out.
There are five types of “homes” within the community. The basic lot is for RVs and are 40′ wide and 80′ deep. They come standard with concrete driveways and full RV hookups (electric, water and sewer). There is a “coach house” on each lot. The original coach houses were 12X20 and framed in with washer/dryer rough in as well as bathroom fixture rough in. The newer upgraded coach houses are 12X24 and the extra four feet really make a difference. Some of the coach house owners kept the building unfinished for storage but many have finished off the inside to accommodate a full bathroom with W/D as well as tile floors and sheet rock. We’ve looked at a number of them and most are tastefully finished.
The second type of lot is referred to as a “deluxe coach house”. The coach house is 12X40 and a little larger lot. They look like a single wide mobile home to us and all are finished inside with a bedroom and kitchen. These lots also have full RV hookups.
The third type of property is called a “casita” lot. It has a 1 bedroom 1 bath finished in 720 square feet. We really liked the casita, but really don’t need that much space. The lot is larger to allow parking your RV and small tow vehicle as well as a personal car and also has full RV hookups.
The fourth type of home offered is called a “port home”. These are full homes with covered RV parking and full hookups. The floor plans offer roughly 800 square feet up to over 1500 square feet and have 45 feet of covered RV parking.
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| Just what Randy and Meg need! |
The fifth type of property is a standard home built on a larger lot. What we’ve heard from a number of residents is that the “normal progression” is to start with a standard RV lot with small coach house, then move into a casita home and finally move to a port home or standard home when they “hang up the keys”. That tells us that the residents must be really happy here….
The community has almost 200 lots and most have been developed. The master plan allows for another 300 or so lots to expand in the future. The amenities include a large community club house complete with kitchen facilities, library, game rooms, exercise facility and three pools. The community is gated with concrete walls surrounding the exterior and all landscaping is handled by the HOA.
As we write this it’s only 76 degrees outside and feels a little chilly….first clouds we’ve seen since we parked here. The weather has just been wonderful! For those that are curious about the border….we’ve seen US Border patrol helicopters cruising the river as well as Texas State Police helicopters. We see at least 3 helicopters a day flying over the area and a number of US Border Patrol agents stationed near the river. The full time residents we’ve talked to say that it really isn’t a concern. Most of the people trying to cross are teens and pre-teens. Nobody we’ve spoken to have had any issues with crime or violence. They say most of them are trying to get 10 to 20 miles inland so they can “blend in”. Apparently the Border Patrol has community meetings a couple of times a year to discuss what to do if any illegals are spotted.