Laguna Woods Village

former prisoner

Let me give a little background. Laguna Woods Village (originally known as Leisure world, but incorporated as city a few years ago to de-stigmatize the community.) is a gated senior community . On the surface it is a well maintained and visually attractive community. Most of the homes were built in the late 60s or 70s and from my experience were built rather cheaply. If you enter into a renovation on a unit you will find asbestos, aluminum wiring (a fire hazard) ancient electric radiant heating, haphazard plumbing where you can't turn off a water main to a unit without shutting everything off for the entire building. Needless to say renovations are expensive. However the main difficulty of living in Laguna woods is Golden Rain Foundation (or GRF) which is the HOA. (Apparently the they were never cued into what "Golden Rain" means). If you live at Laguna woods GRF runs your life and your pocketbook. Many of us refer to them as the "gestapo" as they rule the community with an iron fist. In general you are treated as if you are a child in school. Download GRFs schedule of fees to get an idea. In most communities you need a building permit to perform minor alterations, here you not only have that but you have to satisfy GRF who is involved with everything and charges very expensive fees. Want to add a peep hole you your front door. $50 inspection fee. Need to change your water heater, that will be $1500 and only approved contractors are allowed. But the real crime is that GRF has ruined property values. You see, GRF must approve any new owner.. and requires that owner to have a specific income and assets that are at least 3X the purchase price. So to buy a $500K home you need $1.5M in assets. This has collapsed the value of property because it limits the buyes. Anyway buy at your own risk and salute GRF.

Kerry

Laguna Woods Village is a very large community, with 20,000 residents. There are amenities and about 300 clubs, and there are all kinds of events taking place all the time. I have a 2-bedroom, 2-bath unit, and it's beautiful. I enjoy sitting on my porch with my dog looking out at my water fountain. My room has been fully upgraded, so it is beautiful. I have what you would consider an atrium with skylight, which is now my office. There are 16 gates to get into the community. I couldn't ask for a better place to live than where I am now. My neighbor is an equestrian and they have a stable here in the village so she has her horse there. They have the ability to take care of me if I have a stroke and need assistance. The building maintenance is fine, but I would give the ground maintenance a two because the creek is poorly maintained. Because of the size of the community, the staff is very helpful, but also really businesslike. They have a theater where they have plays and music, they have lawn bowling, and so on. The value for the money is very good, and the fee which helps pay for the grounds and facility maintenance is very reasonable. When you add the property taxes on top of that, I'm only paying $1,000 a month to live here. There are also a nine and 18 hole golf courses here as well.

lenaswede

Laguna Woods is not worse or better than any multiply living situation. It's the cheapest place to live in, in Orange County - but the HOA increases yearly - and they make 'improvements' that sometimes benefits the residents. I've found that it depends on what gate you live in so chose wisely and ask around. Lots of grouchy miserable people - so that's something to take in consideration especially if you have a dog. We are not retired yet, but they do have a lot of activities for the happy retirees that chose to particiapte. Again, ask around before you decide to purchase a place as there is a lot of fees involved with a purchase! A fee happy place!

Edith

Laguna Woods Village has independent living houses and there is also a tower for the assisted living. It's a beautiful place with plenty of activities. We have classes from the local college, orchestras come in, there are country western bands, string ensembles, square dancing, round dancing, ballroom dancing, tai chi, horseback riding, and bicycle classes -- there are about 200 clubs here. We have everything you could think of except for a bowling alley. We have a restaurant, three golf courses, and four swimming pools. We have social services where they do counseling, financial advising, and finding peace for people. There's no place like this anywhere else that has what they are offering. The plumbers, the gardeners, and all the staff are good to me. I do my own cooking and shopping.

mildred831746

I’m in Laguna Woods Village. It’s wonderful. You have your own house and your own car; you cook and clean. I live here just the way I would in an ordinary house. It’s a big community. There are several thousand people living here. My apartment is a little house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a front and back patio, and a nice little garden in the back that I take care of. There are about 5 swimming pools and 3 golf courses. There is a ton of tennis courts and lawn bowling. Whatever you can think of, that’s what they have.

Susan702128

I could be very happy at Laguna Woods Village. There are units of all different prices, and the activities that they offer are incredible. I would be interested particularly in art classes, and they just have so many classes. They seem to have great facilities and art labs -- which most places really don’t have. Their facilities are really incredible. They have aerobics classes several times a week. I just like it. It is huge, and there are a lot of people -- lot of people to meet and people of different interests. It just appeals to me, and I think I would like living there. It is really a little retirement town, and there is something for everybody. There are 2 golf courses, 5 swimming pools, 7 club houses, and a theater, which not only has outside groups brought in to do performances but they actually have drama groups that the residents can be involved in. They have riding stables where you can board your horse or rent a horse to ride. There is just sort of everything for anybody who is interested. If you are interested in seeing movies, there is a couple of different places where they have film noir in one place and musicals in another place a couple of times a week. There is a lot of stuff going on. All the places are offered for sale through real estate agents, so there are a lot of real estate agents that work in the area and handle the sales. There is a community center, and they handle a lot of stuff having to do with the community but not sales of property. So if somebody actually wants to go and see the places for sale, they have to connect with a real estate agent.

Wendy784315

Laguna Woods is beautiful. There are lots of trees, and it is a very nice community. It is all gated, and you feel really safe and secure here. The staff comes and takes care of things -- not anything really major -- but they are very pleasant people. It is a nice living experience here. There are so many activities that you can participate in. They have all kinds of entertainment and stuff, there are different clubhouse groups, and they provide entertainment in some of them such as movies and light entertainment. It is a nice place to live.

Carol580750

My cousin lives in Laguna Woods, and to me it’s an ideal, great place for people who are retired. There is a hospital a block away, and they’re about 10 miles away from the beach. My aunt and uncle had a large living room, a kitchen/dining space, a nice set up, and a reasonably sized bedroom. My uncle used one room as an office-type thing, but it had room for a sofa bed, so it could be used as a guest room, and I used it in on many occasions. It has two nice-sized bathrooms, and their car was in a carport with enough cupboard space. They had swimming pools, rooms for all kinds of hobbies, and gardens where people could grow vegetables. They have 9-hole and 18-hole golf courses, and it’s safe, so you could walk all over. They have buses which you can catch to go to grocery stores or malls. They have swimming pools, exercise rooms, crafts of all kinds, and painting classes. It’s really nice.

Janice388326

We are going to buy a home at Laguna Woods Village 55+ community. It is owned and operated by the residents, so any increases would be minimal. We’re still active. You buy your home, pay around $600 a month, and they take care of everything outside. It’s a gated community, and within half a mile there are three hospitals, assisted living places, memory care places, and shopping. There’s a free bus service that tours you around wherever you want to go. It meets our needs, and it’s perfect for us.

Lenora1

Laguna Woods is a gated community, so I feel very secure, and they also have a nice service. When I came home from the hospital, I didn't have my keys -- and they keep keys on hand just for emergencies -- and they came and opened the door for me, so that I could get into my home. Also, whenever I have a problem and I dial 911, I not only get the fire department and the ambulance service, but people from the security as well to let them into the house in case the door is locked. So the service is wonderful in that respect. And then, we also have services that take care of everything. They take care of the electrical and the plumbing, they mow the lawn, the streets are paved very frequently, and they do a nice job in trimming the trees. It is just a very well-cared for community. We have different size units. One area here is all cooperative, and that is where I live. There are four units here back to back in a square -- A, B, C, and D -- and next door to us is another group of four. They are all in groups of four in this particular area, and then we have carports that are close by. But in other areas they have apartment buildings where they have an elevator, and then they have the underground storage for their cars. Then, in another area for people that have lots of money, they have private houses with garages. So we have all different levels of housing here, depending on what you can afford. Mine has two bedrooms and one bath, but there are even smaller ones for just a single person with one bedroom and one bath, which is the smallest. And then, we have clubhouses all over. I am nearest to Clubhouse 3 and 1, and at Clubhouse 3, they have top live entertainment. We've had people coming in to give us entertainment, and it is just wonderful. You pay maybe $5 or $6, and you can go hear a concert or see a well-known person coming in, a singer, or a band. It is just a really nice facility, and we have our own golf course, which is lovely. In Clubhouse 4, we have a wood shop where men can come and build anything they want, and women too if they want, although I have never seen a woman in there. Then we have a photography club, an art department, and a sewing room, ceramics, and jewelry making -- just about anything and a lot of various things, a lot of various shops. Once a year, they put on a big fair; they would demonstrate and sell things that they have made if you want to purchase anything. I've gotten several from the ceramic shop. I used to sew in the sewing room, and we would make things like aprons, potholders, and things that people could use. Also, the quilters would sell quilts and, in the sewing room, we donated our money to charities in the area. Almost all of the clubs do that. They donate to their favorite charity, so it is really a very nice place to live. The only thing is there is no healthcare here, so you are on your own. Outside our gate though, we have a wonderful hospital, and it is one of the top 50 hospitals in the country, so if we get sick or anything, we are taken just right outside the gate, and they have taken very good care of us. I've been there several times. There is no skilled nursing or anything like that, but it is available in the area, plus I can't say too much about the climate. It is the best climate we have in the whole country, and it is just really nice to be here.

Caring85477250

I am a resident of Laguna Woods Village. It is a very nice place. It has a lot of nice senior citizens. It is excellent, and I enjoy it. I will recommend it to people who can afford to move in, who can go ahead with interview that they have, and if they meet the financial responsibilities.

caring100514150

Laguna Woods village is a guarded, gated community. It is an old building, and the rooms are more like hotel rooms. My room is a studio. Most of them are wheelchair accessible. It has 5 swimming pools. Any activity that you want to do is there. They have a sewing room, workshop, studio, and jewellery making. Everybody is nice, pleasant, and helpful. There are a lot of volunteer workers also.

Caring77171850

My mom just moved to Laguna Woods three weeks ago. It is a nice and big place. We liked it. The staff there is helpful. The facility is well-maintained and clean. It's a very big community. They have lots of activities and services. They have different sizes of rooms. The 1-bedroom that my mom has is a good size, too.

Audre1

I am currently staying at Laguna Woods Village, which is actually a little City on its own. It is close to where I am living and I have another friend who is living near in this village too. There are 12 gates into the village and I live in gate 10. It is very welcoming. The neighbors are friendly and it is a very pretty community. I have two bedrooms, two baths and everything is remodel before I move in. So, everything is brand new with all new appliances and it is very nice. I have meals on wheels 3 days a week for my breakfast, lunch and dinner and the food is not bad. We can participate in multiple activities. They have day trips and all kinds of amenities.

Henry3

What I like about Laguna Woods Village is the variety of activities and the fitness facilities. The general ground is very quiet and very enjoyable. I would absolutely recommend this facility to others.

Yvonne4

We rented her a place at Laguna Woods Village for about three years. She had a little kitchen where she made her own breakfast and lunch, and came down for dinner. The inclusions were dinner every night, maid service, cable and she could use the buses that went to any of the clubhouses. They had some activities within the building as well as outside.

Jacob Brown

My grandmother is living in this faculity. and when i came to visit her i realized how bad a place it actually was. you have to pay tons of money every month as well as a huge fee at the begining and also you can only have guests for 60 days out of the year if you want to have guests come more than 60 times a year then you can't stay their. they also make it really hard for your guests to come to you, you have to either give them a pass or you have to call them in which is a huge hassle. also they have really loud gardeners and leave blowers. also the sprinklers are really loud. when you come in the gate the gatekepers are really old and can barely do their job at all which makes for a lot of mistakes because they can't hear and see very well.

Michal Smith

They had very bad amenities and facilities if the resident wanted to bring a friend they had to pay a huge fee . and also they only allowed you to visit for a very short time the staff were really old and did not really know anything. also it was a locked down place you had to call someone in or give them a pass if you wanted them to visit you. the only nice thing i could find about the Laguna woods retirement community is that they gave free buses for the resedints also they had golf places where the people could play golf if they wanted to. but if you wanted to do anything with a friend who was not a member of the community then you had to pay quite a bit of money . also they hired really loud and rude leave blowers that went onto your patio and blew everything about...