Make New Friends After Retirement

So what exactly are we building in Rice, Minnesota? Yes, we're building a 55+ seasonal park model RV community. Yes, there will be 47 sites. Yes, we're planning amenities such as pickleball, bocce ball, shuffleboard, a dog park, gardens, community gathering spaces, a pavilion/clubhouse, docks and access to the water. But that's only the physical part. What we're really trying to build is a lifestyle. A place where mornings begin with coffee on the porch. Where someone is always looking for a pickleball partner. Where fishing stories get slightly bigger every time they're told. Where dogs know half the neighborhood. Where grandchildren can't wait to visit. Where neighbors become friends. Where a random Tuesday can turn into a boat ride, dinner and live music. Where you can be busy when you want to be and completely lazy when you don't. Where Minnesota summers feel like summer again. And where, at the end of the day, people stop for a few minutes and watch the sky. That's Sunset Village in Rice, Minnesota. Resort-style 55+ seasonal living. 47 sites. Life near the water. Activities. Community. And a whole lot of sunsets. Welcome to Sunset Village. Your next chapter could start right here.

There are things we spend years saying we'll do someday. Someday we'll travel more. Someday we'll spend more time with the grandchildren. Someday we'll slow down. Someday we'll learn pickleball. Someday we'll spend our mornings fishing. Someday we'll sit outside and watch the sunset instead of rushing to the next thing. Here's a question worth asking: When does someday start? For many of the people we're meeting through Sunset Village, this chapter isn't about slowing down. It's about finally having more control over their time. Do more of what makes you happy. Spend time with people you enjoy. Go places. Try things. Make memories. Laugh more. And don't wait forever to start. Maybe someday starts this summer.

One of our favorite things has been sharing the development process with all of you. Sunset Village didn't appear overnight. You've watched dirt move. Roads take shape. Stormwater areas get created. Concrete pads get poured. Trees and landscaping plans develop. Park models arrive. Homes get placed. Contractors continue working through the utilities, hookups, skirting and finishing details required to turn a development into a community. Sometimes development isn't glamorous. There is dirt. There is equipment. There are schedules. There is waiting. And there are always surprises. But then you stand back and look at how much has changed. You can picture the homes, decks, landscaping, people, boats, dogs, pickleball games, gatherings and sunsets. Someday we'll look back at these construction pictures and say, "Remember when Sunset Village looked like that?"

There is something satisfying about picking a tomato you actually grew. Our plans for Sunset Village include community gardening and raised garden areas. Maybe you have a green thumb. Maybe you definitely don't. Either way, you're welcome. We picture residents growing tomatoes, peppers, herbs, flowers and maybe a few vegetables nobody knows what to do with by August. And like everything else at Sunset Village, gardening becomes another reason to connect. "Take some tomatoes." "Does anyone need zucchini?" "Who planted THAT?" Gardens have a funny way of bringing people together. Plant a little. Share a little. Grow a community.

A large house can be wonderful when you're raising a family. Bedrooms are full. The driveway is full. The refrigerator is always empty. Then the kids grow up. Suddenly there are rooms you barely enter, but you're still heating them, cooling them, cleaning them and maintaining them. For some people, seasonal park model living offers another option. A smaller seasonal home at Sunset Village can become your Minnesota escape. Spend your days outside instead of maintaining rooms you rarely use. Maybe eventually you'll decide you love simplified living. Maybe you'll simply enjoy having a seasonal getaway. Either way, life doesn't always have to get bigger. Sometimes smaller gives you more freedom.

We use the phrase resort-style livin g a lot when talking about Sunset Village. But what does it actually mean? To us, it means waking up somewhere that gives you choices. Want to play pickleball? Go play. Want to fish? Grab your pole. Want to kayak? Head toward the water. Want to meet friends for coffee? Send a message. Want to spend the afternoon reading on your porch? Perfect. Want to take the boat out and not come back until sunset? Even better. Resort-style living isn't about having someone schedule every minute of your day. It's about having enough things around you that you get to choose what kind of day you want. Some days will be busy. Some will be wonderfully lazy. Both belong at Sunset Village.

Not all park models are created the same. When you're considering a seasonal home, appearance matters - but what's underneath matters too. That's why we've paid attention to the construction and materials in the models we're bringing to Sunset Village. Features can include durable exterior siding, metal roofing, maintenance-friendly decking, residential-style construction and upgraded interior finishes. Depending on the model and options, you'll find features such as quartz countertops, stainless-steel appliances, beautiful showers, built-in bedroom storage and washer/dryer options. Simplifying your lifestyle shouldn't mean sacrificing comfort. A smaller footprint can still feel beautiful and comfortable. The difference? There's a lot less of it to take care of.  And that's exactly the point.

This is when a development starts feeling real. For months there are drawings, meetings, permits, grading, contractors and plans. Then one day you look up and see a beautiful Clayton Park Model coming down the road. We're excited about the different models and floor plans because everyone likes something different. Some people immediately love the kitchen. Someone else falls in love with the bedroom. Another sees the porch and says, "This is the one." We're no longer just showing people where a future home could sit. We're putting actual homes on the pads. They're being set, leveled and skirted, with hookups and finishing work bringing everything together. Every model that arrives makes Sunset Village look a little more like the community we've imagined. We're building it one home - and one future neighbor - at a time.

Staying active doesn't necessarily mean spending an hour on a treadmill staring at a wall. At Sunset Village, activity can simply become part of your day. Walk the community. Play pickleball. Try bocce ball. Play shuffleboard. Kayak. Fish. Garden. Take the dog for another walk. Get out on the water. The goal isn't to train for the Olympics. It's to keep moving, keep laughing and keep doing things with other people. Activities are always more fun when someone knocks on your door and says, "Come on, we're playing." You might discover something you never thought you'd enjoy. That's part of the fun of this chapter.