On this page
- What a 55+ community is, and the kinds you'll find here
- Where the large 55+ communities are
- Retiring in Palm Springs, or a little further down the valley
- What moving into a 55+ community involves
- How to downsize from a bigger home
- When the dates don’t line up: storage between homes
- When the family lives far away
- Timing around the season
- Questions people ask about retiring here
What a 55+ community is, and the kinds you'll find here
A 55+ community is housing set aside for older adults, usually with an HOA, shared amenities and rules about who can live there. Under federal fair housing rules, at least 80 percent of the occupied homes must have at least one resident aged 55 or older, and the community has to publish and follow its age policy.
That label covers very different places, and each changes the move.
| Kind of community | What you’re moving into | What it means for the move |
|---|---|---|
| Large active-adult community | A house you own in a gated, master-planned community with golf, clubhouses and an HOA | A whole-house move, gate access to arrange, HOA move-in rules, often a golf cart to bring |
| Smaller 55+ neighborhood or condo complex | A home or condo with an HOA but fewer amenities | Tighter parking for the truck, possibly stairs, and less room than the house you’re leaving |
| Independent or assisted living | An apartment in a building with services, usually rented | Only part of a household moves, the community sets the move-in date, and there may be an elevator to book |
The senior-living directories mostly list the third kind. If you’re moving a parent into assisted living, our post on helping a parent adjust after the move covers the weeks after moving day.
Where the large 55+ communities are
A few names come up again and again, all in the middle and east of the valley:
- Sun City Palm Desert, north of Interstate 10 off Washington Street. It has a Palm Desert address but sits in unincorporated Riverside County, outside the city limits. Del Webb built it as an age-restricted community with two golf courses, and the builder puts it at about 5,000 homes. If you’re moving there, our Palm Desert movers page covers the area.
- Sun City Shadow Hills, north of Interstate 10 in Indio, along Avenue 40 between Jefferson and Monroe Streets, with nearly 3,450 homes by the builder’s count. Our crews and warehouse are in Indio, so this one is close to home for us. See movers in Indio.
- Del Webb at Rancho Mirage, between Bob Hope Drive, Dinah Shore Drive and Los Alamos Road, planned at about 1,000 homes. See moving in Rancho Mirage.
- New building in north Indio. In 2023 the city approved another 55+ community of up to 1,500 homes nearby.
Most valley cities also have smaller 55+ neighborhoods and condo complexes. Check the age rules with the HOA, not a directory, including whether a younger spouse or caregiver can live with you.
Retiring in Palm Springs, or a little further down the valley
Plenty of people start by searching for 55+ communities in Palm Springs and end up looking further east. The large master-planned communities above are in Rancho Mirage, near Palm Desert and in Indio, about 10 to 25 miles from downtown Palm Springs. Palm Springs itself has 55+ neighborhoods and condos, and many retirees simply buy an ordinary home there with no age rule at all.
For the move, the difference is practical. A Palm Springs condo may have stairs and shared parking; a house behind a gate further east has a gate list and move-in rules. Moving to Palm Springs? Start with moving in Palm Springs.
What moving into a 55+ community involves
The furniture is the same as any move. The rules around it catch people out.
- HOA move-in rules. Many associations set hours for moves, say where a truck can park and ask for notice. Ask for the rules in writing as soon as you have a closing date, and pass them on to your movers.
- The gate. Whether the movers need a gate pass is one of the questions people ask most when they call us about a move into one of the Sun City communities. Usually you call the gate ahead and put the moving company on the list for that day. Do it for the old home as well as the new one if both are gated.
- The golf cart. In golf communities a golf cart is often the second car. If yours is coming with you, say so when you ask for the estimate. It’s heavy, it needs its own plan for loading, and it should be on the written estimate, not a surprise on the day.
- A single-story floor plan. If the new home is all on one level, there’s no upstairs for the spare-room furniture. Plan what goes where before moving day.
- A smaller garage. For many people the garage at the old house was the storage room. A smaller garage, or one that now holds the golf cart, means the tools, holiday boxes and spare fridge need a decision too.
How to downsize from a bigger home
Downsizing is the hard part, so start it first. Every piece you decide about before the estimate is a piece you don’t pay to move.
- Get the new floor plan and measure. Measure the rooms and the big pieces you love: the bed, the sofa, the dining table, the china cabinet. A table for ten doesn’t fit a dining area for four.
- Ask the family first. Before anything is sold, ask children and grandchildren what they want, and set a date to collect it. Heirlooms are easier to give while you can tell their story.
- Start with the garage and the spare rooms. They hold the most and matter the least.
- Sort into keep, give, sell, donate and store. Be honest about the last one. Storage makes sense for things with a date attached, not for things you can’t decide about.
- Leave the fragile rooms to someone else. Kitchens, glassware and art take longest to pack. Our packing and unpacking services can cover the whole house or just those rooms, and the crew can unpack at the new home and take the empty boxes away.
| If it is… | Usually best to… |
|---|---|
| Used every day, or loved, and it fits | Move it, and plan where it goes |
| Wanted by a family member | Give it before the move, or have it moved straight to them |
| Valuable but not needed | Sell it, ideally before the estimate |
| Useful to someone, not worth selling | Donate it ahead of moving day |
| Needed later: a second home, a child’s first house, after a sale closes | Store it until that date |
Ask for the estimate once the sorting is mostly done. We walk through the home in person or on a video call and put the price in writing, as California requires. For how a local move is priced, see how much movers cost in the Coachella Valley.
When the dates don’t line up: storage between homes
Retirement moves often come with a gap: the old house closes before the new one is ready. Your things can go into a sealed wooden vault in our Indio warehouse. Our crew packs and loads at your home, the vault is sealed, and when you’re ready you call ahead and we deliver it. A vault is about 7½ by 6½ by 5½ feet, and a household usually needs more than one. Read more about household storage or our full-service storage.
When the family lives far away
A lot of the calls we get about retirement moves come from a son, a daughter or an in-law in another state, arranging things for a parent here. It works well with a little structure:
- Pick one person to talk to the movers. One contact for the estimate and paperwork avoids mixed messages.
- Do the estimate on a video call. Your parent walks the phone through the house, and you can join from wherever you are.
- Agree the big decisions first. Who gets the piano, what goes to storage, what gets sold. Settle that as a family before the crew arrives, not on moving day.
- Have someone there on the day who can answer questions and walk the new rooms with the crew.
Sometimes only part of the household moves, for example to an assisted-living apartment closer to family, while the rest is sold, given away or stored. Moves out of the valley run through our agency with Wheaton World Wide Moving; see long-distance moving.
Timing around the season
On the valley floor, the average July high is above 105°F, so summer moves need an early start. We plan summer jobs around the hottest hours of the day, and the early slots go first. Winter and spring are the valley’s busy season, when part-time residents come back and events fill the calendar, so book early for those months too.
Work back from the fixed dates: the closing, the HOA’s notice period and, for assisted living, the move-in date. Allow several weeks of sorting before the estimate.
Questions people ask about retiring here
Where are the 55+ communities near Palm Springs?
The largest age-restricted communities are further east: Del Webb at Rancho Mirage, Sun City Palm Desert north of Interstate 10, and Sun City Shadow Hills in Indio. Palm Springs and most other valley cities also have smaller 55+ neighborhoods and condo complexes. Check age rules with each community’s HOA.
Do I need HOA approval to move into a 55+ community?
You usually need to meet the community’s age policy and follow its move-in rules, which can cover move hours, truck parking and notice. Ask the HOA for the rules in writing as soon as you have a closing date, and share them with your movers.
Can movers get through the gate in a gated community?
Yes, once the gate expects them. Call the gate ahead, give the moving company’s name and the date, and do the same at your old home if it is gated too. That keeps the crew from waiting at the entrance on the clock.
What should I do with furniture that won’t fit in a smaller home?
Measure the new rooms first, then offer pieces to family, sell what has value, and donate what is useful to someone else, ideally before the estimate. Store only what you need again on a known date, such as after a sale closes or for a second home.
Can my children arrange the move if they live out of state?
Yes. Choose one family member as the contact, do the estimate on a video call so everyone can see the home, and agree the big decisions before moving day. It helps to have someone on site on the day to answer the crew’s questions.
How far ahead should I book a retirement move in the desert?
Book as soon as you have a closing date, and earlier for winter and spring, the valley’s busy season. In summer, early-morning slots go first. Allow several weeks before the estimate for downsizing, because sorting usually takes longer than packing.
Planning a move into a 55+ community? See local moving or request a quote.
