My wife Bonnie and I recently moved to Sun City from a home in Elgin. We chose a small unit in one of the “attached product” neighborhoods, in which the outside maintenance is covered by our monthly HOA fee. What a blessing, after 20 years of mowing grass, mulching leaves, and clearing snow from a long driveway!
But downsizing can also have downsides, one of which – we thought – would be losing the expansive sky we enjoyed for stargazing on our acre lot. Assuming we would not be able to use (or store) my bulky homebuilt 8-inch reflecting telescope, I donated it to a local astronomy club.
To our surprise and delight, our new little home has a rectangular east-facing patio, lined with spruce and oak on the long side, but with a clear view of the southern sky, a wedge of northern sky, and a completely open sky overhead. During October, it’s been our practice to rise early and catch Orion in the south at about 5 a.m., the Pleiades and Auriga overhead, and Cassiopeia and the sometimes-elusive Andromeda Galaxy in the northwest.
Best of all, the night sky seems noticeably darker here than it did over our former location. The reasons for this good fortune, we believe, are several: first, Elgin has four times the population of Huntley. Although our prior home was five miles west of the river, the skyglow from downtown was noticeable. Second, several of our former neighbors had large, bright “security lights”, which should have been shielded and equipped with motion sensors, but were not.
Third, although we are physically closer to our neighbors in our new community, we sense a communal respect for privacy here that is palpable. It’s quieter here during the day, and almost silent at night. For the most part, residents’ outdoor lighting is limited to a couple of shielded, low-wattage bulbs near the garage and front door, following the Sun City Community’s Design Guidelines.
And the roadway lighting in the community is tasteful and not obtrusive. Yes, there are a couple of streetlights near our patio that we wish could be dimmed between midnight and sunrise, but on balance that’s a minor issue. We’re just happy we kept our binoculars!
Mike Ferris
Sun City resident
