[skip0358]

Moved here full time in Sept.09 from Long Island. World of difference. Would I do it again? In a heart beat, have a ton of friends down here, neighbors are great. Everything I want and need is a short golf cart ride away. Yea it's getting a little more crowded but so was where I came from. Big difference is the weather. Yep it gets hot but I don't have to shovel the heat like I did the snow in the winter. As for expenses we find it a lot more affordable Taxes, Electric & NO home heating oil bills.

[Fraugoofy]

Bought in 2012 and again in 2013. Live in TV 6 months of the year. Advantages to being a "reverse snowbird" (live here June through Dec) 1. Less traffic 2. Can walk on almost any golf course June through Oct 3. All bills are paid for due to high rental income 4. Enjoy all TV has to offer including making new friends 5. Love being so active. Disadvantages 1. TV is not the friendliest hometown. Our neighbors are wonderful, but some of the random people you meet (at the pool, playing cards at the Rec centers) are miserably unhappy and are rude to newcomers...and although you do find that in every hometown, it seems people here feel they have "earned" the right to complain...due to their age. If that's the only downside, we picture ourselves in TV for many years to come (part-time).

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[Loudoll]

The Villages is everything as advertised and more but not for us. It seemed odd and a little "off" to be around only old people all the time. I missed the seasons, mixture of age groups and ethnic groups, etc. and The Villages was too crowded for me, homes too close together and you can hear your neighbors on their phones and they can hear your conversation if you are on your lanai. All is well in The Villages until you get sick and need ER care. Was extremely disappointed in primary care and felt like I literally got out with my life and back to health care I can trust. I would recommend not being a Frog but Snowbirding. Good luck.

[Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by Loudoll

The Villages is everything as advertised and more but not for us. It seemed odd and a little "off" to be around only old people all the time. I missed the seasons, mixture of age groups and ethnic groups, etc. and The Villages was too crowded for me, homes too close together and you can hear your neighbors on their phones and they can hear your conversation if you are on your lanai. All is well in The Villages until you get sick and need ER care. Was extremely disappointed in primary care and felt like I literally got out with my life and back to health care I can trust. I would recommend not being a Frog but Snowbirding. Good luck.

Curious, if it was such a negative experience for you, why continue to hang around TOTV and re-live the unhappiness?

[Mikeod]

We bought here 10 years ago and live full time in TV. It has changed since we arrived, but the main reason we chose this place is the same. Every place we looked at to retire was similar. A golf course, a rec center, and a house. If you don't golf, your options are limited. When we got here, the myriad options were obvious.

What I have seen change here is that, when we bought, the vast majority of people we met were just thrilled to find a place of this quality to spend the rest of their lives and settled in to enjoy it. As the years has passed, we find more and more people who think this is a resort and all should be provided by the owner/developer. Another trend is one I have experienced in growing up in the Northeast. A parochial attitude that if not done the same as there, it is wrong. Whether it is cooking, golf design/maintenance, speed limits, or whatever, it's as if what they want is the same as where they lived before, except the weather.

As far as crowding, I find it better to consider the high season as the norm, and the summer season as the bonus I get for living here full time. Maybe it's easier to adjust coming from a congested area (SoCal) where homes are built close together. But it works for me.

[spring_chicken]

My biggest disappointment is the amount of car traffic. I really imagined more people driving golf carts than cars, so I was surprised to see so much traffic. It's only October and the number of folks going 20 in a 35 and stopping for no reason at yield signs is increasing every day. I've already told my husband to just take my keys away when I start driving like these idiots.

[jebartle]

We moved to Village of La Zamora in 2006 and absolutely love our neighbors and the villages. We moved here from NC, both of us are avid golfers but have discovered that we enjoy so much more. You don't know this yet but you have arrived in paradise. Who you are and where you are, comes down to attitude. Some villagers would not be happy, no matter what! Fortunately, those, are few and far between. I just know that you will love the Villages and TOTV is a great guide on vendors, doctors, and any little question you might ask.

[MangiaMangia]

When my in-laws bought back in 2008 and my husband and I came to visit we knew then that we would like to own here someday.
It's been a year now and we couldn't be happier that we were able to buy a house in TV.
Unfortunately for us, we are not able to retire just yet. With all the talk of build-out we took the plunge earlier than expected.
So, we rent it out in the snowbird months and we come down as often as we can. We love everything about TV. You get what you put into it.
We swim, golf, walk the S.R. preserve, use the gym, dance in the squares, eat out, eat in, movies.....on and on.
Finally ~ our house in the Village of LaBelle is available for Jan. and Feb. Email if you know of someone who is looking for a beautiful (IMO) designer home.

[Cmgregory]

Thanks for all the posts! Great information.

We are approaching 60, retired and have been living in our RV and traveling for the past 5 years. We have always been impressed by TV and have been considering it if we decide to come off the road.

Love all the comments. Keep them coming! If you have anything else to say, we would love to hear it. All the comments have been very helpful.

[coach]

If you don't like The Villages you aren't going to like Heaven.

[John_W]

I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, that's about two hours southeast of here on the coast. Later my parents retired and moved to Spring Hill for 20 years. That is also southeast of here and I've been there many, many times.

I often think of returning there and how I enjoyed going to spring training games, the beach, shopping at the mall. Then whenever I take a trip back to Tampa/St. Pete, I realized I don't really want to be out in the real world with all these young people. I don't feel old, but I no longer feel like I want to be in a night club full of 25 year olds. Going to play golf, or softball or pickleball and all the other people are your own age, that's what draws me back. I don't feel bad when running to first base and I'm not as fast as I was at 25, because nobody else is that fast either. That's what I really like about living in The Villages.

[bbbbbb]

Hi, we do like it here for sure,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, however, we would really like to see some controls on the drinking and driving. The erratic behavior by the drunks is a bit unnerving. I have found in a dangerous message, not to be on a multi modal path after the end of happy hours, had two close encounters by guys who seemed to be loaded. However, a lot of the drivers are very courteous and we wish it would get contagious. Riding a bike is good for your body low impact exercise but being driven off of a path and being nearly sideswiped is a real item. One cart with two occupants, overcame me, I always get over as much as possible, so the passenger used his hand to swat my rear view mirror. (We drive bikes and a cart also) Drinking is a major problem here and making the almighty dollar is more important than some kind of controls. We have been here one year now, I have never seen anyone get a ticket on the multi modal paths. Golfers will overcome us and pass us by at some incredible speeds while we are going 19 to 20 mph. Yes we are considering the safety seriously and may soon look elsewhere. Other than that, we think it is great.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by bbbbbb

...We have been here one year now, I have never seen anyone get a ticket on the multi modal paths. Golfers will overcome us and pass us by at some incredible speeds while we are going 19 to 20 mph. Yes we are considering the safety seriously and may soon look elsewhere. Other than that, we think it is great.

This has been mentioned numerous times on other threads pertaining to golf carts. The police can only ticket speeding carts when using the cart lane on city streets. The MMP paths are private property, the police can ticket a cart driver who is drinking on the paths while driving but not speeding. So when driving on the side of Odell, St. Charles, Pinellas, Hillsborough and the like, that's when you fall under police powers. However, you probably know, there is no speeding ticket for golf carts. If you're going more than 20 mph while on one of these city streets, your cart no longer fits the state's definition of a golf cart, your ticket will be for driving an unregistered vehicle. When you appear in court, you'll need documentation from a golf cart shop that the golf cart speed has been adjusted back to 19.9 mph or less and your ticket will be at least $240. So if you feel unsafe driving your cart at night on a MMP, then do what we do, drive your automobile to the square.

[NYGUY]

Best decision we have ever made.

[Debfrommaine]

Continue to love it more and more here. Being a bit of a gypsy at heart, feel very content, safe and happy. We find the expenses very affordable and people as nice as anywhere else - and we have moved a lot. I came here in my 50's and work full time - no regrets. Good luck!