[villagetinker]

Originally Posted by MACH7SS

My wife and I semi-retired to the Windermere area in 2010. She continued working a couple of days in medicine and I worked the same days for the MOUSE. Now for a variety of reasons, we are debating a final, complete retirement move to the Villages. However, we have a few questions that can only be answered by current Villagers based on their own experience. Reading the "newbie" boards give lots of good advice but we want to hear answers directly from the "horse's" mouth. Here goes:

1. We are not golfers. Will we be accepted even though we are non-golfers? I do not golf, and I think the other golfers are saying THANK YOU!!!
2. We prefer to stay together as a couple. With all the "men's activities" and "women's activities".....will we have issues not participating in separate activities?Separate activities can actually work out very well, you have fun with the Car Guys, she has fun with the Mahjong group or similar. Bowling, tennis, pickle ball, billiards, and lots of other activities are co-ed.
3. We are not into competitive activities. Will our desire to not participate in competition hurt us with friends?Many of our friends we met through "competitive sports", so I believe you will find you will meet and make more friends with these.
4. Can one play a "fun" round of golf as a couple or a game of pickleball just as a couple for exercise?I will let others reply, I am dangerous on the golf course, and I am not allowed to play pickleball due to bad knee.
5. Are there any groups that get together without memberships, dues, or parlimentary meetings?Yes, there are almost 3000 clubs, you will need to go to at least one initial meeting to see if it meets your requirements.
6. If your village contains a majority of people who are dedicated to highly organized, competitive groups, how do you meet people from other villages who may fit your lifestyle more comfortably?This is the Villages, I personally have not found a super competitive person here yet, unless you consider golf cart speed a competitive sport.

We are 65 and 64, reasonably active, friendly and outgoing. But we are not competitive with each other with little desire to be competitive with our neighbors. Our idea of a perfect retirement is sitting at the pool with our friends just watching another beautiful day pass us by in Florida. Can we move to the Villages and do just that?

Yes, yes, yes, but you will have a lot more fun getting involved in the many activities offer in our slice of heaven.

[COLOR="red"]Personally, we bowl 3 times per week, these are friendly games, not USBC sanctioned, but they have sanctioned leagues also. We enjoy the FRIENDLY competition and after almost three years, I do not recall any bad feelings. We occasionally go out to dinner (winners and losers). /COLOR]