My wife and I were born and raised in Michigan before moving to North Carolina 20 years ago. That first summer had record-breaking heat and I thought sure I was going to die from it. By the next summer, I didn't find it so bad. After that, no problems. We moved to The Villages last February as full-timers and just finished our first summer here. We didn't really find it hotter than North Carolina, just hot earlier and longer. And now that we're retired and don't have to get everything outside done on the precious few days off we had, we find it actually easier to take than North Carolina. If it's hot outside during the day in the summer months, we just find something inside to do. That can be at home (TV, reading, music, video games and let's not forget our wonderful naps!) or out in The Villages (so many clubs and classes at the recreation centers, bowling, shooting pool, going to the movies, dining out, shopping, going to the gym, etc.). If there are things that HAVE to be done outside, we just do them earlier in the morning or later in the evening. If it's too hot to go to the squares when the music starts at 5 PM, we can always wait until 7 PM, for example.
As far as regrets, sorry but I just don't have any yet. We love our house (which was built well enough to come through hurricane Irma without a scratch), we love bopping around in our golf cart, we love our neighborhood and neighbors, we love the huge variety of activities in The Villages and we love what we're finding to do outside of The Villages throughout Florida. And I have yet to even find time to take golf back up after 30+ years away from the game and take advantage of essentially free golf at the many executive courses!
But there must be SOME shortcomings, right? Well hmmm.... Costco hasn't moved here... yet! But we get down to Orlando about once a month to spend a few hours at one of the Disneys (awesome deals for annual passes for Florida residents) and stop in there and/or Trader Joes (also absent so far around The Villages) before heading home. What else? It took us a while to find a family physician but we have one now and quite like him. Ah, what else? Sorry, drawing a blank.
Good luck with your decision!
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I just read another post who said their only regret was that they didn't move here sooner. I guess our only regret is that we couldn't move here sooner (wrapping up careers in North Carolina). But we moved here just three days after my last day of work up there!
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