[eweissenbach]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

My wife and I moved here when we were both 53 after realizing there was little advantage to staying in our previous location and could continue our working lives here just as well as our previous address with just a little longer commute. Moving here at the time may have been a little on impulse and a little on dissatisfaction with our previous community (what little of a "community" it was) and what it offered for social activities, what it wasn't was a mistake.

From the social aspect, our most important consideration in moving, The Villages has far exceeded any expectations we had. There is a different mindset here, people just don't come home, stay in their houses, and watch TV or browse social media, people here are more interactive with each other, there is a very strong (self)motivation to be active and meet other people which has such positive affects on both the individual and the community.

In a very short time after moving to The Villages our opinions of what retirement was, is, and can be changed dramatically. The old notions of retirement being sitting on the front porch and watching the world go by, or camped out in front of the TV watching game shows and talk shows, or playing cards or chess all afternoon were very quickly dispelled. They has been quickly replaced with physically and mentally active lifestyle that a linked and up-to-date calendar between out phones is beyond a nicety for my wife and I, it is essential if we want to do anything together or some days even see each other. Even while were were working we were actively involved (to the extent work allowed) with our new friends, no, a better word is family, here in The Villages. It made retirement not the end goal of working our entire adult lives, but the goal and adventure of what the future has to offer.

We were fortunate and my wife was able to retire 2 years after moving here and I was able to retire 2 years later. Today marks 6 months since I retired, I've only looked back a few times on the decision, mainly to ask myself why I didn't do this sooner. Do we miss the people we used to work with, sure we do, you can't help it being human; live moves on.

If you're able to move yourself away from your family, old friends, and old neighborhood without regrets or longing for constant and everyday contact with your "old" life, The Villages can be and is a great place to be.

Is The Villages perfect? Far from it, just read some of the many threads on this and other web sites and you'll see it has its issues. But, it is what you make of it and most of us here have made quite happy and fulfilling retirement lives being here.

People don't come to The Villages to retire and die, they come here to LIVE AND ENJOY LIFE.

Well put GWN! The key to the "Villages Lifestyle" is activity. Virtually everyone is "out and about" on a regular basis, whether in organized activities, dancing at the squares, going to the pools, going to open houses, playing golf, pickleball, bocce ball, etc. etc. or just walking the neighborhood or cruising in the golf cart. Being out in the community literally forces one to socialize and communicate with other like minded people, which keeps you engaged and energized. We live about half the year in the Kansas City area, where we are within ten minutes of our three grown children and their spouses and six of our grandchildren, as well as my wife's 92 yr. old mother and her sister. That keeps us here through the holidays, which we thoroughly enjoy, but also begins to feel confining. As the weather turns cold it becomes more challenging to get out and stay active and we find ourselves longing for the nice weather and activities we enjoy in TV. We love the time we have here with family, but we are anxious for January and getting back to our Villages home. Whether you are in TV full or part time, I believe you will find it exhilarating and the younger you start the more time you will have to enjoy it. I have no doubt that we would have felt at home and excited to have settled here in our early fifties - in fact when in TV we feel like we're in our fifties, instead of our 70s.