Quote:
Originally Posted by Boomer
You are very welcome, Jazuela.
I remember looking for info when I found TOTV in 2007. It was a brand new, tiny forum then.
TV is one of a kind. There is no other retirement community like it — and all that entails.
If you have never been here before, you will not believe how big it is and getting bigger every day. TV is pretty and sunny and inviting. There are many good things about living in TV. But the growth is on steroids. That growth comes with an overall effect. Villagers’ reactions to that effect will vary.
Take your time. Maybe rent first. I knew when we bought that we could sell easily if we wanted to so it was not like taking a huge leap for me.
Good luck to you.  |
We've been a few times now, including a lifestyle visit this past September. We go right before peak, when some of the snowbirds are starting to trickle in but not at full force. We haven't yet stayed longer than 6 nights, but we just wanted to get an overall "feel" for the place.
I was impressed with Spanish Springs when we first came, because it was already established. I really liked the Sumter town square and surrounding environment. South of (the southern version of) 466 hadn't been developed yet when we stayed somewhere near St. Charles and Bailey a few years ago.
I knew (factually) that it wasn't perfect. I knew that the whole thing looked like a facade, a very bizarre reconstruction of a fantasy world that doesn't actually exist. Totally unnatural. But as a facade, it was well-constructed and attractive from a distance. Drive-by pretty, in other words.
But that doesn't help at all, if you're actually living there, and still connected to the outside world. I won't be in vacation mode when we move, because I'll still have to work for a living. Hubby might be retired, but I won't be. If there are risks in The Villages that we just don't typically encounter here in New England, I need to know what those risks are, how high they are compared to the risks here, whether insurance a) covers it and b) actually pays out if you have to file a claim, and how much it's going to cost to accept the risk. I need to know what -I- will be doing while hubby is playing golf, on days when I'm not working. No point in buying into what is (for us) an expensive retirement community, if I'll just be sitting home most of the day. We're paying for amenities, I expect to be able to use them without spending half of my time waiting for "my turn."
When someone pays me to work for them, I'm expected to perform tasks for almost the entire time I'm getting paid. I am not getting paid to tell people to wait. I expect the same from whoever I'm paying to provide amenities to me, within reason. A 45-minute wait for a 1-hour class is not reasonable. If this kind of wait is only for fitness instruction, I don't care. I don't need an instructor to teach me how to get fit, and wouldn't likely attend those types of classes anyway.
But things like pottery, painting, woodworking, hikes and day-walks, maybe make-up application techniques, literature classes, philosophy, etc. etc...those are things that would interest me. And sure if I want to join the gym, I wouldn't tolerate having to wait an hour to use the free weights or hop on a treadmill. I go there to move, not to stand still. I can stand still at home.