We closed on our house in McClure this past December. Haven't heard any blasts from the quarry or loud speaker announcements from the prison and have seen no prisoners walking around the neighborhood. Yes it is a bit inconvenient not having a lot of restaurants to choose from but that is why we own a motor vehicle. Eventually those retail businesses will come and build in our area. The wife and I don't eat at the restaurants in the Town Centers, they are too expensive for the quality of food offered. We much prefer the mom and pop independent restaurants. We aren't "shop till you drop" types so the lack of "shopping" in our area is irrelevant to us. We have very quick access to the Turnpike and I75.
As far as the Southern Oaks area not having the true village experience, what is the village experience? For us it is the cleanliness and orderliness of the area that The Villages encompasses. We tell friends all the time that it is like living in a park, the flowers, shrubbery, and palm trees all well kept and maintained. There is no trash on the streets and no "antique" car collections setting on concrete blocks in the neighbors yards. We have great neighbors we enjoy our time with. Where we lived in Tennessee we were less than 10 minutes from a large shopping mall and dozens and dozens of restaurants so it that the Village experience also?
When we made the decision to buy here we were looking at previously owned homes but discovered that these homes offered less at a higher price than the new homes in Southern Oaks. As shopping and nearby restaurants were way down on our list of needs/wants it was a no brainer to buy new. The mail station and swimming pool are about 100 yards away and Warm Springs Ave. is about 1/4 mile. The walking paths in the area are quite scenic with views of the conservation area and the wild life living there. To the original poster, decide on what you want where you will live, visit the area and then make your decision.
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