My wife and I checked several other communities before deciding on The Villages. Most were very nice in their own way, but none of them afforded the sheer variety and quality of activities that are available here. Since we were looking for a VERY active retirement, this was definitely the place for us.
If you're looking primarily for activities as the main draw, we couldn't find anybody even remotely close. If you're looking primarily for nice houses at comparable (or even a bit cheaper) prices, there are many retirement communities in the north central Florida area.
If you're looking primarily for weather, well we ALL share the same weather here in Florida!
If you're looking for friendly people, you'll probably find them at any of the communities as we're all in the same boat - retired and enjoying it!
If you're looking for nearby great medical facilities, there are probably retirement communities nearer to Orlando, Florida or Jacksonville that might meet your needs. However, none of them are all that far from The Villages and we've got a pretty large selection of good (or even very good) facilities drawn to the area by the sheer number of senior patients/customers here.
If you're looking for fine dining, The Villages may be a little shy on that but the selection of decent (if not exactly fine) dining is huge compared to most other communities.
If you're looking for great shopping, you may be better off trying to find some place close to Orlando, Florida or Jacksonville. Remember that retirement communities tend to be built where land is cheap and that means retail support from surrounding communities tends to be very thing for most. Again, The Villages size has gone a long way to attract businesses that other communities simply cannot.
If you're looking for proximity to theme parks (hey, it's Florida after all!), The Villages is a little over an hour from Disney, SeaWorld, Universal, Busch Gardens, etc. Close enough to go down for a few hours on an annual pass and get home without exhausting yourself and far enough to not be surrounded by the traffic. But then, so are several other communities.
Good luck on finding the right community for you!
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