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Originally Posted by sharonl7340
We moved here Oct 2018. We were wowed with all the amenities, but post move we realize we pay for everything (if you want to use the online golf reservation system, then you pay extra). The amenity fee keeps going up. Everything is crowded during SnowBird season and people are downright rude. I can go to any grocery store on any day and see an argument about parking spaces, places in line, well just about everything.
The restaurants are terrible and overpriced and it has been much harder to make friends here than I ever anticipated (everyone seems pretty cliquish). We have determined that we may be "too young" to be here. Maybe it is just the neighborhood, but we feel that we are still too young at 57 and 62 to really be here. And one of the things you need to know is that if you choose to move here while you are still working then your activities are really limited as everything happens during daylight hours.
We are still asking ourselves if we made a mistake by coming here, but we need to stay in the house about 3 years to really recoup what we put into it. While I am slowly getting into some activities, it is still difficult to ascertain if we made the correct decision.
With all that said, you have to decide what is important to you. Make a list of "must haves" and then decide.
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We're 58 and 60, here. I work afternoons. I can still get to the archery range for an hour's practice in the morning, and get home before dark, clean up and enjoy some dancing in the square.
The restaurants aren't "bad," but they're pretty typical strip-mall restaurants. Somewhat overpriced IMO but we don't have to eat there every day - I still know my way around a stovetop.
You don't HAVE to do online tee times. You can use the old fashioned clunky version of getting tee times - call them on the phone, or you can even just show up and see if they can fit you in with a 2-some going out (not recommended but it's still an option).
Snowbird season IS much more crowded, but that's to be expected in a state that gets most of its revenue from tourism and related taxes. If you think this is bad, you should've seen the A1A in Ft. Lauderdale back in the 80's during winter recess and spring break. Fuggedaboudit.
I don't see fighting for spaces, ever. I'm sure it happens, but I don't ever see it. And I -work- in one of those stores during mid-day, so have to actually be in those parking lots during peak time. There are lots of spaces - just some folks don't want to walk an extra 20 steps and circle around looking for the closest one. Meanwhile, they would've gotten their take-out and been driving away if they'd just parked away from everyone else and walked. MOST Villagers are able-bodied and don't have any particular "need" to be close to the entrance. So while I do see clustering around the parking aisle closest to the doors of any given store, I don't see any fights, space-wars, yelling people, horn blowing, bird-flipping, or anything closely resembling an argument about a parking space.
If you're from the boondocks where your next door neighbor is a mile away and the entire town of 400 people gather the second tuesday of the month for target contests at the shooting range, then yeah this is gonna be WAY too crowded for you.
But if you've ever lived in the burbs and have gone on summer vacation to Florida during any of your 12 grade school years, it's a cake-walk.