Quote:
Originally Posted by PennBF
Let's agree the profile of The Villages has significantly changed over the past 10 years and what it was then is no longer. What are some of the pluses and minus's others have seen over the years.  |
To answer your question, I don't know if it is The Villages that have changed or if it is Me who has changed. But the place sure doesn't seem like the same place we experience when we first started coming here. We started visiting friends in 2001, rented for about 5 years, and bought in 2011. So yes, we've been here long enough to see the many many changes.
It seemed that once the expansion crossed 466A and they built Brownwood, the north end of The Villages definitely began to feel "Old" and restaurants and Kattie Belles began to close. Of course, that area was about 20 years old then, and we were 15 years older too.
And then you started hearing about problems, crime, and dissatisfaction (e.g. the trolls). Before that, the I'm sure the sales and marketing staff of The Villages kept all stories as "feel good" and reinforced the "utopia" image. That made selling new homes to eager people who had drank the kool-aid really easy.
So, I feel there has been a downward change since we first arrived here, but I can't say if it is real, perception, or that I've grown into one of the crotchety old men I used to see when I was
much younger.