Quote:
Originally Posted by CharlieK
Long time lurker to the forum but first post. I just booked a lifestyle visit for June. My wife & I want to look at some houses of course - we're leaning towards CYV because we have a dog and would like a fenced in yard. I'm leaning towards a new house while my wife is leaning towards a more established house / village. We have been to TV twice but only for a day at a time - this will be our first extended visit.
I'm aware of the North v South debates and also understand there really is no bad place to live in TV. I'm curious as to if there are better locations in terms of bonds / taxes.
I have read comments on other threads that the salespeople don't necessarily volunteer information. I'm wondering what questions / information do you wish you had asked for while you looking for your house.
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I’ve just moved into a nicely landscaped 11 year old courtyard villa just north of 466A in a very quiet neighborhood from a fancier house here with a pool. The “lawn” in the courtyard is about 3x8’, which is just dandy for a little dog and easy to mow with a string trimmer. The dog has about a 60’ run on concrete with no need for a leash and can come and go as it likes. There are three sliding doors, and it’s easy to put in a dog door to the courtyard in one of them (if you put one on a door to the lanai, of course, you will also need one in the screen to the courtyard). Tinker says the gate has to remain unlocked. He’s seldom wrong, so I don’t dispute that, but that’s news to me. But the latch is high and hard to open, and I’m sure my neighbor would ask before entering. I appreciate the privacy and quiet of a courtyard villa. There is a lot of concrete at mine, so there is a lot less yard work and fewer animals and bugs.
A few questions to which you might not get answers.
Q. Are there more mosquitos and other flying bugs south of 44?
A. Definitely. The neighborhoods down there are surrounded by unsprayed swamps. You will get lots of them. I haven’t yet seen a mosquito north of 466A.
Q. What percentage of Villagers drive around in political parades on golf carts with placards, shouting at people, as shown on television?
A. The Villages is said to be 70% Red and 30% Blue, but probably fewer than 1% ride in golf cart rallies, and few have political flags. We vote, but most of us keep our mouths shut because we have good manners. Some don’t have good manners. A date once threw a martini in my face at the Arnold Palmer bar for questioning comments by her favorite president. I still paid the bar tab.
Q. How many people in The Villages contract STDs.
A. Virtually none. Most of us watch television at night. The STD rate per 100,000 is FAR lower in The Villages than in the surrounding areas, much less in cities like Ocala or Orlando. You have zero need to worry.
Q. How many people in The Villages are swingers?
A. Probably fewer than a hundred, and many of those mostly in their fond memories, not active. They don’t have colored scrunchies on their golf carts, and you are unlikely to ever meet one.
Q. What percentage of Villagers have been vaccinated?
A. We were told that at one time it was 90%, but who knows what percentage has kept up with their boosters? I have. We do tend to get vaccinations for flu, shingles, pneumonia, etc., more than younger people do because we know these things can make us very sick, cause us a lot of pain, or even kill us.
Q. What is it like to live in a city where nearly everyone you see is old and wrinkled and maybe sick, and one rarely sees young people?
A. It’s weird. I’m not used to it yet. Discussing our medical concerns is one of the most common topics of conversation. We may be playing golf or pickle ball every day, but death is still omnipresent, always there behind the pleasure. Every round could be our last. Two of my friends have died this year—one out of the blue at 67, and one around 85–and another barely survived. Another died last year at 78. And I don’t have all that many friends. On the plus side, it can be very hard to get your kids to discuss your upcoming death with you, but here, many of us are willing to discuss that.