[imbrennan]

Hi,

I hope the following will help you make a decision as to which type of house you buy and where in The Villages.

We own an Anna Maria courtyard villa (3 beds - vinyl sided) in Sabal Chase and are very happy with it. Keys courtyards have a little more room space than the stucco versions because of the size of the concrete block it is built with - just a few inches but, as they say, size matters!! (ha ha).

It originally had quite a small lanai at the side of the house at the back but we have built a large birdcage lanai at the back of our home and took down the back of the original lanai so we have an L shaped one now which goes half way along the back of the courtyard. It could have gone all the way along over the main bedroom but we ran out of money!!! If you want more space for your dog then look out for a corner lot or one with more back yard to give you the space to add to your lanai if you want to. Not all the lots have the same yard size.


If it helps another thing we learned was to watch where the golf cart paths go through a housing development. (We don't have any in Sabal Chase where we are) but I do feel sorry sometimes for people who live close by to the golf cart paths which people use to cut through housing developments to get to the golf courses or other activities. This was particularly noticeable in the courtyard development at the rear of Savannah Centre where there was a constant stream of golf carts cutting through the development to get to the centre or short cut through to other places.

We chose our courtyard villa it because although we liked the designer homes - in Lucky Lane in Sabal Chase for example - we didn't like the lack of privacy and the fact that you got all the noise when someone was having a party or the screaming grandkids came down. Sorry about that attitude folks - I guess it's our old age and the fact that we don't have any kids ourselves!

Neighbours are friendly all over the villages and there are several people with dogs in our street. There is a Sabal Chase Ladies club that organises various events. There is also Sabal Chase Noodles - which sounds a silly name but I think it evolved from a group who used to regularly use the Sabal Chase Pool. Talking of which I think there is regular water aerobics taught at that pool each morning around 10 am.

We have had 2 block parties in our street organised by one of our neighbours (but that's in the last 2 years). Our street doesn't seem to have become involved in the regular driveway parties that lots of other areas (such as Virginia Trace and Mallory Hill have), but that doesn't bother us particularly. We have always made our friends in other places, such as on the golf course or at dancing classes and wine appreciation classes!

We are near to Lake Sumter and can, if we want, do grocery shopping in the Sweetbay supermarket just on the outskirts of Lake Sumter and we only seem to be a short way too from Publix and Colony Cottage Rec Centre.

Also we are ideally placed for Lake Miona Rec centre and the restaurant at Cane Garden (though we would personally give Mallory Hill restaurant a miss after I had an upset stomach after their white chicken salad! We are also midway really between Canal Street Rec Centre and Bacall Rec Centre for other activities.

If you are a golfer, then you will find you are midway in the Villages as regards golf courses, which is why we moved to Sabal Chase from Chatham which was way too far north. That was convenient for Nancy Lopez but not for much else really.

From what I can remember (though some people may tell me I'm wrong), the Bonnybrook area is where everyone coming from south of the 466 cuts through Belvedere gate(?) to get to the shops and restaurants. The entrance gate near the library gets extremely busy. In our courtyard villa area in Sabal Chase we don't get any of that traffic even though the entrance to our villages comes out onto Canal Street.

I know I have talked far too much but I hope this will help you make your decision.