[WiscoDogsDad]

Originally Posted by JerryLBell

Between a bumper crop of recent hurricanes and the litigious-friendly atmosphere in Florida, insurance companies have been either jacking their rates up like crazy, dropping customers who have ever filed a claim (legitimate or not, paid out or not) or even gotten out of the market here. In the nearly 8 years we've been here, home insurance has gone from "a bit high" to "kind of crazy".

As soon as you get here, go to the local government offices and check in on getting a Florida Homestead Exemption. This can lower your tax bill a bit in the long run.

"HOA" fees (we call them "Amenity" fees here) are going up for new homes and will probably eventually go up for pre-existing homes. Nobody likes to see a monthly bill go up but when you compare them to the fees at other retirment communities, they are really pretty reasonable, especially if you consider what all The Villages offers.

Depending on where you're coming from, you might find food prices to be quite high. That's not a Villages thing; that's a Florida thing. Generally, the specialty stores like Sprouts and The Fresh Market will be the highest. Publix gets dinged for higher prices than Winn Dixie but has (I think) a much larger selection. Wal-Mart has lower prices but can be a zoo to shop in. Aldi and Wal-Mart Neighborhood (their grocery-only stores) seem to have the lowest prices but very limited selection.

If you leave "the bubble" and drive around Florida, you'll be hit with toll roads almost everywhere to the south. It's best to get a Sun Pass or other automatic payment device as you get a discounted price on the tolls over the "bill by plate" method you get stuck with if you don't have such a device.

If you haven't bought a golf cart yet, be prepared for sticker shock. You can probably buy them somewhat cheaper outside of The Villages, but even so they will probably cost more than some of the cars you've owned in years gone by. Besides the more-or-less standard features like roof, roll-down sides, turn signals and rear view mirrors, make sure you get some extra lighting, seat belts (and USE THEM!) and better seats. The base seats will save you some serious coin over the nicer bucket seats but the better seats are SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE! Well worth it in the long run, if you ask me.

Budget for dining out, perhaps a LOT more often than you have in the past. You'll get to know people and people love to socialize over dinners (or breakfasts or lunches) out.

Budget for travel. If you're a fresh retiree, you've probably only had a few weeks per year to go anywhere and maybe were limited by having to bring kids with you. Now that you've got the time, go see the world! It ain't free by any means to do so, but also well worth seeing the places you've only ever dreamed of.

Budget for a new car. You won't need one and, in fact, you might be able to scale down to a single car and a golf cart, as so many of us have. However, there are a LOT of guys who get to this point and think, "I've always wanted a Corvette and always denied myself as I had kids to raise, put through school, etc. If I don't get a 'Vette now, I'll never get one!" and run out and get a 'Vette. You'll be amazed at how many Corvettes there are here. And Porsches. And other sports cars that seem utterly wasted on Villages roads with speed limits ranging from 20 (where multi-modal paths merge with streets and in traffic circles) to 30 (neighborhoods) to 35 (multi-lane "main" roads like Morse and Buena Vista).

Budget for sports equipment, such as shorty wet suits for playing water volleyball in, pickleball racquets and balls, golf clubs, airsoft guns, etc., etc. You'll probably pick up some new liesure activities while you're here.

Budget for theme parks. You're close to Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, Gatorland, Lego Land, Kennedy Space Center, Tampa Zoo and more. You may not be into these things, but your visiting family and friends will be and will want you to go along. Florida residents can get annual passes for nearly all of these that can be HUGE savings over the "daily" rates at all of these but are still pricey to buy. We got Disney World annual passes early on that cost less than the combined single-day admission for all four of their parks. Thereafter, we could go in and not pay for parking, not pay for admission and get discounts on food and souvenirs (or not buy either). We would stay only as long as we felt like it and left when it got too crowded or hot and come back another day to explore another part of the park. We went something like 16 times that year. We had similar experiences with all the other parks. Though we don't do it, some folks get Disney (or wherever) annual passes every year.

Budget for new furniture. You may drag down all the old furniture you've had for years, get here and realize the pieces really don't go well with the Florida sense of style. You'll probably need lanai furniture too.

It ain't cheap to retire, but it can be the best time you've ever had.

Jerry,

Thank you so much for the kind, thoughtful and thorough response!

Lots of the points you make are covered under other subsets of my budget. This is just to keep a roof over my head....nothing else.

For example:
- I'm in contact with Babette's Furniture and one opinion is to budget 10% of the home's value for furnishings and decorating
- I'm carrying $17k for golf cart
- Have NOT started to consider budgetting for travel. I'll be working full time for the first two to four years as a Villages resident
- Our family did Disney to DEATH in the seventies and eighties....and there are no children nor grandchildren in my life. I will take the money that MIGHT have been spent at "The Most Expensive Day on Earth" for other luxuries.

My intention is to work right up until the day I have the house all upgraded to my desires, the mortgage paid to zero, and a new car in the garage....then stop worrying about a THING.