First of all, let me express my thanks for the responses I am hopeful I will receive. There is a ton of information on this forum, just not the easiest to navigate when seeking specifics. I am sure each of the Villages has a specific tone and tenor to what is liked/disliked and valued so all thoughts are welcomed.
First, what my lovely wife and I would seek in a potential move is fairly simplistic as we will be also living in MN for at least 7-10 more years but would like to have a place down here and then transition into this as our retirement home. My wife is a little younger than I am, so she will more than likely still be working and will seek to get into HR in the area. Let's not get the horse before the cart on that I guess.
Our interest would be in something under the $300K mark with Bond already paid, that is something we would be comfortable with, by no means are we rich and we do not want to be house-poor. Just rather be comfortable. As my earnings slow, it is a practical thing as I would rather go on cruises than have a larger home. I am rather social, my wife is more of an introvert unless there is a good comfortable vibe for her. Then she will blossom a bit with some commonalities with people. So the social aspect of a Village is about a 6/7 out of 10. So some proximity to a rec area/town square is a need. (More for me than her, but she is always happy to tag along).
Relatively quiet neighborhoods from traffic noise as that will be bothersome to her. I am learning the areas, but have no clue about the general roads and how loud the traffic can be vs the highway being nearby. So guidance on that is fantastic.
Also, if you don't mind and I get I am asking a lot. (If your Village is in my price range.). I would love to hear why you value or love our Village with some supporting information, neighbors, community, proximity, dining, etc. Followed by: Would you pick that location again, or would you select another Village. I dislike moving, so once I/we get there that I am very hopeful would be the place.
This is a start, and I may ask questions again based on responses, but would really like to iron out some of our thoughts on locations to become more actively focused in searching. Right now, I look all over the place. I have nothing truly against manufactured homes, but that would not be a preference based on storms from my general knowledge of how we handle tornadoes up here vs wind storms/hurricanes down there.
I appreciate you taking the valuable time to respond, and look forward to a more centralized place for me to learn a bit more and share with my wife.
FTR: We watch youtube videos, read the websites, look at Zillow, Redfin, etc for listings. So we are trying to do our best on our own, but doggone it people living in the area are certainly just as valuable if not more!
Also, even though the Vikings lost last night I am always accepting others to jump on whatever Viking train that will be available in the next several years! We all know Purple looks great on guys and gals! (Not Green and Gold!).
