[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by NYBob

I came across 'Lakeside Landings' which sits right on the line just outside of TV. On CR472 and Regatta Blvd. Which made us think, would that disallow residents from using TV amenities in similar situations ? There are also a few ALFs in the same location...

There are some assisted living facilities that have access to amenities, and there are some that do not. Buffalo Crossing and Watercrest do. Harbor Chase does not. You'd have to check each one to find out which does, which doesn't. Lakeside Landing residents are not eligible for Villages amenities.

Having read opinions/reviews of the UF Health Spanish Plaines Hospital ER (new name ?) I started to look into the free standing ERs on 466a & 44. Can anyone give any insight into them ? Yourself, family, friends...

Needed ER across from Brownwood a few years ago. Horrible experience. They wanted 3 chest xrays and 4 heart tests for someone who was simply intoxicated and dehydrated at the same time and passed out for a couple of minutes outside on a busy, VERY hot and humid night at the square. Patient was actually lucid and capable enough to walk himself to the ambulance and climb onto the guerney himself. Had to yell at the nurse and doctor to disconnect the IV or we'd take it out ourselves. Left after 2 hours of being connected to tubes, for no reason at all other than to order more tests. Got stuck with a bill over $2000 that insurance wouldn't cover, because of discharge against the doctor's recommendation.

On the same theme, I understand it's rather hard to get an appointment with a PCP/specialist as a new patient. Is this true and if not does anyone have recommendations as to where we should start. We have Regular Medicare and secondary Midigap plans.

It's hard to find a PCP that's accepting new patients. Once you find one, it isn't difficult to get an appointment with them at all. But The Villages Health doesn't accept regular Medicare, they only accept Advantage plans, and non-Medicare marketplace plans (people who aren't old enough for Medicare yet have those).

On our previous trip to TV we toured a few of the models and noticed a) they weren't the best quality and (b) privacy was at a minimum. Not to say the work was shoddy but things like LVP flooring and such don't impress quality. Didn't quite understand why you couldn't get wood or laminate ? And as to privacy is that basically the standard there ?

LVP flooring is better than wall to wall carpeting throughout, because standard-issue carpeting in The Villages is a pale beige color that will get filthy and disgusting within the first 5 years, even if you clean it regularly. Be grateful to have the vinyl planking. It's also the best for color options and waterproofing. Laminate is great for durability. If you buy something built to your specifications you can pick out the floor you want, but you'll be paying extra for anything that doesn't come "standard" with the home. As for privacy - unless you have a courtyard villa or one of those new villa-esque properties that come with wrap-around fencing, you won't have an abundance of privacy. The further north you look, the more space between houses, and the longer the back yards are. But even in the Historic section, your average lot size is only 1/5 of an acre.

Lastly, we'd like to tour a few neighborhoods on our next trip there. But as we recall most/all have gates at the entrances(?) Does one need a realtor to gain access to these villages or do some have a visitors entrance ?

Individual neighborhoods don't really have gates. But each neighborhood is part of a larger entity, a Village (hence the plural for the name The Villages). Most Villages have a gate. The Village gates are not security gates, they're traffic control gates. The roads are public roads. And so there are red buttons that anyone can press on the gate card reader, to open the gate. The point is to force incoming traffic to STOP before going further. Rolling through a stop sign is not an option, when there's a gate blocking your way. This is to ensure a safer mode of travel for the golf carts that are already on the other side of the gate, who can't go any faster than 20mph to get out of harm's way, and who in many cases have their own designated road (called an MMP), shared with pedestrians and bicycle riders, for travel that crosses those gated entries and exits.

There are a few areas that require a gate pass to enter (such as Hickory Hammock), but there's nothing behind those gates anyone would want to go to, and they're not through-streets. They're just exclusive, expensive (multi-million-dollar) homes within their own little looped road with a shared pool and guest house, and an HOA on top of their amenity fee.