[eweissenbach]

Here's my 2 pennies worth. We will buy in TV within the year, providing we are successful selling our home. I have had boats for over 30 years, and currently live on a lakefront property with a 2 well covered dock, a pontoon boat, a bass boat, and a waverunner. I have had a lot of fun boating, fishing, etc., but will not miss the maintenence and expense involved. We spent April in TV for the last two years, and absolutely fell in love with the lifestyle. As far as I can tell, the lifestyle of TV is unique from other retirement communities. The active lifestyle of TV is not everyone's cup-of-tea, so I totally understand others making different choices, but for me the lifestyle (dancing, golf, swimming, pickleball, dining out, people watching, lifelong learning...........) is the most compelling factor. In fact I never really liked Florida before visiting the Villages.

This past April I played golf with some people who lived in Stonecrest, and on their advice we spent an afternoon looking there. For awhile the housing options turned our heads, but on reflection we realized there was virtually no one "out and about", on carts, walking, bicyling etc. unlike TV. We went to the pool and no one was there - we went to the rec center and it looked Spartan in comparison to those at TV. The golf course looked less well maintained and not very busy either, this on a Saturday in the mid-80s. In other words, it was a nice community of houses, with very little else to offer IMHO. The salesman we talked to continually talked about the ability to get to the villages by going cross country and across the GC bridge. If getting to the Villages from Stonecrest was such a selling point, why not just buy in the Villages? I talked to another gentleman with whom I played golf, who lived in Del Webb. He said he wanted to move to Florida, but his wife said she would move only if they DIDN'T move to the Villages! Why I asked? Because it was just too busy was his reply. Ergo, the very reason I love it is the reason she hated it. To each his own. By the way I am a small town boy, who has lived in small towns, rural areas, and major cities, and I find each of them to have certain advantages, but as I get older the convenience of shopping and numerous resturaunt choices appeals greatly to me.