[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

Thank you for sharing. I also continue to research......just as you do.
No harm in that. The Villages still remains number one for us.
But one never knows what one might find out there....

The residents (in the photos) appeared to be very much older......
or so they seemed. If you are still employed, you might end up being one of the very youngest of the group.........by the time you retire there, if you retire there.

Small is good. The population seems to be a reasonable amount of folks.
We live in a small town of 16,000........just the right size. It never changes. Our young adults leave after college and go to the big cities where the jobs are. Meanwhile new folks come into town........but strangely enough, our population is always 16,000. We also are spoiled by having all of the services we need right here "in town" even a hospital and two colleges, a museum and much more.

Spring Hill which is south of Brooksville, Florida (small population) is also a large development of homes........but does not have the infrastructure that TheVillages has.......however, the homes on the golf courses are gorgeous with large tall shady trees.........very woodsy. Spring Hill has about 95,000 pop, which is HUGE. We have several cousins who reside there, above Tampa/Saint Pete. Brooksville itself is a quaint older town which our aunt and uncle chose for their retirement.......it was a good choice for them.......as they also enjoyed small town living. It used to be known for its tangerines and citrus groves. I remember them taking us to the Christmas Tree House on their "Main Street"....very cute.

One place I'd still like to see is AVE MARIA.......inland from Naples which is a nice small city on the Gulf of Mexico.
Some pizza chain owner developed Ave Maria and even built a university and a cathedral there.
It was to be a town for all ages......not just retirees.......with schools and such. I don't think it ever quite took off.
Not sure.

Ava Maria is approx. 17 miles from Naples. It was founded by Tom Monaghan, the founder of the Domino's Pizza chain. He also founded Ava Maria University located in the town of Ava Maria.