"Where to Retire" Magazine and The Villages - hmmmm...

[gfmucci]

I've subscribed to "Where to Retire" magazine for over a couple of years now and I've noticed something that seems a bit strange.

The Villages is rarely mentioned. This first came to my attention when one issue a while back reviewed planned retirement communities. I don't know that The Villages was even mentioned. One of Vacation Publications (parent company) books, "America's 100 Best Places to Retire" (Third edition published in 2003) doesn't even mention TV. Another, "Where to Retire in Florida" published in 1999, gave TV high marks but gave Sun City (in Hillsboro County near Tampa) top honours. This seemed strange at the time because Sun City was built out at a population of 14,000, 20% of TV's current population.

Back to the magazine. There are no TV ads. No TV articles or reviews. There are probably a dozen Sun City ads. These ads appear to give the edge to the advertisers in other Vacation Publications books. Given the magnitude, sales volume, and quality of TV, this appears to me to be a deliberate and blatant snub - retribution for lack of advertising. - and a big black mark against the credibility of that publisher.

Has anyone else noticed this? Your thoughts?

[ConeyIsBabe]

I live in southern Oregon and have satellite television...... often see the TV ads and am familiar with the musical theme! Perhaps they (TV) prefer to spend their advertising money on television rather than a magazine. It seems to me, that strategy works cuz I was famililar with TV from the commercials and never read the mag!

[Russ_Boston]

I've been a WTR subscriber for over 6 years and only 1 mention of TV that i remember and that was in one of the side articles where the person asked about TV. It has some great articles but i do feel that they weigh some factors such as 'peace and quiet' too much. Give me activity any day!

I recently let my WTR subscription end because I've found my place.

[Mikitv]

Get the magazine too and have never seen TV in the articles, but that's okay because the people who really want to come to TV find it anyways.

[chelsea24]

On a personal note, I'm glad they don't advertise it more. I love it being our little secret!

[Muncle]

What you might have seen was a letter I wrote to them in '03. I'd been here for a real quick visit (1 day, just to look) in the summer of "03 but was still wide open in my choice of retirement spots. I subscribed to "Where to Retire" in my search for locations. I'd not seen anything about TV in the mag but liked their articles and info. I wrote:

"I've been looking into The Villages in Florida and am impressed with its layout, homes, amenities, and prices. It seems ideal, especially for a single retiree. Unfortunately, I've always been somewhat prejudiced against Florida flatness, summer heat, humidity, and bugs. Is there anything comparable farther north, specifically in the North Carolina or Virginia foothills."

Their reply:

"The Villages is unique -- more than a planned community, it's a town and a booming one. It covers about 20.000 acres, has 36,000 residents now and plans up to 50,000 homes. It has nearlyanyhing you would want in the way of recreation and services, including a regional medical center, church, restaurants, shops, groceries, and other stores. here are 10 recreation centers and another one on the way, and 18 golf courses with three more coming soon. Many residents navigate the area in their golf carts. Homes start at about $90,000 and go up above $500,000. Information: . . . "

"Few, if any, retirement communities approximate this in size, none in the mountains of North Carolina or Virginia. . . . "
The reply then went on to discuss a couple of the regular advertisers in the Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee mountains, smaller developmens like Wintergreen, Asheville, and Rarity.

That's the only mention of TV I've ever seen in the mag. For my part, obviously I got over my Florida phobias.

[Russ_Boston]

That was it. Small world! The mag still has some interesting articles on finance etc. that make it worth the small price.

[784caroline]

My belief is that the "Where to Retire " Magazine is not an independent consumer report of retirement living. I read it and enjoy many of the articles. However it would not surprise me if the advertisers as well as the articles that are written on individual communities are paid for by the developers themselves and the TV developer does not use this medium for its advertising.
Bottom line: This magazine publishes what they want you to read.....there is nothing independent about it. It makes money from the developers by highlighting their communities and tries to steer you to a developer who advertises with them. One should not believe that this is all thats available. If this were not the case, how can a magazine simply avoid the largest retirement community (TV) in the southeast!!

[RCT]

Maybe this publication only writes about places you go to die, not to live, like TV!!! :bigthumbsup:

[The Great Fumar]

" IT PAYS TO ADVERTIZE"

All magazines in in financial difficulty ........Television is killing them , If you want your picture in the book , then you have to pay for it.....
the villages are now BIG TIME and only advertise on national TV........

fumar :#1: :bigthumbsup:

[MMC24]

Where to Retire magazine only promo's those that advertise in their publication. TV does not advertise in their magazine so they do not write about us plain and simple. Some how 65K or so people found TV with out their help and more arriving daily.