Facilities & non-residents

[JerryLBell]

The wife and I are 90% convinced that TV is where we want to retire to but are investigating other communities just to be sure. A few in the local area strongly imply on their websites that they don't really need to have all the recreational facilities that you might want because they are so close to TV. That makes it sound like non-residents can come use what's in TV. I can see that being true for shopping and maybe the live outdoor music, and perhaps can see paying green fees to play on the free-for-residents golf courses, but can non-residents join clubs, take classes or use rec centers, swimming pools and the like? If not (and that's really the answer I'm expecting), how do you prove residency to use these facilities?

Thanks in advance for any and all helpful (or even just amusing) answers!

[Walter123]

but can non-residents join clubs, take classes or use rec centers, swimming pools and the like?

No, but you can get a guest card for friends for golf and the swimming pools but not the rec pools.


how do you prove residency to use these facilities?[/QUOTE]


With your Villages ID card.

[outahere]

I can see that being true for shopping and maybe the live outdoor music, and perhaps can see paying green fees to play on the free-for-residents golf courses, but can non-residents join clubs, take classes or use rec centers, swimming pools and the like? If not (and that's really the answer I'm expecting), how do you prove residency to use these facilities?

Thanks in advance for any and all helpful (or even just amusing) answers!

When you close on your home you will be issued a photo ID Villages Resident ID card. Non-residents are not allowed to use any facility, join clubs, take classes, use the pools, etc. Every time we have gone to a class they have asked to see our resident IDs. If you have guests visit, you can get them a Guest ID and they can use everything but the sports pools, which are residents only.

[scrapple]

If you have guests visit, you can get them a Guest ID and they can use everything but the sports pools, which are residents only.

That is technically true, but the "guest" must be from out of the area. If you buy anything in the area, you cannot obtain a guest pass. So you still would be unable to participate in anything except public events like music on the square or shopping

[Gerald]

Residents have ID's with numbers and photos on them that must be used for golf, rec centers, clubs, social events, swimming pools, etc. A visiter who has a friend in the villages can sponsor a few games of golf assuming (very limited number), that the person does not live anywhere near the villages. The cost for visiter for golf is much higher.

Everyone knows that live around the villages. that you can't use the villages for clubs or recreation etc.. The people who sell homes outside the villages know that as well. They simple imply what is not true. ask the straight forward question to them, and (get it in writing) will always get you a no you can't really use the villages.
You can go to the villages for movies, shopping, out door music, and eating. We love outsiders to spend their money here and keep our costs down.

[Bogie Shooter]

The wife and I are 90% convinced that TV is where we want to retire to but are investigating other communities just to be sure. A few in the local area strongly imply on their websites that they don't really need to have all the recreational facilities that you might want because they are so close to TV. That makes it sound like non-residents can come use what's in TV. I can see that being true for shopping and maybe the live outdoor music, and perhaps can see paying green fees to play on the free-for-residents golf courses, but can non-residents join clubs, take classes or use rec centers, swimming pools and the like? If not (and that's really the answer I'm expecting), how do you prove residency to use these facilities?

Thanks in advance for any and all helpful (or even just amusing) answers!

This is a great source of information about The Villages.
Village Community Development Districts (http://www.districtgov.org/)

[Sandtrap328]

The 3 counties of Lake, Sumter, and Marion are the ones where you cannot get a guest pass.

Like the other posters have said, people in the nearby areas cannot be club members, join in rec center activities, use the swimming pools, tennis courts, any recreational stuff, etc. The championship golf courses are available depending on time requested and their cost is higher than for Villagers. Executive golf would NOT be available.

Of course, the nightly entertainment is for anyone to enjoy as are shops and restaurants.

[Bogie Shooter]

The 3 counties of Lake, Sumter, and Marion are the ones where you cannot get a guest pass.

A resident who has a son, daughter,
grandchild or great grandchild (and their spouses) who reside in Lake, Marion or
Sumter counties may apply for an In-Area Guest ID card.

[outahere]

The 3 counties of Lake, Sumter, and Marion are the ones where you cannot get a guest pass.

True, however a resident can get an "in area" guest pass for those living in those 3 counties. The difference is that a resident (with a resident ID) must accompany those guests with an in-area pass. We had to do that for my college aged son when we moved here and were renting while house hunting. Now that we are owners, he has a non-owners resident ID which is valid for everything.

[folkh]

if someone lives in Lake, Sumter or Marion County and they play golf in The Villages?

[JerryLBell]

This all confirms my suspicions and makes me even less interested in those other communities. Thanks, all!

[Sandtrap328]

True, however a resident can get an "in area" guest pass for those living in those 3 counties. The difference is that a resident (with a resident ID) must accompany those guests with an in-area pass. We had to do that for my college aged son when we moved here and were renting while house hunting. Now that we are owners, he has a non-owners resident ID which is valid for everything.

Like Bogie says, the only ones who can obtain the in-area guest pass are children (and their spouse) and grandkids. Parents and siblings in the 3 counties are not eligible for in-area guest passes and cannot use Villages perks.

[Mikeod]

Non-residents can play the championship courses, but the fees are so much higher than courses outside that I can't imagine there is any significant outside play.

[kstew43]

i also believe non-villagers can become members of the championship courses/country club, and non-villagers can only take classes at the college of learning knowledge. The fee's are maybe a little higher than the villagers pay. They can also join the country club and play there courses.

thats the way I understand it.......

[Bogie Shooter]

if someone lives in Lake, Sumter or Marion County and they play golf in The Villages?

Champs yes, exec no. Exec with in-area ID.

[Bogie Shooter]

i also believe non-villagers can become members of the championship courses/country club, and non-villagers can only take classes at the college of learning knowledge. The fee's are maybe a little higher than the villagers pay.

thats the way I understand it.......

What do you mean by "can become members of the championship courses/country club"?
There is no such thing as a membership!

[OBXNana]

The wife and I are 90% convinced that TV is where we want to retire to but are investigating other communities just to be sure. A few in the local area strongly imply on their websites that they don't really need to have all the recreational facilities that you might want because they are so close to TV. That makes it sound like non-residents can come use what's in TV. I can see that being true for shopping and maybe the live outdoor music, and perhaps can see paying green fees to play on the free-for-residents golf courses, but can non-residents join clubs, take classes or use rec centers, swimming pools and the like? If not (and that's really the answer I'm expecting), how do you prove residency to use these facilities?

Thanks in advance for any and all helpful (or even just amusing) answers!

What the poster is saying, is exactly what we posted a few years ago. We were looking at different places and we were told by at least one sales person, that the property they were selling had use of The Villages. We could buy into the less expensive community and simply go to The Villages to use the amenities. When we shuffled through the smoke screen, we figured out we could go to the town square, eat at the restaurants, and shop in the shops. What was implied, a few years ago, was buy in our community and you are a "Villager". That's when we found this forum and figured out we were getting a sales pitch.

[JerryLBell]

The wife and I are 90% convinced that TV is where we want to retire to but are investigating other communities just to be sure...
Make that 100% sure. We came back down, checked out several active retirement communities in north central Florida (including re-visiting TV) and decided against everyone else. We are in the process of buying a house now. Wish us luck!

[Villager Joyce]

Best of Luck and welcome!

[mickey100]

You can take classes at The Villages Learning College if you are not an official resident, you pay a slightly higher fee I believe. The sport pools in The Villages don't seem to check swimmers who are lap swimming. They do check people attending classes at the pools and at the rec centers. I have a club meeting at a particular rec center once a month, and never have to show my ID card, but technically, you need to be a Villages resident.

[kstew43]

When you close on your home you will be issued a photo ID Villages Resident ID card. Non-residents are not allowed to use any facility, join clubs, take classes, use the pools, etc. Every time we have gone to a class they have asked to see our resident IDs. If you have guests visit, you can get them a Guest ID and they can use everything but the sports pools, which are residents only.

Thats not exactly correct.... residents of other subdivisions can take classes at the college of learning knowledge. They just pay a little more than TV resident do.

[tomwed]

True, however a resident can get an "in area" guest pass for those living in those 3 counties. The difference is that a resident (with a resident ID) must accompany those guests with an in-area pass. We had to do that for my college aged son when we moved here and were renting while house hunting. Now that we are owners, he has a non-owners resident ID which is valid for everything.
What is a non-owner resident ID or where can I read up on it?

[kstew43]

What do you mean by "can become members of the championship courses/country club"?
There is no such thing as a membership!

sorry not membership.....non resident price..... your correct......we gave up our priority when we became landlords.....my bad....

[Skybo]

What is a non-owner resident ID or where can I read up on it?

http://www.districtgov.org/departments/Community-Service/Permanent%20Residency%20Requirements%20for%20Non.p df

[Topspinmo]

You can take classes at The Villages Learning College if you are not an official resident, you pay a slightly higher fee I believe. The sport pools in The Villages don't seem to check swimmers who are lap swimming. They do check people attending classes at the pools and at the rec centers. I have a club meeting at a particular rec center once a month, and never have to show my ID card, but technically, you need to be a Villages resident.

Have been Id every time at sport pools scheduled events. I think they random check Id's at combo/swim times, pickleball open, beginner, and advanced beginner. You are asked to leave it you don't have ID. IMO Very Random too non existent. Chula Lady take her job seriously and checks quit often IMO (she does good job) at least at beginner, and advance beginner times while I learning the game. I been Id'ed few time there and sparely at Saddlebrook. Mulberry, playing pickleball. Never on the tennis hard courts. Probably be less now that snowbird season dwindling down.

I also checked out few other retirement communities. None compared to Villages IMO for what I wanted out of Retirement Community. I am happy little Frog even though it don't sound like it some times?

[Bryan]

Controlling use of The Villages resident amenities becomes a very complex issue. In the broad brush, each resident has an ID card which (in theory) can be checked at all recreation centers and facilities such as pickle ball, bocce, swimming pool, etc. In practice, it takes staff to do those checks, staff is expensive, so the checks are more �spot checks� than 100% checks so some people can (and do) slip through the holes.

Then there are lots of exceptions. For instance, classes at the Lifelong Learning Collage are open to the public, but Village residents get a discount. Many of the shows at regional recreation centers, especially The Savannah Center, are open to the public. Again, Villagers usually get a discount for the tickets upon showing their ID card. Many �free� events, especially at our regional recreation centers, are open to the public. Just recently (4-25-15) a local congressman sponsored a Veteran�s Benefit Fair at The Savannah Center. That was free and open to the public (as you would well expect it to be). Any person, Villager or not, can use the government offices within The Villages to renew drivers license, get new tags or a passport, pay property taxes, check out a library book, etc. They may be located in The Villages but they are government services, open to any taxpayer, as you would expect.

Then we have some �good neighbor� exceptions to using our facilities. As you may surmise, some of the towns and communities surrounding The Villages may not have the population to support certain medical support groups such as a COPD Support Group, or a Parkinson Disease Support Group, etc. The Villages often does have those medical-related support groups and, upon application, they can have a small percentage of their group members be non-Villagers (I think � not 100% sure � it is up to 10% of group members). This is just one community (The Villages) sharing scarce resources with their surrounding community neighbors. Non-Villagers attending support group meetings at our recreation centers can attend the meeting but not use the pool room, bocce court, or other amenities or facilities (OK � we do let them use the restrooms also) at our recreation centers. Again, this is not a perfect system but it works medium well and, IMHO, is the right thing to do for The Villages to be a good neighbor to surrounding communities. This exception does not apply to purley social or recreational activities such as cards, crafts, etc., - only medically-related support groups.

Sports can also have exceptions. How could we host a statewide horseshoe tournament or the Senior Games if no "outsiders" were allowed to use our sports facilities for that tournament? So yes, there are some exceptions for competitive events so that the "visiting" team can come in and play our "home" team.

Then there are some facilities that are just near-impossible to control. The use of our multi-modal trails by golf carts from �outside� The Villages is one example. This has been a source of considerable controversy and irritation in the past. It remains so to this day with no viable resolution in sight.

Some stuff, which some think belongs to The Villages, does not. All three town squares are open to the public. The merchants depend of �outsiders� using the squares to support their business. BUT our amenity fees do not pay for bands or entertainment at the town squares � the merchants do! Also every country club restaurant is open to the public. Anyone can walk in and eat a meal there (not swim or play golf, but eat at the restaurant). They are �for profit� businesses and depend on �the public� for a substantial portion of their income.

[jblum315]

Very thorough explanation, Bryan. Thanks

[tuccillo]

I do not believe you need to be a Village resident to play golf at the country clubs.


[/QUOTE]
Also every country club restaurant is open to the public. Anyone can walk in and eat a meal there (not swim or play golf, but eat at the restaurant). They are �for profit� businesses and depend on �the public� for a substantial portion of their income.
[/QUOTE]

[looneycat]

[quote=tuccillo;1052279]I do not believe you need to be a Village resident to play golf at the country clubs.


no, but you will pay about $15 more than residents.