Met First Person to Move to the Villages...

[Taltarzac725]

...today. She was a friend of Harold Schwartz who persuaded her to move here. This is what she told me anyway. No one here when she moved. She said she was from "the District". I guess that is what they called it at the beginning.

Villages' founder dies at 93 - News - Ocala.com - Ocala, FL (http://www.ocala.com/news/20031224/villages-founder-dies-at-93)

Must be kind of hard to pin down just who was the first person here in the Villages.

[Madelaine Amee]

I met someone in NH who said her brother was the first person to build a house here!!!! Said Harold sent a limo to the airport to pick them up. Also told me the first house sold for $50K. How many more out there?????

[Taltarzac725]

I met someone in NH who said her brother was the first person to build a house here!!!! Said Harold sent a limo to the airport to pick them up. Also told me the first house sold for $50K. How many more out there?????

That is interesting. This woman was just someone I met for the first time who had a caretaker along. She likes to check out the dogs and watch them run at one of the Villages' area dog parks. I go to a lot of these.

She is of about the right age to be one of the pioneers who moved here from up North.

[redwitch]

I’ve met two that were here before Harold Schwartz turned Orange Blossom into The Villages. They got some really sweet incentives to not move — free ComCast and free garbage as long as they didn’t move.

Getting limo rides to TV was pretty common when I first moved here, especially for lifestyle visits. Ditto free movie passes, Villages’ bucks to spend in local restaurants and shops, etc. Free furniture or upgrades on new purchases. Those were the days.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I'm surprised to hear that the first house went for $50,000. I've seen advertising from the early days with houses selling in the $15,000 range.

[graciegirl]

I'm surprised to hear that the first house went for $50,000. I've seen advertising from the early days with houses selling in the $15,000 range.

I agree.

[Taltarzac725]

I agree.

I will try to get more information from this lady if I see her again. She does not travel on any schedule. She lives up in the Historical Section. She could be on Talk of the Villages.

[manaboutown]

Purchase records surely exist at the county clerk’s office or at whatever record storage means is used in Florida for real estate sales. Might be able to do a database search on computer. BTW Andrew Blechman interviewed a very long time resident and shared the mans comments and observations of the early days of TV in his book, “Leisureville”.

[GoodLife]

I'm surprised to hear that the first house went for $50,000. I've seen advertising from the early days with houses selling in the $15,000 range.


Do you have a link for the early days advertising? I also find the $50k price high for original 1980s pricing.

[GoodLife]

BTW Andrew Blechman interviewed a very long time resident and shared the mans comments and observations of the early days of TV in his book, “Leisureville”.

You don't own a home or live here right? If you did you'd know that Andrew Blechman and his book are full of it.

[manaboutown]

You don't own a home or live here right? If you did you'd know that Andrew Blechman and his book are full of it.

He obviously had an agenda; he had an anti senior living communities bias. However he did a fantastic job of gathering historical and current facts about 55 and over communities, in particular TV.

Another wonderful resource is “From Sun Cities to The Villages” by Judith Ann Trolander. BTW I would have chosen to move to TV over any other 55 and over community several years ago but cannot due to the health issues of an adult child. TV is my numero uno choice without question, warts and all.

[GoodLife]

He had an anti senior living communities bias.

However he did a fantastic job of gathering historical and current facts about 55 and over communities, in particular TV.


Lets see, guy with anti senior living communities bias does a fantastic job gathering data about senior communities.

Okay then....

[manaboutown]

Facts are facts. He gathered them. I ignored his anti senior communities blather and hugely benefited from the facts he presented. Separated the wheat from the chaff.

[Taltarzac725]

Facts are facts. He gathered them. I ignored his anti senior communities blather and hugely benefited from the facts he presented. Separated the wheat from the chaff.

His book Leisureville is good source of information about the Villages in the last two weeks of 2005. That is when he was here. I have written him a few times to look at Talk of the Villages to get a better idea of the Villages such as it is whenever I e-mailed him.

He seems to want the grandparents to be taking care of their grandkids and staying in the communities where they worked and raised kids. Seniors deserve their day in the sun and away from the snow shoveling and baby-sitting.

They do an awful lot for the community here in the Villages.

He also sexed up the Villages. Maybe I am in the wrong neighborhood but not much happens here except for loving relationships between married or committed partners. I have run across an occasional swinger so to speak but he actually got bored with the Villages and moved to St Petersburg.

Of course, there are those rowdy stories in the newspaper-- Sex on the Square and those -- but a community of this size will have some things like this going on and when they do they seem to even make the newspapers in France and Great Britain as well as Australia.

He does present good information about the government of the Villages, the developers' role, and the early history of the Villages. It is very good with the beginning of the Villages.

His book on pigeons is quite good.

Maybe, I should send him another e-mail. Andrew D. Blechman - author of LEISUREVILLE and PIGEONS (http://www.andrewblechman.com/)

Andrew D. Blechman - author of LEISUREVILLE and PIGEONS (http://www.andrewblechman.com/pigeons/index.html)

[bilcon]

I had a copy of a magazine with the Original Ad for The Villages. 1971 and it said, Orange Blossom Hills, Gateway to Disney. It also listed 15 models homes for $15,000. Mentioned underground utilities, pool and golf.