Flyers999
03-26-2025, 09:01 AM
OK, you did a couple of lifestyle visits and were impressed. You now “know” two people in TVs, but those people are likely to be realtors who are the last people in the world you should ask about where to buy a house in America’s friendliest hometown. So, what do you do?
By “Stranger” I mean one who doesn’t know anyone currently living here. This makes things a lot harder than if you know someone who’s been here for a while and you visited them two months a year for five years. That was my situation. During those five years I checked out every square inch of the place and came up with a list of checkboxes that my home would have to meet. By the time I decided to buy, I knew exactly where I wanted to be and what I’d be doing every day.
What you are going to be doing every day is important. If you were buying a house in the normal world (outside TV) you would consider how far your new home would be from your job, kids, place of worship, racetrack, etc. You should approach your Village move in the same way. What are you going to be doing every day when you live here? But you say,” I will figure that out when I get there.” No, you won’t. “I’ll take up golf.” Most people hate golf, for them, it’s a good walk spoiled. If you didn’t golf before you moved to TV, you most likely won’t like it after. There are exceptions but I’m talking about “playing the odds.” Which is what success in life is all about, isn’t it?
By knowing what you are going to do every day, THEN you can decide where in TV you want to live. But what if you have some idea but you’re not completely sure about what you’re going to be doing? OK. Follow these steps.
1) Sell you house up north (or wherever you are coming from). This includes your furniture. Hauling your furniture down here and storing it is an infernal waste of time/money. That does depend on how far you are coming from. If you are coming from the deep south, don’t finish reading this post. Skip to the next thread.
2) Rent a place in TV from May to November. There are tons of places available during that timeframe. Make sure it includes furniture, a golf cart and a Village ID. I just did a search on villagershomes4rent for that timeframe and 81 properties came up.
3) Once you moved into the rental, don’t start looking yet. Every Thursday, pull out the recreation section of the Daily Sun (the local rag) and it will list the activities that will be going on that week. Start attending the activities.
4) After you have done this for several months, then you can evaluate if you like the people, area and activities. Now you have figured out what you are going to be doing every day; and the people you will be seeing. You had to do this, there’s no other way. Then, and only then, will you know whether TV is for you.
You now have a good idea where you want to live in TV. No place is “full” or “no homes are ever for sale there, ” because many residents die (this is a retirement community) or move out of TV for various reasons. Places are always opening up. You now have the cash and are ready to go when something meets your checklist.
Most move within TVs an average of three times. The main reason for this is what they bought didn’t completely meet their needs. You are not going to fall into that trap. What you buy is where you are going to live for a long, long time.
Whatever you do, don’t believe the “You are not buying a house, you are buying a lifestyle.” As a retiree you will be spending most of your time in your home. Almost everyone I knew that lived here but “hated it,” was because of the location, especially the closeness of their neighbors.
Why anyone would retire and move to Florida where land has traditionally been cheap and plentiful but end up in a place where they can’t turn up their TV or radio is beyond me.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
By “Stranger” I mean one who doesn’t know anyone currently living here. This makes things a lot harder than if you know someone who’s been here for a while and you visited them two months a year for five years. That was my situation. During those five years I checked out every square inch of the place and came up with a list of checkboxes that my home would have to meet. By the time I decided to buy, I knew exactly where I wanted to be and what I’d be doing every day.
What you are going to be doing every day is important. If you were buying a house in the normal world (outside TV) you would consider how far your new home would be from your job, kids, place of worship, racetrack, etc. You should approach your Village move in the same way. What are you going to be doing every day when you live here? But you say,” I will figure that out when I get there.” No, you won’t. “I’ll take up golf.” Most people hate golf, for them, it’s a good walk spoiled. If you didn’t golf before you moved to TV, you most likely won’t like it after. There are exceptions but I’m talking about “playing the odds.” Which is what success in life is all about, isn’t it?
By knowing what you are going to do every day, THEN you can decide where in TV you want to live. But what if you have some idea but you’re not completely sure about what you’re going to be doing? OK. Follow these steps.
1) Sell you house up north (or wherever you are coming from). This includes your furniture. Hauling your furniture down here and storing it is an infernal waste of time/money. That does depend on how far you are coming from. If you are coming from the deep south, don’t finish reading this post. Skip to the next thread.
2) Rent a place in TV from May to November. There are tons of places available during that timeframe. Make sure it includes furniture, a golf cart and a Village ID. I just did a search on villagershomes4rent for that timeframe and 81 properties came up.
3) Once you moved into the rental, don’t start looking yet. Every Thursday, pull out the recreation section of the Daily Sun (the local rag) and it will list the activities that will be going on that week. Start attending the activities.
4) After you have done this for several months, then you can evaluate if you like the people, area and activities. Now you have figured out what you are going to be doing every day; and the people you will be seeing. You had to do this, there’s no other way. Then, and only then, will you know whether TV is for you.
You now have a good idea where you want to live in TV. No place is “full” or “no homes are ever for sale there, ” because many residents die (this is a retirement community) or move out of TV for various reasons. Places are always opening up. You now have the cash and are ready to go when something meets your checklist.
Most move within TVs an average of three times. The main reason for this is what they bought didn’t completely meet their needs. You are not going to fall into that trap. What you buy is where you are going to live for a long, long time.
Whatever you do, don’t believe the “You are not buying a house, you are buying a lifestyle.” As a retiree you will be spending most of your time in your home. Almost everyone I knew that lived here but “hated it,” was because of the location, especially the closeness of their neighbors.
Why anyone would retire and move to Florida where land has traditionally been cheap and plentiful but end up in a place where they can’t turn up their TV or radio is beyond me.
Hope this helps. Good luck!