First Impressions of TV

[Yorio]

When you first visited TV, what impressed you. Having driven 301 and 27/441, I was impressed how the scenery changed as I started driving on Buena Vista Blvd. I thought we came to another country with all the greens, palm trees and the flowers. The roads were clean and orderly. Golf cart caravans were something to behold and really surprised to see the golf cart trails all over.

[angiefox10]

I will NEVER forget it. We drove into Spanish Springs. I remember seeing a couple of ladies jogging and some people playing pickle ball (only then I didn't know what it was). All the golf carts (I thought maybe they were Amish) People walking hand in hand going through the shops and sitting in the outdoor caf�'s eating lunch with their friends. I thought I had just entered the Griswold Christmas only it was July! I wanted to sign up to drink the Kool aid right then and there! *sigh*

Then they took us on a bus ride! It was soooo perfect!!!! We had been looking in Florida for our retirement community for several years and thought we had found the fountain of youth! :)

[Pturner]

Hi Yorio,
My first impression was quite similar to yours. As a golfer, I also was impressed with the layout of golf courses everywhere. First stops were the town squares and I loved (still do) their charm and the nightly dancing and entertainment offered. Next I discovered to my amazement all of the beautiful rec. centers. A short time later, discovered the Polo grounds.

Although it was several years later before we bought in TV, that first trip we knew. We still find all of it amazing and wonderful. The golf cart caravans never cease to thrill!

[RichieLion]

Ha ha!; I had the same experience as you, Yorio. In 2008 I got off the Florida Turnpike, per my instructions, and turned right on Main St. (301N). I was immediately apprehensive. It looked a bit depressed and run down and I turned to my wife and said "I don't know about this" (Main St. has since received many upgrades and improvements)

We drove down the road looking a shabby storefronts, empty stores, and such, and got a little down hearted. Then we turned right on 466A and in a little while the scenery changed as dramatically as if we were Dorothy waking up in Oz. All of a sudden we were driving into a beautiful picture postcard.

Pristine and gorgeous landscaping, no trash anywhere, people driving all over in cool golf carts, lovely looking well kept homes. All our cares went out the window and we knew we would come here to live at that moment. We've never been sorry.

[renielarson]

I will NEVER forget it. We drove into Spanish Springs. I remember seeing a couple of ladies jogging and some people playing pickle ball (only then I didn't know what it was). All the golf carts (I thought maybe they were Amish) People walking hand in hand going through the shops and sitting in the outdoor caf�'s eating lunch with their friends. I thought I had just entered the Griswold Christmas only it was July! I wanted to sign up to drink the Kool aid right then and there! *sigh*

Then they took us on a bus ride! It was soooo perfect!!!! We had been looking in Florida for our retirement community for several years and thought we had found the fountain of youth! :)

I'm so sorry to be laughing...but Amish driving golf carts...I can't help but find that funny. :1rotfl:

[Bill-n-Brillo]

We were immediately impressed by how neat, clean, and well thought out TV was on our first trip to look around. The bus ride as well as some additional show-and-tell from a sales rep started giving us some more insight regarding how mind boggling the place really is!

Bill :)

[jebartle]

The "ole boy" was at the wheel going about 55 mph down 441/27 and said "well there is The Villages" and kept drivfing, heading to Orlando....Yipsters! BUT BUT BUT on our return trip back to NC, I got him to stop down Main Street, and both of our mouths dropped in Ahhhh! We were hooked from that moment on....FLOWERS EVERY WHERE (Hmm!, I've heard that b4)...No really, TV was beautiful, and STILL IS....I knew we were going to be Happy Homeowners when we were introduced to ALL the golf courses, for a couple of avid golfers, it was our "Candy store"..

[bonrich]

We did the life-style stay for 3 or 4 nights, can't recall exactly. Our patio villa was adjacent to the Nancy Lopez golf course which was under construction at the time. Mastering the round-abouts, what a hoot! Enjoying Spanish Springs every night, then heading back to the Villa after dark, and all of them looking the same. Used the garage door opener on the first night to find out which one was ours!
Took us about 3 years and we finally bought in Pennecamp last year. Great place to look forward coming back to each winter season, as our stays become longer.

[2BNTV]

Driving in from the airport, I remember being on 301 and was not having good thoughts. I remember then making a right on 466 and I said to myself, "self", this place is big. I found Lake Sumter and when in the Sales office, I thought this place is luxurious.

Then I was taken to my rental and I thought, these homes are really beautiful. Took the trolley tour and was impressed. When I saw how beautiful the landscaping, flowers etc, I thought, " this place is really well maintained. When I saw the buffalo preserve, I was blown away.

Spending a couple of nights in Spanish Springs partying and meeting wonderful friendly people, I knew I found heaven on earth.

BTW - I haven't been on a golf course yet!!!!!

[cappyjon431]

My perspective is a little bit different, as I first saw TV about 25 years ago while driving from Gainesville to Miami. Viewed from 441/27 it looked really interesting, so I made a quick detour through the Spanish Springs area and thought, how cool, disneyworld for retirees. Being a young whippersnapper at the time I never even considered that I might be living here in the future. Fast forward 25 years and now we are happily living in TV.

[rubicon]

"This must be heaven", no its The Villages:a040:

[Turtlediver]

Our experience was much like RichieLions.... we drove and began to wonder and then we also felt that we had just step into Oz after . Town of Lake Sumter was picture perfect and every where we drove was immaculate. Not to hard to guess that we bought a lovely home in Tamarind Grove and hope to be there soon........

[collie1228]

I'm from Upstate New York where, if you take away the five months of winter, it's a beautiful green place. I always thought Florida paled in comparison, except for the sunshine, the beaches and the theme parks. Then I drove into The Villages in 2008 and it was like the lights went on or something; hard to explain. Gracie said it best in a recent post, and I can't improve on it: When you come into TV, "It is just like when the color came on in the Wizard of Oz."

[angiefox10]

Used the garage door opener on the first night to find out which one was ours!

:a20:

[Mikeod]

Seems like a lot of us had the same experience. We were visiting my son in Sarasota and I asked my wife if we could look at TV since we were looking for a place to retire. We came up 301 from Wildwood and it was nothing special. We turned on 466 and went past the place where Walmart is, then the high school. OK a little bit better. Then went past Palmer on the right, then the big sign. Hmmm, getting interesting. Then we saw Lake Sumter, the bridge, and then the sales office. Wow! My wife's attitude changed completely since she thought it would be just another golf course with homes.

We went back to Sarasota, and she told me she wanted to take another look, so we came back, talked to our agent, told him what we wanted and a few months later we got a call and bought our home, sight unseen. My colleagues could not believe I bought a house online! Best move I ever made.

[ilovetv]

We drove in on 466 from 301, and crossed over to Lake Sumter Landing. I kept thinking, "It's another world......everything is green, clean, perfectly landscaped, authentic architecture everywhere we look....and the people mix does not look like retirees." Then we stayed in a new Creekside Cabana, and we marveled at the solid, noise-proof construction, how quiet it is at night everywhere here, and how Barnes & Noble, TGIFridays and the town square are just a couple of blocks away.

Still pinching myself thinking I must be dreaming!

[Schaumburger]

My first visit was last year - went with a friend and her sister who were looking at homes in TV. We took the trolley tour from Lake Sumter Landing. I was impressed by the cleanliness, the beautiful landscaping and the people traversing TV in their golf carts. That first visit definitely made me think that TV may be my future home in my golden years.

[THE NEWCOMER]

I was tasked to delivery a car load of STUFF to a place call "The Villages" in Florida. A family member had just move there and I didn't know the first thing about this place. Like most males I didn't follow the instructions properly and got lost in "The Villages". I'm driving down 301 and it's been 12 hours or more and I'm getting really sleepy. I turn at the first BIG sign I see "Welcome to The Villages" which was 42 instead of 466. I find Buena Vista and start driving south thru these round abouts. The Landscaping and flowers remind me of DisneyWorld. I finally got to the intersection of Buena Vista and 466 and I gave up. Pulled into a Citizen Bank parking lot, made a call and they came and got me. I waited and waited and was wondering what's taking so long. I didn't know "The Villages" when completed will be 15 miles long. The delivery point was Canal and Bonita. So when my girlfriend flew in the next day to Orlando I told her I want to retire to "The Villages". I still didn't know anything about "The Villages" but first impressions blew me away. Back then 466A didn't punch thru to 301 so as you know things are constantly changing in "The Villages". I recommend you all take pictures because Bonita and Canal was the edge of The Villages. I'm an owner but still not a full time Villager. :thumbup:

[ssmith]

.....We drove over from the beach, I wanted to check it out...mostly to make fun of it. We were still not even 50. Well, it about blew our socks off. You see, we, had some acquantances who moved there and I had visions of rocking chairs, shuffleboard etc.

Like the others, I was a bit afraid as we drove to the middle of nowhere and everything was sooo simple looking (I had seen Deliverance ;). Then we came to the Emerald City and evrything looked soooo beautiful. The people were vibrant and happy, having fun, running around in their golf carts!!!

Next, we approached a round-a-bout and people were driving a bit crazy and I wondered it that was very well planned or not. hahahahaha

We saw a few georgous houses with a Realtor, ate at RJ Gators (BTW we had trouble getting someone to wait on us back then too but I guess that has changed now) and took the trolley tour. Then we headed back to the beach.

Well, it took awhile for us to totally digest it all.....but I knew deep down....that if I could....that is where I would want to be.

I joined this forum years later mostly because I wanted to see if it was a wonderful as it appeared....only to find out that it was not.....instead it was better!!!!

We have stayed there many times and each time I come away convinced that, if the opportunity came, ..... we would move there!!!! One of my favorite things to do there is to strike up a conversation with a total stranger....I LOVE it that people have time to talk and enjoy and slow down a bit!!! at least if they want to!!!! Instead of running in the rat race all day long! On the other hand, I liveon a street of mostly retired folks and tmost of the ones that stay here year around seem to have lost their zest for life. Now that is not what I 've seen in TV!!!!

Sadly still a Wannabe but enjoying my Northern Life too!!!

[Bosoxfan]

Ha ha!; I had the same experience as you, Yorio. In 2008 I got off the Florida Turnpike, per my instructions, and turned right on Main St. (301N). I was immediately apprehensive. It looked a bit depressed and run down and I turned to my wife and said "I don't know about this" (Main St. has since received many upgrades and improvements)

We drove down the road looking a shabby storefronts, empty stores, and such, and got a little down hearted. Then we turned right on 466A and in a little while the scenery changed as dramatically as if we were Dorothy waking up in Oz. All of a sudden we were driving into a beautiful picture postcard.

Pristine and gorgeous landscaping, no trash anywhere, people driving all over in cool golf carts, lovely looking well kept homes. All our cares went out the window and we knew we would come here to live at that moment. We've never been sorry.


Well said Richie.We had the same feelings traveling 301 from the turnpike.Little did we know how beautiful things would be & still are since we took that right turn onto 466a! We love living in our "bubble".

[Trish Crocker]

My mother lived in Zephyrhills and I would visit her there. This was my opinion of central Florida and I didn't like it. After hearing about the Villages, Steve agreed to go there with me just to get it out of my system since he 'hated' Florida. While driving there from Orlando, I started to get a little nervous...then we found it!! Steve is now as excited as I am and can't wait to get there!

[angiefox10]

We knew we wanted to move to Florida for the weather and to be close to water. We looked for many years and could find beautiful homes with EVERYTHING at wonderful prices. Something.... something was ALWAYS wrong with each comunity though. I couldn't put my finger on it. But why would we pay more for a house when we could get on for less someplace else???

When we drove into Spanish Springs I don't think either one of us cared about the price of the home!!! We just KNEW we had to live there!!! Ohhhh So this is what everyone is trying to tell us about!! Now we try to tell people and we can see their eyes glaze over and we know they don't beleive us.... *sigh* oh well....

Now we are on TOTV and we see how nice the people REALLY are!

[ilovetv]

...

[eweissenbach]

My first experience with TV was a virtual experience. Having seen the commercials on a golf tournament, I was curious and began by logging on to Thevillages.com. I looked at almost all of the videos and looked at real estate, then ordered the DVD. The real estate looked reasonable to me and the lifestyle looked intriguing. I soon found TOTV and began learning more and more about the place, as well as Lyle Gant's website which also offered a ton of info. It all seemed too good to be true, so I booked a lifestyle preview. My wife was rather reluctant, as she had not been as inquisitive as I, and knew virtually nothing about the place, but agreed to take a six day vacation there. When we got to TV it was just as I expected it to be and then some, but my wife was blown away. After about two days in the LSP she was ready to move. We are about to put our home on the market, and if it sells we will be on our way.

[Bosoxfan]

Good luck with your selling your home ew! We'll leave the lights on!

[notlongnow]

I am jealous eweissenbach. My wife loved it there and thought everything was perfect but says she can't imagine just picking up and moving to The Village. UGH! Stomach punch. :boxing2:
I am working on her and making some headway. We are a couple of years from retirement so have a little time to turn the ship.
Good lick on the sale of your home.
EB

[eweissenbach]

Good luck with your selling your home ew! We'll leave the lights on!

Thanks Bo! BTW sorry about your sox. My feelings for you and the awful collapse of your team are tempered by the realization that you have enjoyed tremendous success the past few years, while my beloved Royals have been dismal to say the least.

[eweissenbach]

I am jealous eweissenbach. My wife loved it there and thought everything was perfect but says she can't imagine just picking up and moving to The Village. UGH! Stomach punch. :boxing2:
I am working on her and making some headway. We are a couple of years from retirement so have a little time to turn the ship.
Good lick on the sale of your home.
EB

Well, to be honest we will continue to maintain a home (shared with one of our children) in the kansas city area. Plan to spend about six months in each location - neither of us could leave our three kids and their spouses and our seven grandchildren, not to mention her 85 year old mother, permanently. Thanks for the kind words and thoughts.

[notlongnow]

I think that is path we will be on.
EB

[Barefoot]

In 2007, when we first drove into TV (across CR466), I was a little scared. I thought it was like Stepford Wives. All the golf carts whizzing silently around. Everything was immaculately groomed. It was just too perfect.

Then we drank the Koolaid and started hanging out at the town squares. We put in an offer on a house right away, but it wasn't successful. We hated to leave TV. We returned home and bought a home sight unseen, over the internet. We love living in The Villages for six months in the winter and returning to our lake cottage in Canada for the summer. We are all so blessed to have discovered such a lovely spot.