Skeptical to the WOW Factor

[2BNTV]

I was just thinking it might be fun for people to post their experiences that were skeptical or had no intention of buying in TV and had changed their minds after a LSV. Or bought much sooner than expected.

What changed your mind so quickly? Was there one thing you can honestly say convinced you?

I thought it might be good to have this in one thread.

[graciegirl]

We had vacationed in Florida many times. And there were favorite places we went including Disney World but I never EVER wanted to live there. I don't LIKE Florida and I still don't.

Florida and getting old meant couples dressing alike and men wearing white loafers and a LOT of geezer hair cuts and fifties hairstyles for the women and eternally the same small social group and playing Mahjong and dances at the Elks Club and having cocktail parties........... and leaving lovely, LOVELY Ohio which is where all the nice people I knew lived, including the smartest and sweetest and cutest grandchildren in the world.

Until the lifestyle visit.

I just loved the people and their quick wit and the varied experiences and the friendliness and the opportunity to finally study art and play golf without competition and I adored the immaculate streets and PERFECT landscaping and all of the things you could do and an opportunity to meet 80,000 new people who were all old enough to know what I was talking about and didn't look right through me.

I loved the golf carts and the fact I didn't have to worry about my figure and that the gray hairs were quite common, even the ones that are misplaced.

I loved the belly laughs and the fun. The knowledge that those decades also spoke of some heartbreak and sadness and disappointment...you just can't get old enough to live here without some of that.

I liked that some people thought just as I did and plenty did not. It was new and different and pretty and interesting and fun.

And...our grandchildren were going away too...to college. That made it easier.

[pooh]

LOL....we had our lifestyle visit after we closed on our house... ;)

I had no intentions of buying, I was just looking around to keep Mike happy and....I was curious. Well, after that first visit, I knew we would buy...and a few days later, when we came back for one more look see before heading back to California, we told our agent what to look for. Bought our house while still in CA...isn't the internet wonderful!!!

The place was absolutely beautiful and the people we saw driving and walking around looked so happy and busy. Actually the first people we talked to, in Johnny Rocket's, were from a community not too far from ours in CA. They loved it here....and so do we.

[kittylecroix]

We were looking for a place to rent for a month in the winter and my sister had shown me the video of The Villages. It looked like a fun place so we rented in March of 08. We thought it was a great place. We rented again that November and decided to move here. I was impressed when people we met at the golf course or at the square would tell me how they had no intention of moving here when they came to visit, but then they went home and put their house up for sale and moved. None of them regretted it. We were already 50 miles from most of our family when we were in upstate NY and the property taxes were terrible. We decided to "vote with our feet"and leave NY and what better place to move than The Villages. We love it here!

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Someone fed us "the beverage". ;)

Bill :)

[tainsley]

Everything said above was our experience too. Gosh we just love this place!

[natickdan]

We drank the kool-aid....

[2BNTV]

Since I started this thread, here goes.

I was never skeptical as I had never heard of TV. I was invited to visit with an old friend. What I saw and experienced blew me away. I thought TV was built with a person like me in mind because it fit me to a "T". I was walking around the squares in a stupor as I was thinking, "I can't believe this place is sooooooooooo beautiful".

If I had my checkbook with me, I would have bought instantly. :)

Still a wannabee. :(

2BNTV :sigh:

[eweissenbach]

I started researching TV on the internet 3 years ago, ordered the DVD, and registered with TOTV in December of '09. Being the curious type (and a former educator) I like to research fairly thoroughly anything that I am interested in, and TV interested me. By early '10 I had seen enough to be convinced that The Villages could be for me and wanted to take the lifestyle preview. My wife had not sought out information, though I encouraged her to do so, and was highly skeptical. I finally got her to agree to an LSP in April 2010 by promising I would take a day to visit her old friend in Sarasota. We came on the LSP and went to the squares every night - she loves to dance - and took in the beauty of the place, and by the third day she was ready to buy! We are trying to sell our home now in order to buy a home in TV, and will be spending Feb. and March in Hemingway. We will continue to maintain a home in Missouri near our three kids and six grandkids, but plan to spend six months per year, or more, in TV. There is clearly no place like the Villages where you can live the lifestyle available to virtually no one else, no matter how wealthy, anywhere else in the world. It is almost impossible to explain to anyone who is not aware of TV what it is like there, you have to experience it to believe it.

[2BNTV]

I started researching TV on the internet 3 years ago, ordered the DVD, and registered with TOTV in December of '09. Being the curious type (and a former educator) I like to research fairly thoroughly anything that I am interested in, and TV interested me. By early '10 I had seen enough to be convinced that The Villages could be for me and wanted to take the lifestyle preview. My wife had not sought out information, though I encouraged her to do so, and was highly skeptical. I finally got her to agree to an LSP in April 2010 by promising I would take a day to visit her old friend in Sarasota. We came on the LSP and went to the squares every night - she loves to dance - and took in the beauty of the place, and by the third day she was ready to buy! We are trying to sell our home now in order to buy a home in TV, and will be spending Feb. and March in Hemingway. We will continue to maintain a home in Missouri near our three kids and six grandkids, but plan to spend six months per year, or more, in TV. There is clearly no place like the Villages where you can live the lifestyle available to virtually no one else, no matter how wealthy, anywhere else in the world. It is almost impossible to explain to anyone who is not aware of TV what it is like there, you have to experience it to believe it.

Ed:

I totally agree as this statement is sooooooooooo true.

BTW - Your pictures show that you have a beautiful home in Missouri. :)

[swrinfla]

Last week, my traveling companion gal pal, whom I met on an Alaskan cruise in 2007 and with whom I've traveled frequently since, came to visit for most of the week.

We went to several open houses, both new and pre-owned. She knows now that she shouldn't have any trouble finding something that will fit her budget once she sells her house in a Nashville, TN, suburb.

I've bent her ear over the lifestyle enough that she knows what happens here. She visited now, because she is finding the winter more and more "problematic" in Tennessee, and wanted to see how she might be attracted to Florida. This week she's visiting other friends in Port St. Lucie, and will move on to Bonita Springs.

I think she will choose The Villages!

Maybe I'm a good salesman. Maybe not.

SWR
:beer3:

[eweissenbach]

Last week, my traveling companion gal pal, whom I met on an Alaskan cruise in 2007 and with whom I've traveled frequently since, came to visit for most of the week.

I think she will choose The Villages!

Maybe I'm a good salesman. Maybe not.

SWR
:beer3:

A ring might close the sale ----- just sayin' Steve :icon_wink:

[collie1228]

I'm with Gracie - Florida is not a pretty place. I've enjoyed coming to Florida in the winter over the years for the tourist traps, but never wanted to live here. Then we drove into The Villages in 2008, and it was all over. The place is just wonderful, and that's not a word I normally use. I love Gracie's description of driving into TV - It's like when the color came on in The Wizard of Oz. Other than Disney, I've never seen a prettier place. Doesn't look like Florida.

[Someday Came]

We looked for 3 years on and off in TV and many other places. We could not find anything like TV and at first I did not want to look in TV I had something in my head ( old people) and TV turned out to be the best of all the places we looked. Six weeks ago we closed on our home in Hemingway, we will only be there part time for the next 18 months than NO MORE WORK and will be there full time.
Kathie
From, Long Island and Weston Fl.

[skyguy79]

It happened so fast my head is still spinning, spinning so fast that I've been invited to be in the cast of the next remake of the exorcist!

Actually, it started on our planning on a place to go on a winter vacation after attending a convention in Orlando and spending some time with our son at Disney World in 2010. I started to consider where we would like to go and started with the Myrtle Beach then we moved on down to Florida. I searched both coast lines and couldn't find a place we really wanted to go then figured on staying 2 weeks in Orlando then another two in Daytona.

After all reservations were arranged and confirmed, we started hearing The Villages advertisements on television and so I looked at their website and requested their video. We eventually started to change our plans a number of times until we... well a little complex to fully explain. We wound up with two weeks in a lifestyle then proceed to Daytona, which we eventually also canceled after our closing.

To make a long story short, we started to look to see what was available and before we knew it we found, with the help of friends down here, our place in Hadley. We went through all the paperwork from NYS and arranged our closing based on when our Amtrak reservations were already set months in advance.

On the day before closing we arrived in TV and checked into the lifestyle which in the end we only stayed for the first 6 days that we reserved for. It wasn't the villa they advertised, but a Gardenia, the same as we were purchasing. Made for a few confusing days. I wasn't sure which house we were in a few times.. TV had made us an offer we couldn't refuse, to move out after only 6 days and into our new home early with only having to pay half price for the actual days instead of the two weeks we had reserved. That included refunding the other 8 days we already paid for.

I just mentioned that we arrived one day before the closing. Well today is the first anniversary of that day and tomorrow will mark the first anniversary of being home owners here in TV.
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it! :spoken:

[Pturner]

We were sold the first time we came down for all the reasons Gracie, Ed and others mentioned. We loved all the wonderful activities, the friendly people, the golf cart lifestyle, the golf courses, the beauty, well... everything.

However, at the time, we were a long way from retirement. We visited a few more times and then in 2009, five years after the first visit, we began seriously looking for a small vacation home in TV to tide us over until retirement. We bought a turnkey resale that fall and have come down whenever we can ever since. Looking forward to the day when we can finally say... RIBBIT!

[Happinow]

Here's my story....my inlaws both lived in TV when I married my husband almost 10 years ago. My husband and I are from upstate NY. My inlaws lived in a manufactured home community. (My husbands parents are divorced but both managed to stay inTV). We would visit a few times a year and each time we loved our visits and mostly visited Spanish Springs because we stayed at a hotel there. We'd walk around and I'd say to myself " it's so beautiful here but everyone is too old for us.". The grass would be greener in a younger community. So years went by and we decided we wanted to live in Florida but not TV. We decided on Lake Mary, about half hour away from TV. Younger population and research said it was a great place to live. We contacted a real estate agent and spent an entire day house hunting. We were so disappointed! The community was very family oriented and we passed the toys in the driveway, basketball hoops outside, kids running around...you get the idea. My mother in law called to see how we were doing with our house hunt in Lake Mary and we said terrible! She said "you really should give TV another chance". So we said what do we have to lose? We drove to TV and contacted a realtor who my mother in law knew and he promptly showed us model homes. We instantly fell in love! As Gracie said it was the manicured lawns, the beautiful flowers, the golf carts....and it was a retirement community. We had to admit we were ready for retirement and all it had to offer. We hadn't met anyone yet so we hadn't made any friends but the sales people were wonderful so we were good. We decided that we wanted to build on a golf course and he had one designer lot left and we bought it right there. So, by default we will be a part of TV family. We haven't looked back once. We will start building next month. The rest will be history! Moral of the story...no grass is greener than the grass in TV :laugh:

[lovsthosebigdogs]

I grew up in South/Central NJ which is a haven and final resting place for every senior citizen in the NJ/NY area to spend his or her final days. Or so it seemed to me when I was growing up. You can't drive a quarter mile without finding an adult community. I knew I never wanted to live in ONE OF THOSE. And besides, I have dogs and need a fence and no adult community I ever heard of had fenced yards for your dogs and they have dog size restrictions. Then 2 of my friends bought in TV and kept telling me how great it was and that I should look at the website. I resisted for years! Finally in a weak moment I did look at the website and found it was true, the CYV do have fences and it does NOT look anything like the 'old folks neighborhoods' from back home. I decided to check into it further. I was totally into all the clubs and activities and it didn't seem like a place to grow old and hide until you died of old age. This might be different than what I thought. It took a year of research but we scheduled a visit. We were hooked immediately. It was like Stepford, all happy people walking around with these grins on their faces ALL the time. We talked to so many random people and no one had anything negative to say. We spent the whole LSV looking at homes and before we knew it, we bought our home. Whirlwind experience with no time to look back or be afraid.

[lightworker888]

I had learned about tV from a clogging friend up north who came to TV for 8 years and she gave us a tape (that's how long ago it was). We always thought it would be too expensive but then in 2009 we called for a new DVD and then got motivated to check out a LSV. However when we thought of the drive down from Canada we figured that we would be better off renting for a month and getting to know the place. Fortunately for us the CYV that we rented in Poinciana was perfectly located for all the activities. When we first talked to the owner she told us it was for sale and asked if we were interested. Of course we said "oh no" as that was the furthest thing from our plans. To make a long story short, we walked into a beautiful CYV that had the same style dining room set as we had at home and living room furniture that we loved and the bonus was a king size bed. By day 3 we were talking about buying it turnkey and we ended up buying before we left and then closing the following spring as she had it rented for the winter! It is such a joy for us to be able to vacation twice a year in Lower Paradise. We have always felt at home in TV and our neighbours are, of course, the best.

LW888

[Oren L Miller]

We started looking for a place to retire 15 years ago in Fl. Nothing we looked at fit the bill. One golf course. Kids in the movie theater. Yards not maintained. Some houses not maintained. Eight years ago with the advice from a friend (who has been in TV for 6 years now) we drove into Spanish Springs. We saw people walking along holding hands. We saw people riding around smiling in their golf carts. We walked up to the sales center and my wife said where do we sign up. We went and looked at models and fell in love with the kool-aid. We weren't ready to retire so we promised ourselves that we couldn't come back down until we were ready to retire. We - maybe I lack self control. We came down again in June of 2011. They gave us a year to build. The called in December and said they were willing to knock off 4% if we bought early. Monday is our closing. We will be frogs by March 1st. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my bride of 25 years in The Villages.

[Happinow]

These are wonderful stories and they fill my heart....thanks for letting us in on your journey to TV. :)

[Bettiboop]

I've always found it interesting to hear the stories of how and why people end up where they do and the journey they have traveled.

From reading this thread and others, I think I might be the only one who actually likes the state of Florida, but I'm probably biased as I was born in Florida (I hope you don't hold it against me ;)). I haven't lived my entire life in Florida but I have had the pleasure of living in some beautiful areas of the state as I grew up and again after returning to the state in '97.

I do agree TV is like a beautiful oasis in the middle of nowhere!!

The main reason we are planning to retire in TV is for the lifestyle....now THAT is something you won't find anywhere else in the country....that is the WOW factor for us!!! We love the area where we live now...if we could have golf cart access to everything we might not go through the trouble of moving at all. :laugh:

[ceejay]

Moral of the story...no grass is greener than the grass in TV :laugh:

Except for the months of January and February. :laugh:

[KYWildcat]

Even though I live 200 miles south of the Villages, I really think its the air (like the Vegas casinos) . I have sold my condo with a closing date of 2-2-12 and I am coming up this weekend with check book in hand to make the purchase of an existing. Don't know yet which one but before this weekend is complete, I will know.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Even though I live 200 miles south of the Villages, I really think its the air (like the Vegas casinos) . I have sold my condo with a closing date of 2-2-12 and I am coming up this weekend with check book in hand to make the purchase of an existing. Don't know yet which one but before this weekend is complete, I will know.

A smart person!!! :icon_wink:

You're on a mission - hope it goes well for you!!!

Bill :)

[2BNTV]

Even though I live 200 miles south of the Villages, I really think its the air (like the Vegas casinos) . I have sold my condo with a closing date of 2-2-12 and I am coming up this weekend with check book in hand to make the purchase of an existing. Don't know yet which one but before this weekend is complete, I will know.

WOW - Congrats on selling your condo.

You sound very decisive and it is a smart thing to do.

Best wishes on your house hunting adventure. :)

[duffysmom]

I've had the pleasure of living in Florida in three beautiful communities. The first was Key Biscayne which is a paradise. The second was Hutchinson Island a barrier Island and also beautiful. While living in Florida I always thought central Florida was a bug infested swamp and if I couldn't live with the ocean as a backdrop I wouldn't be happy. Well after a trip to TV I fell in love. We rented for a couple of months just to be sure. Since moving here 3 years ago we have never looked back. Some of the most amazing things I learned about Central Florida is that in the Summer months the evenings are breezy and lovely and sometimes downright cool. Another thing is the lack of mosquitoes and bugs. In my other locations in Florida the Summers and Spring were difficult when the noseeums were out. I love the beautiful lakes and springs surrounding out community as well as the rolling hills and horse farms. Most of all I love the incredible light. I realize that TV is not for everyone but I feel blessed that I get to live in paradise.

[CarGuys]

This started on honestly how did you get here.

I had a promotion mailed to us from " Top of the World"

Of course I lost it. Ruthie said "Honey did you book that place in Florida I would like to visit?"

Of course not I was lazy. So I got on the computer quick and by mistake Googled The Villages vs Top of the World. Booked the life style visit.

That was four years ago. Our sales agent has patience!

Just closed January 10th. Boy am I glad I did that Google search wrong!

[angiefox10]

This started on honestly how did you get here.

I had a promotion mailed to us from " Top of the World"

Of course I lost it. Ruthie said "Honey did you book that place in Florida I would like to visit?"

Of course not I was lazy. So I got on the computer quick and by mistake Googled The Villages vs Top of the World. Booked the life style visit.

That was four years ago. Our sales agent has patience!

Just closed January 10th. Boy am I glad I did that Google search wrong!


This is the funniest story yet!!! :laugh::laugh::laugh:

[Happinow]

This started on honestly how did you get here.

I had a promotion mailed to us from " Top of the World"

Of course I lost it. Ruthie said "Honey did you book that place in Florida I would like to visit?"

Of course not I was lazy. So I got on the computer quick and by mistake Googled The Villages vs Top of the World. Booked the life style visit.

That was four years ago. Our sales agent has patience!

Just closed January 10th. Boy am I glad I did that Google search wrong!

Now that's cute and funny :laugh::laugh:

[2BNTV]

This started on honestly how did you get here.

I had a promotion mailed to us from " Top of the World"

Of course I lost it. Ruthie said "Honey did you book that place in Florida I would like to visit?"

Of course not I was lazy. So I got on the computer quick and by mistake Googled The Villages vs Top of the World. Booked the life style visit.

That was four years ago. Our sales agent has patience!

Just closed January 10th. Boy am I glad I did that Google search wrong!

Best mistake you ever made. :)

I had a conversation with someone who moved to Top of the World and they didn't seem overjoyed about it.

[Bettiboop]

Best mistake you ever made. :)

.

Ditto! That was first thought I had too! :agree:

[billethkid]

we have friends from TN who used to live in the Tampa area for many, many years. They left to go to TN because they did not like FL.

After their first visit with us shortly after we built our home here and spending a few days with us they both remarked....now this is what living in FL is supposed to be like!!!!!!!

btk

[DebbieB]

I actually just "stumbled" into TV. Yup, hubby and I had decided to move down south and since we had a daughter living living on the southern east coast, though she really liked the area, close to night clubs, the beach, I found it not for us and set off for a 10 day driving tour of Florida with it ending visiting a friend in Longwood, who had mentioned TV to me as possibility that I should keep in the back of my mind. The idea of "retirement" community wasn't really what I had in mind as hubby and I had talked about living somewhere on a lake that he could fish after retiring.

That said, I started my journey driving over Alligator Alley to Naples and worked my up the west coast, some beautiful areas, but lots of congestion and not finding anything that really fit for us. Got all the way up to Crystal River and decided to cross over and weave by lakes that I found out had dried up on my way to Longwood. Hours and hours go by, hubby is calling me asking me what am I seeing. Well, to be honest, I felt like I was in Pa., lots and lots of horse farms, cows, had no idea Florida had areas like that, was nice, but no lakes and kinda like nowhere land. Needed a rest stop for the night and hubby told me just down the road was a Holiday Inn Express, which unknown to me, was actually in Spanish Springs. Being very tired and hungry, I check in and ask the front desk where can I get a bite to eat that was close by, they tell me just less than 10 minute walk there was a square that had free entertainment and some restaurants, I should go there.

O.K., I go and WOW!, I see signs saying Welcome to the TV, I am like what? Oh yeah, I am supposed to look there, well, maybe tomorrow, I must be close, so I keep walking and I hear music and lots of golf carts are scooting by me, I am like what is up here? I walk into the square and never looked back, the band was playing some Jimmy Buffet type music and I am a parrothead, so really liked that, and sat outside just in awe of everything, the people I met as I walked around came up and welcomed me, guess I had that look, as they told me they too, had been where I was that day.

I stopped in TV sales office and decided to have a look, WOW! again. Later, I called my hubby and told him about this "city within a city" out in nowhere land that he would not believe!

Rest is history, did bring him back to TV for two visits, and our house will be finished being built Feb. 14th of this year! I love everything about TV and all it has to offer us. Looking so forward to new friendships, getting involved with all the wonderful activities that are here for everyone and may actually try my hand at pickleball too! I feel our lives will be enriched living here and an exciting new chapter of our lives will begin and awesome memories will be had! I have never ever seen anything like TV in all my travels and I have traveled all over to lots of places.

Great thread! Sorry to be so lengthy, but we you all get to know me more, you will find out I do have a hard time saying what I want in five sentences or less, just can't seem to do it.

[PJ]

Graciegirl you said everything better than I could've, and covered most of my reasons for moving here.

Here's how I found TV:
I had never heard of TV, and never even saw the commercials, so it was a miracle that I learned about it.

The mother of a friend of my daughter was driving North on 441 from visiting friends in Miami, returning to her home in Maine. She drove past the previous sales center on 441, which was the building across from the P.O., now La Badega (sp?). She was immediately drawn to the beautiful Spanish architecture, turned around and went inside to use the restroom. She fell in love with the tile in the ladies room, then went to a sales person, and bought a house! She had never intended to ever leave Maine and move to Fl, but she loves it here!

So, when I was getting ready to move somewhere warmer, and considering AZ or CA, my daughter suggested I take a look at The Villages. It was an easy decision, for so many reasons. I've thanked her many times for her suggestion, and I thank God every day for this place. :)

[CaptJohn]

I actually just "stumbled" into TV.

Very nice story and you told it well. :coolsmiley:

[Happinow]

It's a lot of fun hearing your stories. The most amazing thing is....nobody regrets it! It is like nothing else on the planet.

[kentucky blue]

It's a lot of fun hearing your stories. The most amazing thing is....nobody regrets it! It is like nothing else on the planet.

Totally agree with you,but i first came to visit TV only to shut my adorable girlfriend up.She saw the ads on Fox News and wouldn't stop talking about TV.I figured since i wasn't close to retiring and still had my business in Lexington,there was no way in h*ll i was buying anything in Florida, at this point in my life.Well the rest is history,it took just one visit in 2010 and i knew she was right(are you females ever wrong????).No regrets,except i keep hearing"i told you so" over and over again ,by you know who;)

[2BNTV]

DebbieB:

I loved your post. You could have written a novel and I would have enjoyed every word. Thank you for posting your experience. :)

[Schaumburger]

I actually just "stumbled" into TV. Yup, hubby and I had decided to move down south and since we had a daughter living living on the southern east coast, though she really liked the area, close to night clubs, the beach, I found it not for us and set off for a 10 day driving tour of Florida with it ending visiting a friend in Longwood, who had mentioned TV to me as possibility that I should keep in the back of my mind. The idea of "retirement" community wasn't really what I had in mind as hubby and I had talked about living somewhere on a lake that he could fish after retiring.

That said, I started my journey driving over Alligator Alley to Naples and worked my up the west coast, some beautiful areas, but lots of congestion and not finding anything that really fit for us. Got all the way up to Crystal River and decided to cross over and weave by lakes that I found out had dried up on my way to Longwood. Hours and hours go by, hubby is calling me asking me what am I seeing. Well, to be honest, I felt like I was in Pa., lots and lots of horse farms, cows, had no idea Florida had areas like that, was nice, but no lakes and kinda like nowhere land. Needed a rest stop for the night and hubby told me just down the road was a Holiday Inn Express, which unknown to me, was actually in Spanish Springs. Being very tired and hungry, I check in and ask the front desk where can I get a bite to eat that was close by, they tell me just less than 10 minute walk there was a square that had free entertainment and some restaurants, I should go there.

O.K., I go and WOW!, I see signs saying Welcome to the TV, I am like what? Oh yeah, I am supposed to look there, well, maybe tomorrow, I must be close, so I keep walking and I hear music and lots of golf carts are scooting by me, I am like what is up here? I walk into the square and never looked back, the band was playing some Jimmy Buffet type music and I am a parrothead, so really liked that, and sat outside just in awe of everything, the people I met as I walked around came up and welcomed me, guess I had that look, as they told me they too, had been where I was that day.

I stopped in TV sales office and decided to have a look, WOW! again. Later, I called my hubby and told him about this "city within a city" out in nowhere land that he would not believe!

Rest is history, did bring him back to TV for two visits, and our house will be finished being built Feb. 14th of this year! I love everything about TV and all it has to offer us. Looking so forward to new friendships, getting involved with all the wonderful activities that are here for everyone and may actually try my hand at pickleball too! I feel our lives will be enriched living here and an exciting new chapter of our lives will begin and awesome memories will be had! I have never ever seen anything like TV in all my travels and I have traveled all over to lots of places.

Great thread! Sorry to be so lengthy, but we you all get to know me more, you will find out I do have a hard time saying what I want in five sentences or less, just can't seem to do it.

DebbieB -- Excellent post. And you and your husband are closing on Feb. 14 -- what a great Valentine's Day present for yourselves! Hope your moving and settling in go smoothly. :wave:

[Schaumburger]

Graciegirl you said everything better than I could've, and covered most of my reasons for moving here.

Here's how I found TV:
I had never heard of TV, and never even saw the commercials, so it was a miracle that I learned about it.

The mother of a friend of my daughter was driving North on 441 from visiting friends in Miami, returning to her home in Maine. She drove past the previous sales center on 441, which was the building across from the P.O., now La Badega (sp?). She was immediately drawn to the beautiful Spanish architecture, turned around and went inside to use the restroom. She fell in love with the tile in the ladies room, then went to a sales person, and bought a house! She had never intended to ever leave Maine and move to Fl, but she loves it here!

So, when I was getting ready to move somewhere warmer, and considering AZ or CA, my daughter suggested I take a look at The Villages. It was an easy decision, for so many reasons. I've thanked her many times for her suggestion, and I thank God every day for this place. :)

PJ -- Loved your post! Must have been fate that brought your daughter's friend's mom to TV and you too!

[Schaumburger]

Totally agree with you,but i first came to visit TV only to shut my adorable girlfriend up.She saw the ads on Fox News and wouldn't stop talking about TV.I figured since i wasn't close to retiring and still had my business in Lexington,there was no way in h*ll i was buying anything in Florida, at this point in my life.Well the rest is history,it took just one visit in 2010 and i knew she was right(are you females ever wrong????).No regrets,except i keep hearing"i told you so" over and over again ,by you know who;)

Of course not!!! :spoken:

[eweissenbach]

The Villages is truly a magical place. I have lived in a lot of really nice communities, and live on a beautiful lake now, but I have never experienced a consensus of opinion anywhere close to the love for this community by residents and wannabees (gonnabees) alike. It is magical and in some ways I wish everyone would tone it down a notch, at least until I buy my place, so as not to drive the prices up! I did some research on past posts and I have tallied so far:

1021 Love TV unconditionally
31 Love it, but find some fault with a few things
2 Don't love it, but admit it is pretty good.
1 undecided.

So there you have it - scientific evidence that folks love the Villages.

P.S. Anyone want a beautiful home on a gorgeous lake in NW Missouri? It comes with a great lifestyle (according to the owner).

[Yorio]

Yesterday January 20th, 2012 noon was a warm day. We were outside at the Lighthouse Restaurant in LSL with sunshine in our faces sipping a glass of Pinot Grigio and I having fish n' cole slaw and she a plate of fried oysters. We could see the beautiful courses of Palmer and the wonderful lake. The last time I experienced this feeling was at Sausalito Pier in SF. Now, don't over extend yourself here as now I don't know how many social groups and other activities I belong to. I only know that today is the only day I am fairly open in my calendar for January though we have Dance Social this evening. This place can get addictive and don't have enough time to get on to TOTV. I was browsing and posting more when I was up north.

[eweissenbach]

Yesterday January 20th, 2012 noon was a warm day. We were outside at the Lighthouse Restaurant in LSL with sunshine in our faces sipping a glass of Pinot Grigio and I having fish n' cole slaw and she a plate of fried oysters. We could see the beautiful courses of Palmer and the wonderful lake. The last time I experienced this feeling was at Sausalito Pier in SF. Now, don't over extend yourself here as now I don't know how many social groups and other activities I belong to. I only know that today is the only day I am fairly open in my calendar for January though we have Dance Social this evening. This place can get addictive and don't have enough time to get on to TOTV. I was browsing and posting more when I was up north.

Been to Sausalito, and eaten at a resturaunt overlooking the bay - it is a cool spot. I also find little time to browse and post when I am in TV, which I will be the next couple months.

[2BNTV]

On one of my LSV, I was sitting outside at Redsauce watching the Yankees-Rays baseball game having a refreshing drink and a gentle breeze was blowing.
It was a beautiful night to be outside. I was thinking, wow, this is great. Can life can any better than this?

And then the Rays won. :(

[cquick]

So many people I know have "heard" of The Villages, but when they come to visit they are amazed! They ALL say: "I had no idea that it's so beautiful". I think our English friends expected an English village everywhere.....with a pub and a shop and stuff like that.

[Yorio]

By mentioning how wonderful outside eating area is at the Lighthouse, I've probably extended my waiting time to over one hour during lunch time. My table is the corner table as one turns the L shaped outside dining area. I also like the outside at R.J. Gators but during lunch hours the area is shaded. We still like the tables outside and watch the comorants steering the boats as we do the happy hour drinks.:icon_wink:

[2BNTV]

bump

[uujudy]

. . . We still like the tables outside and watch the comorants steering the boats as we do the happy hour drinks.:icon_wink:

Not trying to hijack this thread, but I was told they are anhingas, so that's what I tell our visitors. Are they cormorants or anhingas? I want to get it right.

[tomjbud]

I am a high school band director in Indiana. Last April, I took 100 high school band members on a 22 hour bus ride to perform in Disney World. On the way down, our bus driver mentioned that we were near where he had his retirement home. Five days later we were on our way home with the same bus driver. I asked him about his retirement home and he went on and on about this wonderful place called The Villages.

When I got back home, I went on line to check it out. My wife and I were going on a cruise out of Tampa, so I signed up for a 4 day lifestyle preview before the cruise. Before we left home, my wife insisted that we leave our checkbooks at home. She insisted that "We are not going to buy anything!" After 2 days of drinking the kool-aid we were hooked! Our wonderful realtor, Sarah Godleski, found us the perfect CYV in Tamarind Grove. We put the initial deposit down on the spot with our credit card. We agreed to wire the remainder of the deposit by the following Friday.

Unfortunately, we boarded the cruise ship on January 2nd. We had no access to our bank accounts! I called our local bank from the cruise ship and they were understandably very skeptical about wiring a large sum of money to a bank in Florida from a cruise ship! When I explained our predicament to the Royal Cribbean crew, they gave us full access to the fax machine and all business services on the ship. I don't know how we did it, but we wound up buying our CYV from a cruise ship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico!

We are closing by mail on Monday, January 30th, and we are flying down to take possession on February 10th. We can't wait! We plan to spend all my school vacations in TV until I retire in 2 years. It is better than a cruise!

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the bus driver. He drives for Lamers Bus lines and also owns his own airplane. If anyone knows who this is, please send me a private message so I can thank him!

Tom Budzinski

[buzzy]

When I explained our predicament to the Royal Cribbean crew, they gave us full access to the fax machine and all business services on the ship. I don't know how we did it, but we wound up buying our CYV from a cruise ship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico!

Tom Budzinski

Great story. RC does treat you like royalty. Probably figured that, if you were rich enough to buy a retirement home while on board, that you'll probably cruise again with them. They know their market.

[Lynnelf]

Love this thread! Here's my story. Hubby and I were increasingly bit*****ing about the winter in NEPA (northeast PA) and neighbor would join in whenever she visited. Moving to FL was always mentioned. So one day the neighbor, hereafter known as Sandy, came over and we all started in except this time Sandy mentions this place called The Villages, that she heard about from a customer. I googled it and it seemed pretty nice, so on our next Disney vacation, hubby, daughter and I drove up to take a look. Wow! Took the trolley ride and had a sales person show us model homes. Very, impressed. Now, on the same trip, we also decided to go to Sarasota, another area of interest. Wow! Loved Sarasota too! Now we are somewhat undecided until hubby starts talking to a guy on the beach who lived in the Villages. He went on and on about the lifestyle, the cost of living, going on vacations and coming home to a vacation every day. So it's decided and the waiting begins. We do a LSV and love the place even more. Daughter graduates from college and decides to look for a job near the community where mom and dad are going to end up. She gets a great job, finds an apartment in Lady Lake and starts living the FL lifestyle. We visit but the waiting keeps getting harder. On the last visit we buy a beautiful lot. We expect to wait a year before being able to build but I'm offered an early retirement incentive! The house up north sells and The Villages offers a 4% incentive. Long story short, we signed the final paperwork on Friday, construction starts Feb 7 and closing is April 12. Thanks to that 4% we are able to build our dream home with all the upgrades we had hoped for! Living in Lady Lake now but can't wait for April 12 to become official Villagers!

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Good for you, Lynnelf! Don't ya just love it when a plan comes together??!!

Bill :)

[gcrisp]

I am a high school band director in Indiana. Last April, I took 100 high school band members on a 22 hour bus ride to perform in Disney World. On the way down, our bus driver mentioned that we were near where he had his retirement home. Five days later we were on our way home with the same bus driver. I asked him about his retirement home and he went on and on about this wonderful place called The Villages.

When I got back home, I went on line to check it out. My wife and I were going on a cruise out of Tampa, so I signed up for a 4 day lifestyle preview before the cruise. Before we left home, my wife insisted that we leave our checkbooks at home. She insisted that "We are not going to buy anything!" After 2 days of drinking the kool-aid we were hooked! Our wonderful realtor, Sarah Godleski, found us the perfect CYV in Tamarind Grove. We put the initial deposit down on the spot with our credit card. We agreed to wire the remainder of the deposit by the following Friday.

Unfortunately, we boarded the cruise ship on January 2nd. We had no access to our bank accounts! I called our local bank from the cruise ship and they were understandably very skeptical about wiring a large sum of money to a bank in Florida from a cruise ship! When I explained our predicament to the Royal Cribbean crew, they gave us full access to the fax machine and all business services on the ship. I don't know how we did it, but we wound up buying our CYV from a cruise ship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico!

We are closing by mail on Monday, January 30th, and we are flying down to take possession on February 10th. We can't wait! We plan to spend all my school vacations in TV until I retire in 2 years. It is better than a cruise!

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the bus driver. He drives for Lamers Bus lines and also owns his own airplane. If anyone knows who this is, please send me a private message so I can thank him!

Tom Budzinski

Hey Tom, I was also a band director in Indiana. I taught at North Harrison High School in Harrison County for 20 years. Just retired to TV in December 2011. Live in St. James area. Welcome to the greatest place on earth.

Gary

[KYWildcat]

Even though I live 200 miles south of the Villages, I really think its the air (like the Vegas casinos) . I have sold my condo with a closing date of 2-2-12 and I am coming up this weekend with check book in hand to make the purchase of an existing. Don't know yet which one but before this weekend is complete, I will know.

This is a follow up on the posting I did 1-18-2012. Yes, I did buy and will be moving in and becoming a "Frog" on or about March 1, 2012. I am currently a residential real estate appraiser in Southwest Florida. I have been in all the PUD's and communities in a 5 county area in SW FL many times. But, there is no other place like The Villages.

Oh, by the way, my company name is Appraisals in Paradise, Inc. and I think it will be very appropriate for my new location in The Villages. I plan on being active on a limited basis so that I do not upset the folks regarding my social security benefit that I should be receiving.

[Posh 08]

I am a high school band director in Indiana. Last April, I took 100 high school band members on a 22 hour bus ride to perform in Disney World. On the way down, our bus driver mentioned that we were near where he had his retirement home. Five days later we were on our way home with the same bus driver. I asked him about his retirement home and he went on and on about this wonderful place called The Villages.

When I got back home, I went on line to check it out. My wife and I were going on a cruise out of Tampa, so I signed up for a 4 day lifestyle preview before the cruise. Before we left home, my wife insisted that we leave our checkbooks at home. She insisted that "We are not going to buy anything!" After 2 days of drinking the kool-aid we were hooked! Our wonderful realtor, Sarah Godleski, found us the perfect CYV in Tamarind Grove. We put the initial deposit down on the spot with our credit card. We agreed to wire the remainder of the deposit by the following Friday.

Unfortunately, we boarded the cruise ship on January 2nd. We had no access to our bank accounts! I called our local bank from the cruise ship and they were understandably very skeptical about wiring a large sum of money to a bank in Florida from a cruise ship! When I explained our predicament to the Royal Cribbean crew, they gave us full access to the fax machine and all business services on the ship. I don't know how we did it, but we wound up buying our CYV from a cruise ship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico!

We are closing by mail on Monday, January 30th, and we are flying down to take possession on February 10th. We can't wait! We plan to spend all my school vacations in TV until I retire in 2 years. It is better than a cruise!

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the bus driver. He drives for Lamers Bus lines and also owns his own airplane. If anyone knows who this is, please send me a private message so I can thank him!

Tom Budzinski

:clap2:

[debzaranti]

I was just thinking it might be fun for people to post their experiences that were skeptical or had no intention of buying in TV and had changed their minds after a LSV. Or bought much sooner than expected.

What changed your mind so quickly? Was there one thing you can honestly say convinced you?

I thought it might be good to have this in one thread.

Everybody who lives here has a similar story!

Friends bought a patio villa here and became snowbirds. The Villages was all they talked about (we're from Chicago area). They kept bugging us to come down and see what it's like. We finally DID, just to get them to stop bugging us!

I didn't expect much and my husband was downright NEGATIVE. Told me to sit up front w/our real estate guy, he was gonna sit in back and take a nap. We began our tour. 5 minutes in, I looked back and he had one eye open, looking around. Another 5 minutes and both eyes are open. Next his arms are on the back of the front seats and he's REALLY looking now! Next thing out of his mouth is, "Show me the homes I can afford!" LOL!

This was March 2007. We purchased in July 2007 and moved in March 2008. We still can't thank our friends enough for bugging us until we finally came to see for ourselves. Nobody "gets it" until they see it in person. It's as much an attitude as it is a lifestyle/place.

What convinced us? What didn't!!?? The beauty, the cleanliness, the safety, the amenities, everyone we saw was friendly/happy. It seemed too good to be true. I must say, this is the one and only time in my life where something that seemed too good to be real, turns out to be pretty much as wonderful as it seems. Compared to any other place on earth, there is VERY LITTLE to complain about living in our community. NO place is PERFECT, but The Villages is about as close as you'll ever come to perfection in a place to live! WE LOVE IT!:a040:

[Lynnelf]

Good for you, Lynnelf! Don't ya just love it when a plan comes together??!!

Bill :)
Yes, I do Bill! Our plan was 5 years in the making. It's hard to believe that it's finally all coming together!:)

[Bettiboop]

Love this thread! Here's my story. Hubby and I were increasingly bit*****ing about the winter in NEPA (northeast PA) and neighbor would join in whenever she visited. Moving to FL was always mentioned. So one day the neighbor, hereafter known as Sandy, came over and we all started in except this time Sandy mentions this place called The Villages, that she heard about from a customer. I googled it and it seemed pretty nice, so on our next Disney vacation, hubby, daughter and I drove up to take a look. Wow! Took the trolley ride and had a sales person show us model homes. Very, impressed. Now, on the same trip, we also decided to go to Sarasota, another area of interest. Wow! Loved Sarasota too! Now we are somewhat undecided until hubby starts talking to a guy on the beach who lived in the Villages. He went on and on about the lifestyle, the cost of living, going on vacations and coming home to a vacation every day. So it's decided and the waiting begins. We do a LSV and love the place even more. Daughter graduates from college and decides to look for a job near the community where mom and dad are going to end up. She gets a great job, finds an apartment in Lady Lake and starts living the FL lifestyle. We visit but the waiting keeps getting harder. On the last visit we buy a beautiful lot. We expect to wait a year before being able to build but I'm offered an early retirement incentive! The house up north sells and The Villages offers a 4% incentive. Long story short, we signed the final paperwork on Friday, construction starts Feb 7 and closing is April 12. Thanks to that 4% we are able to build our dream home with all the upgrades we had hoped for! Living in Lady Lake now but can't wait for April 12 to become official Villagers!

Everything just fell into place, didn't it?!!! When that happens I always say it was meant to be!!! Enjoy your life in The Villages. April will be here before you know it!

[Schaumburger]

Love this thread! Here's my story. Hubby and I were increasingly bit*****ing about the winter in NEPA (northeast PA) and neighbor would join in whenever she visited. Moving to FL was always mentioned. So one day the neighbor, hereafter known as Sandy, came over and we all started in except this time Sandy mentions this place called The Villages, that she heard about from a customer. I googled it and it seemed pretty nice, so on our next Disney vacation, hubby, daughter and I drove up to take a look. Wow! Took the trolley ride and had a sales person show us model homes. Very, impressed. Now, on the same trip, we also decided to go to Sarasota, another area of interest. Wow! Loved Sarasota too! Now we are somewhat undecided until hubby starts talking to a guy on the beach who lived in the Villages. He went on and on about the lifestyle, the cost of living, going on vacations and coming home to a vacation every day. So it's decided and the waiting begins. We do a LSV and love the place even more. Daughter graduates from college and decides to look for a job near the community where mom and dad are going to end up. She gets a great job, finds an apartment in Lady Lake and starts living the FL lifestyle. We visit but the waiting keeps getting harder. On the last visit we buy a beautiful lot. We expect to wait a year before being able to build but I'm offered an early retirement incentive! The house up north sells and The Villages offers a 4% incentive. Long story short, we signed the final paperwork on Friday, construction starts Feb 7 and closing is April 12. Thanks to that 4% we are able to build our dream home with all the upgrades we had hoped for! Living in Lady Lake now but can't wait for April 12 to become official Villagers!

Lynnelf, It was your destiny to become a Villager. Congratulations and may your home construction, closing and move in go smoothly. It's nice that you are just a hop, skip and jump from TV so that you can watch your new home going up! :wave:

[Schaumburger]

This is a follow up on the posting I did 1-18-2012. Yes, I did buy and will be moving in and becoming a "Frog" on or about March 1, 2012. I am currently a residential real estate appraiser in Southwest Florida. I have been in all the PUD's and communities in a 5 county area in SW FL many times. But, there is no other place like The Villages.

Oh, by the way, my company name is Appraisals in Paradise, Inc. and I think it will be very appropriate for my new location in The Villages. I plan on being active on a limited basis so that I do not upset the folks regarding my social security benefit that I should be receiving.

KYWildcat, Woo Hoo! In 31 days you will be a Villager. Congratulations. Hope your closing and move in go smoothly. :wave:

[tomjbud]

Hey Tom, I was also a band director in Indiana. I taught at North Harrison High School in Harrison County for 20 years. Just retired to TV in December 2011. Live in St. James area. Welcome to the greatest place on earth.

Gary
Gary,

I am the band director in Mishawaka, Indiana. This is my 35th year there. Two more years until I retire. My wife and I will be coming down for the first week of April during spring break. Our Villa is in Tamarind Grove, so we are neighbors!

Hope to meet you soon!

Tom

[KYWildcat]

KYWildcat, Woo Hoo! In 31 days you will be a Villager. Congratulations. Hope your closing and move in go smoothly. :wave:

Shaumburger,
Thank you so much for the kind comments!

[gcrisp]

Gary,

I am the band director in Mishawaka, Indiana. This is my 35th year there. Two more years until I retire. My wife and I will be coming down for the first week of April during spring break. Our Villa is in Tamarind Grove, so we are neighbors!

Hope to meet you soon!

Tom

Hope to see you in April. I don't miss the Indiana snows!!! Have a great remaining school year.

Gary
gacrisp47@gmail.com

[2BNTV]

I just wanted to thank "Keithwand" for inspiring this thread. :)

[angiefox10]

I just wanted to thank "Keithwand" for inspiring this thread. :)


I was just reading his comments on another thread and thinking of this post!

We were all reading his threads leading up the the "WOW" factor and waiting for it!!! *laughing* It's always fun to watch and read when someone gets to see what the big "fuss" is about! :)

[2BNTV]

I was just reading his comments on another thread and thinking of this post!

We were all reading his threads leading up the the "WOW" factor and waiting for it!!! *laughing* It's always fun to watch and read when someone gets to see what the big "fuss" is about! :)

AngieFox;

You are a smart lady. :)

I hope you get done moving in so you can fully enjoy frogdom.

[Carmpat]

Our friends told us about The Villages and I started to do all the research myself. I fell in love with all the information they provided to us. Glen kept telling us living in The Villages was like living an adult Disney World so that got our attention right away. Last December we came out with them as they were having their closing. We saw many models and our real estate agent, Wesley took us around. At that point, I knew in my mind we were going to purchase a lot. We bumped into other folks who kept telling us don't wait until there is nothing left to buy. The right thing to do was to sell our house first, then go back to Fl and buy a lot. Of course, we didn't do it that way. We bought a lot on our first trip to TV. We hope to put our house up for sale in about 2 weeks and pray it sells fast so we can begin building on our land.

[angiefox10]

Our friends told us about The Villages and I started to do all the research myself. I fell in love with all the information they provided to us. Glen kept telling us living in The Villages was like living an adult Disney World so that got our attention right away. Last December we came out with them as they were having their closing. We saw many models and our real estate agent, Wesley took us around. At that point, I knew in my mind we were going to purchase a lot. We bumped into other folks who kept telling us don't wait until there is nothing left to buy. The right thing to do was to sell our house first, then go back to Fl and buy a lot. Of course, we didn't do it that way. We bought a lot on our first trip to TV. We hope to put our house up for sale in about 2 weeks and pray it sells fast so we can begin building on our land.


Of course you didn't do it that way... None of us do!!! :a040::MOJE_whot::a040:

[Finallyfree]

Boy, I have been reading these comments and laughing, sniffing, and thinking yep, yep!

Several years ago friends told us about the villages. "Disney for adults" they said. We thought nothing can be that good, it had to be a one time shot. Finally in February 2011 I had to go to Miami for work, talked my husband (who was already retired) into coming with me and driving down from Smyrna, GA. First we went to Tampa to visit friends and check out retirement communities near the water, didnt like anything. Next went to Miami, I worked we talked about the negatives of Florida; noseeums, hurricanes, heat, etc. decided for the heck of it to go home up 75 and as we saw signs thought, Eddy loved it maybe we should just stop by. We spent one afternoon with our agent, Ron Delk, and spent the evening on the square. LOVED IT!

A few months later we booked a LSV for September, meanwhile we kept looking. We went to Hilton Head and left there telling our friends, we will be neighbors when I finally retired. I ALMOST ASKED MY HUSBAND TO CANCEL THE LSV. Decided heck, it would be a nice mini vacation. You all know the rest. We wanted a lake lot so we would have to wait for it.

We got the call on 11/30 while we were in the hospital room with our newest granddaughter being born. Explained to our daughter we had to get home to make decisions. It was too hard, with too many concessions, even Ron said when it is this hard it is not right. We were miserable.

January 5th we got another call, we took the lot, listed our home January 10th, got a contract on 2/5, close on march 30 and move into a rental in Duvall on April 1 while our house is being built. We can't believe how easy it went this time. Ron was right, everything just fell into place. See y'all on April 1.

[keithwand]

No one was more negative to 55+ communities in general more than my wife and I based on our experiences of my parents being in Sun City. Not for us we thought.

We could not believe it when our friends said they were renting for a month in January 2012 and asked us to visit. What were they thinking by renting in TV?

We visited for 2 nights and 3 days; met friends of theirs for brunch; visited the clubs and rec centers and were BLOWN AWAY.

We came back in Feb. on the LSV and purchased a lot to build on.

March 2012 (last week) picked out everything for our house and the closing date is 6/26/2012.

Up and until our visit 3 months ago we had no idea we would be moving to TV.

Hows that for visitng and drinking the "koolaid" everyonr talks about?

[Bill-n-Brillo]

...............Hows that for visitng and drinking the "koolaid" everyonr talks about?

Anotehr resicual eeffect of drukning the koolaidd is yu strat slurring youre typing!!! :jester:

:pepper2:

Bill :wave: