First Impressions

[orge113]

On 2/16 and 2/17 we made our initial visit to TV. My wife was driving at the time and when we attempted to link up with our sales agent in Lake Sumter, we got lost . That coupled with the fact that there was a lot of traffic made my wife turn in to Satan . Eventually, we found our way and had a delightful stay.
We both enjoyed TV and all the amenities it had to offer. The problem is my wife still has strong ties to the NE and if all things were equal, she would prefer to head back to New York State. Because of financial and weather considerations, that is not going to happen. Patti is aware of this and is coming to the realization of what needs to be done. Having said that she is still concerned about the possibility of hurricanes and tornados.
My wife and I don't have children and in fact, we are both only children. Since we would be coming in cold turkey, the thrill of starting over again is somewhat perplexing. How easy is it to make friends? We also have cats and like to travel. Thus finding pet sitters is extremely important to us. Can I assume finding feline sitters is a doable task?
We will be returning to TV for another two night stay beginning on 3/1. Besides looking at the models again, we want to get some further clarification about the various fees associated with this community. Any clarification on these matters would be greatly appreciated.
Last week we checked out a community in Orlando known as Solivita. It is considered one of the top 50 planned master resorts in the US. Once my life and I leave TV on 3/3 we will be looking at two more complexes from that list; Del Webb's Stone Creek and On Top of the World.
In due time, I am certain we will come to some kind of closure about where our next address will be. One thing I am pretty certain about; I believe Patti and I could be happy living in The Villages!
Thanks for your time and consideration!

Gary

[Sadie1313]

On 2/16 and 2/17 we made our initial visit to TV. My wife was driving at the time and when we attempted to link up with our sales agent in Lake Sumter, we got lost . That coupled with the fact that there was a lot of traffic made my wife turn in to Satan . Eventually, we found our way and had a delightful stay.
We both enjoyed TV and all the amenities it had to offer. The problem is my wife still has strong ties to the NE and if all things were equal, she would prefer to head back to New York State. Because of financial and weather considerations, that is not going to happen. Patti is aware of this and is coming to the realization of what needs to be done. Having said that she is still concerned about the possibility of hurricanes and tornados.
My wife and I don't have children and in fact, we are both only children. Since we would be coming in cold turkey, the thrill of starting over again is somewhat perplexing. How easy is it to make friends? We also have cats and like to travel. Thus finding pet sitters is extremely important to us. Can I assume finding feline sitters is a doable task?
We will be returning to TV for another two night stay beginning on 3/1. Besides looking at the models again, we want to get some further clarification about the various fees associated with this community. Any clarification on these matters would be greatly appreciated.
Last week we checked out a community in Orlando known as Solivita. It is considered one of the top 50 planned master resorts in the US. Once my life and I leave TV on 3/3 we will be looking at two more complexes from that list; Del Webb's Stone Creek and On Top of the World.
In due time, I am certain we will come to some kind of closure about where our next address will be. One thing I am pretty certain about; I believe Patti and I could be happy living in The Villages!
Thanks for your time and consideration!
Gary
Hi Gary, I truly understand your concerns. My husband and I are from New York also. We came to TV two times....one year apart, and fell in love with everything about it. We finally were able to sell our home in N.Y. and came here for our third visit to pick out our new home in TV. During the
1 1/2 years this took, we had so many questions. We were leaving 4 children and 9 grandchildren behind in N.Y. All our friends were there as well. We were nervous about not knowing anybody and wondered if we'd be able to make friends. One thing that struck us during our first two visits, was how very friendly and helpful everyone was. Hopefully when you were here, you went to the town squares. That's the best place to see how very friendly people actually are. Almost any questions you have can be answered by people who are in the town square. These questions can be answered by the actual homeowners....people who had the same questions, concerns, fears, etc. They have nothing to gain by lying to you. Everyone here just wants people to be as happy as they are living here. As far as making friends....that's easy. there are driveway parties where everyone gets together and introduces themselves....all looking to make new friends. The pools are excellent places to meet people. Someone once said, "If you want to find out anything go to the pool. Boy were they right. People are happy to share their experiences, ie best places to eat, doctors, landscapers, etc. Then of course there's TOTV. What a wealth of knowledge you have right on this site. As far as Solivita, we have friends who have lived there for several years now. It's a very nice place, but nothing like TV. When they came here to see us, they were blown away by this place, and were eating their hearts out. There are many wonderful retirement communities, but none are like TV. Check them out, but you'll see what I mean. We're living here 5 months now. We have made so many wonderful friends. We are involved in many activities. My husband has always been a couch potato....no longer. He's totally into going, doing and making new friends. You know, many people rent a place here for a month, just to see what it's actually like living here. It's definately different than just staying a few days. If it's possible for you to try that, maybe it would help your wife and calm some of her fears. If we can help in any way, please don't hesitate to be in touch. Good luck in whatever you decide. Trish

[springfield]

Leaving what you know, and the people behind can be a bit scary. We came for 3 days, went home, sold our home and most of our "stuff." We rented a home for a month to help us decide on building or buying pre-owned. We found a home we wanted to make an offer on. Before we did, we walked around the village for several mornings. Before we made an offer, we met quite a few people who made us feel so welcome. My husband was worried about finding people to golf with. Our village has its own web-site so all he had to do was sign up for the days he wanted to golf and it was all taken care of.

Our son-in-law just visited for the first time and he was blown away with the life we have here and the opportunities we have to try new things. I have met so many wonderful people in the classes I go to. If I try a class and it doesn't excite me, I'm not out any money, so I'll try another class.

Almost every day we tell ourselves how smart we were to move here. We still see our up north friends because they come here to visit. We have never regretted our decision. Good luck in your quest for the right place.

[Happinow]

I very much understand your concerns. We will be moving to TV in May. We also come from Upstate NY where most of my family is, even my 84 year old mother. Here's how we knew we wanted to move to TV. We are in our early 50's and still very active. Over the years, we've seen lots happen, not all of it good, especially in NYS. It seemed that life in general was spinning out of control and we needed to regain control. Our daughter moved to NC so we didn't feel guilty about leaving her. We looked at ourselves and asked what we wanted out of life? We were young enough to make a major move and knew we just had to live our lives to the fullest. We had to be selfish (for once) and live for ourselves, despite the fact that our families don't want us to leave. My mother says, if you want to do something, do it while you can because you never know what lies ahead. I lost a sister to cancer at the age of 56 and it seemed that she was just starting to enjoy life with her husband of 3 years. That was a turning point for me. So, after visiting TV many times (we have family there) we decided that this was the place that would give us what we wanted out of life. We want a lifestyle where other people are happy about what they do (or don't do), we want to be around people who enjoy life in general, the thought of not having kids and teens around 24/7 was appealing, living in a wonderfully clean and beautiful environment, knowing that others who live in TV want to be there, and knowing that the friends we make there will be friends for life since we will become FROGS. Please don't worry about making friends, I made friends even before I went down there to start the home building process. The people on this forum are just great and very helpful. They welcome you with open arms. You can always fly back to visit family, as we will do, and they can come to see you in your beautiful new home! It will be an adjustment but I think most adjust fairly quickly, given all there is to do here. I say follow your heart and your dreams. If this is a dream of yours, then make it come true. There's always room for one more (or two) Villagers! Best of luck in your decision and use this forum to it's fullest! It's a wealth of info.

[missypie]

Wow! After reading these posts, I want to be friends with ALL of you!!!!!

[John_W]

Before moving back here last summer I had previously lived in Florida from 1959 to 1989. Only went through two hurricanes in 30 years, both were in Pensacola. The panhandle gets many of the storms as well as the east coast of Florida. We are inland here so we're usually not in the path, and unlike tornadoes you'll have a couple of days notice if you need to leave.

While growing up in St. Petersburg we had many funnel clouds, I remember once seeing seven at one time all over Tampa Bay. However they usually don't hit the ground. It seems the vast majority of devastating tornadoes happen in the midwestern states like Oklahoma and Kansas and maybe in the south in places like Alabama. I lived the last twenty years in Maryland and we had several deadly tornadoes, so even the northeast can get them.

[swrinfla]

orge113:

I think the guys before me have said it all. But, no one addressed cat sitters!

After my first trip away from The Villages, when I hired "professional" sitters, I was taken severely to task by at least three neighbors, who basically said, "We'd have done all that for you for free!"

Guess, what, they're still doing so after seven years! And, I travel frequently.
Sure, The Cat doesn't approve, but I know that she's well taken care of.

And, my neighbors also bring in my newspapers, get my mail and water my few house plants!

You couldn't ask for a better place!

SWR
:beer3:

[ducati1974]

I agree with all the preceding posters, especially in that its very easy to make friends in Tv without even trying! About 5 years ago my wife & I scoped out Robson Ranch in AZ, a Del Webb in NC, and the Top of the World & Del Webb in Ocala. We really liked them all but TV was the last place we visited and after staying there, we had no question that TV was the best! We bought last year after renting for two months over the previous two years. I don't know if you're golfers or not but if you buy at any of the other places you'll be golfing on ONE 18 hole course, not 30+ with the option to play executive par 3s. Most importantly, when we went to Top of the World, we noticed they had no water features at all which made for a very drab landscape, pay attention to that and compare it to the beauty of TV!
Good Luck!

[Bogie Shooter]

I agree with all the preceding posters, especially in that its very easy to make friends in Tv without even trying! About 5 years ago my wife & I scoped out Robson Ranch in AZ, a Del Webb in NC, and the Top of the World & Del Webb in Ocala. We really liked them all but TV was the last place we visited and after staying there, we had no question that TV was the best! We bought last year after renting for two months over the previous two years. I don't know if you're golfers or not but if you buy at any of the other places you'll be golfing on ONE 18 hole course, not 30+ with the option to play executive par 3s. Most importantly, when we went to Top of the World, we noticed they had no water features at all which made for a very drab landscape, pay attention to that and compare it to the beauty of TV!
Good Luck!

29 executives, 10 championship and counting................

[ducati1974]

29 executives, 10 championship and counting................

Thanks Bogie, I originally posted 40+ but then I was questioning myself!

[Pturner]

Hi Orge113,
Welcome to TOTV! I too wholeheartedly agree with all that has been said. In addition to the answers so far, you also asked about fees. The listing you get from your sales agent is surprisingly accurate.

Regarding the one-time bond on your home, just add it to the sales price and treat it as part of the cost of the home-- because it is. The amount of bond varies on new homes depending on the density of the unit in your district. On many resales, this bond has been fully paid or is quite low.

You are doing well to look at other communities. The more we looked, the more we knew that nothing was comparable to TV! Best wishes to you and please keep us posted on your impressions and progress in finding your retirement community and home.

[vj1213]

While comparing the other places keep this in mind...
The Villages currently has...
8 regional rec centers
20 village rec centers
36 neighborhood rec centers
4 fitness centers
29 executive golf courses
10 championship golf courses
62 swimming pools
9 softball diamonds
52 regular tennis courts
10 soft clay tennis courts
120 pickleball courts
135 bocceball courts
1909 resident special interest clubs
....and you'll soon have more friends than you have time for! :smiley:

[Mandles]

This is a cool site! Great info about TV. Anyone here visit any favorite Villages facebook pages? Facebook is my other passion.