Retirement communities...big or small?

[Dave. C.]

We are two or so years from pulling the employment plug and retiring. We've looked a very large 55+ communities with all the many, many activities like TV and we've looked at much smaller communities with a clubhouse, pool, gym and maybe a library. Hmmmm?

What kind of person fits best in each?

Sometimes I think paying for the whole tamale is not very bright if I only want a soft drink? Are any TV residents ever second guessing their decision to move there?
Do you certain types of folks lean toward the huge....or the smaller one's?

Any ideas from residents and you're experiences will be appreciated. :shocked:

[chazz1996]

The Villages is not for everyone...haha
That said , This is probably the only place where all your dreams come true .
Any hobbies...
Cards, model airplanes ,model boats, model trains, cars , archery,,GOLF
Look online for the villages clubs !
A busy life is a happy wife...

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Dave, it would depend on how active you plan to be in your retirement as well as how close you want to be to infrastructure types of things (shopping, restaurants, etc., etc.). If your vision is that you'd feel more comfortable in a smaller setting without the numerous amenities that TV has to offer, then that's the route you should take. But check on the amenity fees at some of the other area/developments you're considering. I don't think you'll get the same bang-for-your-buck anyplace else.

At the end of the day, you've got to do what feels right to you!

Bill :)

[CMANN]

I am curious. Can you tell me the names of some other retirement communities besides The Villages?

To your question, I have never regretted my decision. Even if in my later years I become less active there is still be plenty for me to do. One of the things that I did find interesting is that The villages was comparable or less in price and expense than other units that I looked at that would have been maybe the size of one or two of our villages and only one free golf course. I was never really a call for but at these prices I have learned.

I am bias. I just love this place and I can afford it.

[Bryan]

Florida has so many retirement communities that it would be impossible to name them all - one would open while I was writing the list. That being said, there are some very nice but smaller retirement communities around TV. Some you can look at are Spruce Creek South, Del Webb Spruce Creek, Stonecrest, Harbor Hills, Water Oaks, and a few others. If you want to talk to some residents of those retirement communities, come to Spanish Springs in TV almost any evening and meet them - that's where many of them come for entertainment.

[Golfer in Sanibel]

I met a Villager who told me he had moved away from TV once. His doctor told him he may have better health if he lived in Arizona. He sold his home in TV and bought one out there. He is an avid golfer and plays 4 to 5 times per week. The community in Az. was small and had one 18 hole golf course. After three years playing the same golf course over and over and over he yearned for the multitude of golfing options in TV and he moved back. I can see where going to the same pool, seeing the same people and golfing the same golf course for three years would make you bored after having all the choices here. BTW, his health wasn't any better in the dryer climate.

He also said at he would watch the sparkle of the flashlights on the mountains at night from his lanai. It was the lights of the illegals walking over the mountains into the U.S. The INS would pick them up, take them back to the border and they'd walk back in the next night. Ain't America interesting?

[Schaumburger]

Florida has so many retirement communities that it would be impossible to name them all - one would open while I was writing the list. That being said, there are some very nice but smaller retirement communities around TV. Some you can look at are Spruce Creek South, Del Webb Spruce Creek, Stonecrest, Harbor Hills, Water Oaks, and a few others. If you want to talk to some residents of those retirement communities, come to Spanish Springs in TV almost any evening and meet them - that's where many of them come for entertainment.

Now I'm just a wannabee, but doesn't that say something when the residents of other retirement communities have to leave their communities and venture into TV to have a good time? Just my 2 cents.

[islandgal]

Dave.C.
Here is a list of the social clubs in TV:

http://www.districtgov.org/images/clubslisting.pdf

[BobKat1]

Dave, it would depend on how active you plan to be in your retirement as well as how close you want to be to infrastructure types of things (shopping, restaurants, etc., etc.). If your vision is that you'd feel more comfortable in a smaller setting without the numerous amenities that TV has to offer, then that's the route you should take. But check on the amenity fees at some of the other area/developments you're considering. I don't think you'll get the same bang-for-your-buck anyplace else.

At the end of the day, you've got to do what feels right to you!Bill :)

Very good advice. Stay at a couple of different size communitites and see what feels best for you. We were in the same boat and found TV, as well as some others, each one that interested us had something to offer.

Good luck with your decision.

[asianthree]

Our renters have tried both and are coming back in November to TV

[senior citizen]

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[Madelaine Amee]

When we retired we took into account what we were looking for and how we wanted to spend our (probably) remaining years and The Villages had it all for us.

But above and beyond what The Villages has to offer as you age, is the fact that when you no longer need your home here they SELL. How many areas of Florida, or the rest of the country, can say that? My biggest concern as I age is not to leave my children problems when I am no longer here, and many of my friends have mentioned that they could not sell their parent's home in different areas of Florida for several years! Well, not here, and when build out arrives all the homes in TV are going to be at a premium.

It may sound morbid, but worth adding to the list of why to move to TV.

[senior citizen]

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[BarryRX]

To me, one of the great things about the villages is that not only can I be as busy and occupied as I want, I can also kick back and sit on my lanai and read. If I don't go to the squares or rec centers, my neighborhood is very quiet. To me, that means that I have all the advantages of living in the villages, as well as all the advantages of living in a smaller community. If you consider the huge influx of snowbirds to be a problem, then perhaps a smaller community would not have the wait for restaurants and traffic increase. But I don't mind it much, so it's not a problem for me. Good luck with your decision.

[EdV]

If I were going to compare Tucson to Central Florida, I wouldn’t use the summer heat as a deciding factor. Both locations tend to be around 100 degrees Real Feel (heat index) during the summer at mid day.

And there are many thousands of TV residents that migrate north each year to escape the relentless heat and humidity that is the norm around here during the summer months.

[Ohiogirl]

from everyone. I think maybe what the OP is getting at is that they don't anticipate using many of the amenities in TV, so why would they want to pay for them? For instance, I am guessing the OP is not a golfer. Well, I can't tell you how many people I have met out on the exec. courses who didn't golf when they came here, but decided to give it a try and found they enjoy it.

Maybe they only golf 9 holes socially once a week or even less, but it is another social outlet as well as free golf. Believe me, there are plenty of duffers out there, and no one cares (just don't play slow)!

TV is about the only place where you can find your niche or subculture and totally immerse yourself in that, or just dabble in different things as well. It is just so affordable to do things here, and easy to try out things you may never have thought you would do, or hadn't even thought about doing.

I would think the smaller communities would be kind of like living at your private country club, maybe kind of hard to be accepted into already existing groups or cliques as well, unless you are very outgoing. Here it is very easy to join newly formed groups, or get in on the fringes of an older group until you decide if you'd like to be more active in it.

I also know people who never did much in their pre-retirement lives except work and hang around the house, and never thought they would join things and become more outgoing, and lo and behold, they found something to do here that they love and never pictured themselves doing in retirement.

[uujudy]

. . . TV is about the only place where you can find your niche or subculture and totally immerse yourself in that, or just dabble in different things as well. It is just so affordable to do things here, and easy to try out things you may never have thought you would do, or hadn't even thought about doing. . . . and lo and behold, they found something to do here that they love and never pictured themselves doing in retirement.

This is so true! We have so many opportunities to try something new. Where else in the WORLD can someone our age try tap dancing and not be in a class with 3-year-olds?

Another thought is that a large community gives you so many opportunities to meet some truly wonderful people. You may meet an occasional grump now and then, but because TV is so large, you don't ever have to see the grumps again.

When you check out the smaller communities, pay attention to what the folks are doing at different times of day. Are they out and about, going to their activities? Are the restaurants busy? Are they enjoying the pools? What do they do in the evenings? Do you hear lots of laughter? And finally, are these things important to you?

Good luck with your decision!

[rjm1cc]

We are two or so years from pulling the employment plug and retiring. We've looked a very large 55+ communities with all the many, many activities like TV and we've looked at much smaller communities with a clubhouse, pool, gym and maybe a library. Hmmmm?

What kind of person fits best in each?

Sometimes I think paying for the whole tamale is not very bright if I only want a soft drink? Are any TV residents ever second guessing their decision to move there?
Do you certain types of folks lean toward the huge....or the smaller one's?

Any ideas from residents and you're experiences will be appreciated. :shocked:
My first question for either would be what services - shopping, medical, entertainment etc. are in the area. As the community gets smaller the services may be more distance and this may give you a problem as you age.
The second question is how far from my home are the places I will visit. Do I want to drive a couple of miles through residential areas to get any where.

[zcaveman]

To me, one of the great things about the villages is that not only can I be as busy and occupied as I want, I can also kick back and sit on my lanai and read. If I don't go to the squares or rec centers, my neighborhood is very quiet. To me, that means that I have all the advantages of living in the villages, as well as all the advantages of living in a smaller community. If you consider the huge influx of snowbirds to be a problem, then perhaps a smaller community would not have the wait for restaurants and traffic increase. But I don't mind it much, so it's not a problem for me. Good luck with your decision.

Even the smaller communities have an influx of snowbirds. If it is not that particular over 55 community it is the area around them.

A relative did not like TV because it was growing too big (this was back in 2001 when it was still relatively small). She moved to an over 55 community near Tampa. In the winter they are still very crowded with less facilities.

Make sure you talk to some of the year rounders in any over 55 community before you decide on one. They might just lead you back to TV.

[JimPete]

Sometimes I think paying for the whole tamale is not very bright if I only want a soft drink? :shocked:

When we bought in TV that thought crossed my mind too. But, since the whole tamale didn't cost that much more (if any) then why not buy the whole thing and eat what we wanted. TV has a buffet of choices. :icon_hungry: Dig in, you'll like it.


Jim

[aaffmom]

The problem with The Villages is that you have to learn to pace yourself because there are hundreds of things to do. There is not another place like it anywhere. Park the car hope on your golf cart and Go anywhere you need. Shopping, Doctor, dinner, cup of coffee, entertainment, bowling, tennis, softball, movie, swimming, concerts, church, club meetings (to many to name) golf, dancing, karokee and so much more. Like I said not another place like it.

[senior citizen]

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[Ohiogirl]

[QUOTE=
As far as weighing the apples vs. oranges, I keep telling my husband, that if he can't take the heat, which he cannot.....if we sell this house, he will be stuck in very hot and humid weather twelve months out of the year.

As beautiful as The Villages is, I think an "escape" to Florida for the winter months would be adequate .........plus we could leisurely drive down with our own vehicle and not go through the hassle at the airports and renting a car.
[/QUOTE]

It is not "hot and humid" in Florida twelve months out of the year - it is very hot and humid from about May 15th to about Oct. 15th, although there are still usually several days in late May and sometimes early June, and late Sept/early Oct. that are quite pleasant.

If you can afford it, you may have the best of both worlds for awhile, or until the end of your life, if you can keep a house up north and also one in TV. Many, however, either can't afford 2 houses, or don't want the hassle of owning 2 places. Some keep a car in both places. Sometimes health conditions intervene and change plans.

As for the leisurely drive down, many find that as we age, long distance driving is not so fun anymore, especially the I-95 corridor (in my midwest opinion).

And lastly, many of those who do live year-round in TV schedule a getaway or two during the really hot weather, or that's when they do their up north visits.

The issues you mentioned are probably also one reason why many, many people decide to just rent for the season every year, or try to find someone that will rent for just a month or two. Different strokes for different folks.

Just my 2 cents.

[senior citizen]

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