Leaving the compound

[jbdlfan]

Golfed with another couple this weekend and in conversations about eating out and such, this couple remarked that they never left TV. Other than one Dr. appointment, if they couldn't get there in a golf cart, they didn't go. I'm just curious how common this is? How long have folks gone without leaving TV?

[gocubsgo]

Wow! I think that's actually weird and not showing much diversity. There's Disney, the beaches, Mt Dora, St Augustine...so much to see in the state, I think I'd lose my mind just staying in one zip code for the rest of my life. I work full time in Oxford. I leave TV every day!

[sirknor]

The real world is a cruel place. Don't go out they're if you can help it.

[gomoho]

The real world is a cruel place. Don't go out they're if you can help it.

I think you are on to something there.:bigbow:

[coach]

I average 125 miles per month in my car. Almost 99% of my life is in my Favorite Hometown. I love it even after seven years.

[senior citizen]

Golfed with another couple this weekend and in conversations about eating out and such, this couple remarked that they never left TV. Other than one Dr. appointment, if they couldn't get there in a golf cart, they didn't go. I'm just curious how common this is? How long have folks gone without leaving TV?

I would look at it this way, based on our own experiences living in a totally self contained college town since 1970 to present..........if a town has all the services one needs including hospital, doctors, lawyers, colleges, museums, schools, shopping, theatres, etc..........and on and on...........there is no need to go elsewhere EXCEPT when one is going on vacation and needs to get to the airport which is in another state...........or to visit our grandchildren who live three hours away plus others halfway across the country..........or, when we set off on a road trip to see the other regions of the United States. But, for the most part, we never leave our town as there is no need to.

When we were younger and lived "off an exit of the Garden State Parkway" in New Jersey, we thought nothing of driving all over the state to go shopping or for recreation or to visit friends and family.

However, here in Vermont, we have everything we need in one town.
This town is surrounded by the Green Mountain forest and farmlands...and one has to cross the mountains to get to the other side of the state.

The Villages has everything within it's borders that anyone would ever need without venturing elsewhere............unless they wanted to go the beach or Disney or the airport, etc..........but perhaps they have "been there and done that" and are content to "stay put" in TV. I don't see anything strange about that.

My husband would joke that often we never left town but once or twice a year to drive to the airport. That was when our kids still lived at home.
Once they moved away to go to university and then later moved further away, that was a different story.......we'd travel to see them. However, for the most part, we still find everything we need in one town....but not via golf carts.

WE've seen Mount Dora and all the beaches plus Disney World, for years on end. I doubt if we'd venture out that much from TV if we moved there permanently. But, never say never.

[Trish Crocker]

I love exploring new areas. We have been here less than a month and have eaten in Leesburg (I think that's where it was, thanks Herv and Ruth!), Mt. Dora, Clearwater (twice)and Tampa. As much as I LOVE TV there is soooo much of Florida to explore.

[Roaddog53]

Oh my! Hard to believe someone will not leave the TV hence forth. Sure lots of things to do here and most services are available, but there are so many nice places to explore just in Florida. We have been to St. Augustine, both coastal beaches and cities along the cost. Lots of festivals, arts, parks, and more than can be named. We still have lots more to see with day trips alone.
But... As I also believe, to each their own. If that makes them happy, good for them.

[senior citizen]

I love exploring new areas. We have been here less than a month and have eaten in Leesburg (I think that's where it was, thanks Herv and Ruth!), Mt. Dora, Clearwater (twice)and Tampa. As much as I LOVE TV there is soooo much of Florida to explore.


I hear you. I should have mentioned that we vacationed in Florida once or twice a year for most of the almost 50 years of our marriage.....so we did explore each coast from bottom to top..........all the barrier islands,etc. plus Disney World every spring during the kids' school vacation......so we have explored all of Florida. Florida is a huge state.


I can totally understand new people wanting to "see Florida" but for those of us who have "been there and done that" over and over again.....TV does have everything one needs right within its borders.........just as does our "self contained" home town in Vermont.

[ilovetv]

Almost everything a person needs is here, but Florida is a huge and beautiful state that has so much interesting history, too. There are so many areas we have yet to explore, and will do in time. We sometimes go for 2-3 weeks without leaving TV. We love the beaches on both the Gulf and the Atlantic....it's pretty cool to live 80-100 miles from either coast.

I think one of the reasons some people don't leave TV much is that it seems like a long-term vacation here. How cool is that??

[mrfixit]

............almost never leave "the bubble"........EXCEPT.....

.....1.....full moon shrimpin' in Sebastian, monthly.........

.....2.....Also, when a LOW pressure system approaches head down there again,
those big ones bite like crazy for 2 to 3 days before a storm approaches.

.....3.....The ten or so times a year my lady wishes to spend the weekend
watching sunsets on Anna Maria Island.

.....4.....oh yeah, forgot about the museums in Tampa, Sarasota, Orlando,Melbourne, Vero, etc. ( yup.... she also likes those ).

.....5....the six or more trips to Disney every year.

Holy CRAP...
...............I just realised she only keeps me for the chauffeur duties.........
..........................anybody know where I can get one of those chauffeur hats.?

[Barefoot]

Perhaps it depends on whether you're a full-time "frog" or in TV part time? Seasonal residents are estimated by some to be at least 40% of the TV population. Part-time residents may tend to stick close to TV if they only occupy their Villages home for a few months each year.

[jbdlfan]

Perhaps it depends on whether you're a full-time "frog" or in TV part time? Seasonal residents are estimated by some to be at least 40% of the TV population. Part-time residents may tend to stick close to TV if they only occupy their Villages home for a few months each year.

That's what I thought also. But these folks are fulltimers like us so I was a bit surprised. To each his own.....We have to venture out for ourselves. We don't eat out much, maybe once a week, but even with that we need a bigger range of eateries. Like I said, we all live differently.

[Bellavita]

I go off often, there is a great life both in and out of the Villages.
:crap2:




Golfed with another couple this weekend and in conversations about eating out and such, this couple remarked that they never left TV. Other than one Dr. appointment, if they couldn't get there in a golf cart, they didn't go. I'm just curious how common this is? How long have folks gone without leaving TV?

[2BNTV]

Initially, I think people want to go outside to bubble to explore other restaurants and other places that interest them. I plan to visit my son and grand-daughter in Ft. Lauderdale periodically.

Eventually, as one ages, the need to go outside the bubble will lessen as people like the comfort of everything to be near and at their fingertips.

I sure hope that doesn't happen until I'm in my nineties. :D

[senior citizen]

Initially, I think people want to go outside to bubble to explore other restaurants and other places that interest them. I plan to visit my son and grand-daughter in Ft. Lauderdale periodically.

Eventually, as one ages, the need to go outside the bubble will lessen as people like the comfort of everything to be near and at their fingertips.

I sure hope that doesn't happen until I'm in my nineties. :D

I assumed all along that you were "39"..........go figure.

[bluedog103]

We go off a lot. We've found restaurants less crowded, stores less picked over and sales staff and servers less stressed out and cranky. We love TV and all it has to offer but it's just part of a big world waiting to be explored.
I'm reminded of my Army days when other G.I.s often never left post or if they did it was to go to the nearest bar. I couldn't wait to get into civies and head out to explore and meet locals. I made lifelong friends and lifelong memories in parts of the world I would have never seen if Uncle Sam hadn't called. Different strokes for different folks.

[Cisco Kid]

Up until a short time ago I drove 200 + miles a day and lived by the GPS.
Some time in the bubble does not sound to bad. :a20:
I would leave only for salty fish.

[English Ivy]

We golfed with a couple at Hilltop who lived in the Village of Silver Lake. They have lived here for years and their ages/health issues prevent them from driving a car. They only have their older electric golf cart for transportation or rely on the help/kindness of neighbors.

They had no idea where our Village of Bonita was, she had only been to Lake Sumter once when she was with a neighbor who took her, and literally had no idea what the Villages looked like other than the historic side of 441 and the Spanish Springs area.

She said they know the Villages has grown but they have no desire to see it all, they're happy in their little corner of it.

[Tickled_pink]

Until TV gets a mall, I'll be leaving the compound on a regular basis. :pepper2:

[tainsley]

We do leave the bubble from time to time but it is always so nice to come back! I always joke with my kids when I am leaving after a visit that I have to get back to the bubble before My skin starts to wrinkle and I need depends!

[rubicon]

I know full time residents who see no need to leave The Villages. I also know full time residents who would travel 365 days a year if they could. Of course such issues s health finance, etc play a role in what residents do or do not do, in addition to family commitments.

I lost a boyhood friend from my hometown recently. I called another friend as the three of us were still very close. This friend would not leave my hometown. I onced asked him to come visit me in Minneapolis and we go to the Mall Of America, etc. His reply was we have a mall here. so with the passing of our friend I was surprised to hear him finally say that time was runing short for he and his wife and he was coming to Florida.

Many of us have learned not to deal in absolutes as life is dynamic and so the never say never crowd has much validity

[2BNTV]

I assumed all along that you were "39"..........go figure.

I am 39 on one leg. :D

[ssmith]

Nice story about the older couple....Sure hope they are well taken care of.

[ssmith]

...don't remember the name of it but there is a travel club in TV that explores Florida together. Now that would be fun...as you discovered your new home state.