One person's opinion of The Villages

[Golf View]

Please check out www.andrewblechman/leisurville to see what some people think about America's Friendliest Hometown.

[justjim]

This is mostly fiction and that is just my opinion.

[senior citizen]

.............

[billethkid]

who said what they said has to be true.

A collection of isloated (maybe) incidents, hearsay and just plain old fabrication.

What ever it takes to sell a book.

How did we make it to over 100,000?

How did all the national brand companies decide to invest in a presence here?

Reality and the facts put the book in its rightful place......trashcan.

btk

[2BNTV]

I'll admit I never read the book and I won't.

From what I have read on this forum, in general, Mr. Blechman did not have a very flattering opinion of TV.

I wouldn't let someone who has to sell books to make a living influence, my opinion. I love it here and I will be staying here until I croack. Rivet.

Billethkid said it best. The book belongs in the trash can.

[CFrance]

I'll admit I never read the book and I won't.

From what I have read on this forum, in general, Mr. Blechman did not have a very flattering opinion of TV.

I wouldn't let someone who has to sell books to make a living influence, my opinion. I love it here and I will be staying here until I croack. Rivet.

Billethkid said it best. The book belongs in the trash can.

So glad you are finally here!:coolsmiley:

[senior citizen]

............

[Bonnevie]

I read it and instead of discouraging me, it encouraged me to come. The author is at a different point in his life. What's important to him at his age is much less so at mine. Some of the things he discussed as negatives, I actually found to be positives.

[Bogie Shooter]

He had his 15 minutes of fame..........................

[OBXNana]

My husband wanted to get pointers from Mr. Midnight!

[mrsyarbie]

Trash, after living here for 18 months I realize that now, it is so much BETTER than we ever imagined...

[Trish Crocker]

If I remember correctly, at the end of the book he talked about how nice it was to be back home....with people his OWN age! Umm, isn't that one of the many things we love about TV, that we are with people that we share common experiences and memories with? His wanting to be with his peers seems so hypocritical when he talks about Villagers being selfish.

[Number 6]

I have read the book a couple of times and found it a good read. Andrew has his opinion and I have mine. After a few emails, he understands where I am coming from in my desire to live in The Villages. He seems like a decent enough guy to me.

[senior citizen]

............

[Villages Kahuna]

Please check out www.andrewblechman/leisurville to see what some people think about America's Friendliest Hometown.There's more than 100,000 people who live here and understand this place. Almost all of them wouldn't trade it for anywhere else.

Then there's a few who don't live here who, in the interest of either selling their publication or simply drawing attention to themselves, opine on things they really have no experience with and don't understand. If they don't want to live here...great! I hope they discover some other place that they like better.

[ilovetv]

This guy has an axe to grind, and the reader comment at an NPR article (quoted below) about the book/author pretty much sums up what that axe is.

Who would buy this book when you can come here and stay for a week in a preview home for $100-150/night, or in a hotel, and actually talk IN PERSON with dozens or even hundreds of residents at the squares at night who will tell you EXACTLY what they think of TV??

By doing that a person would have the distinct advantage of seeing facial expression, tone of voice and body language of the resident/snowbird, instead of relying on the written word of a freelance writer you've never met, and whose freelance income could be so unsteady as to be unable to qualify for a home loan!

Here's the NPR article reader comment:

"Brim Stone • 4 years ago −
Well what kind of housing choices did you expect from generations that bought into wood-grained vinyl siding, the polyester leisure suit and trickle-down economics? For them it's not they don't see The VIllages as a shallow artificial mirrage of reality, it's that they think that a perfect mirrage is more desirable than an imperfect reality. They were sold this ideal. It was embodied in fake Tudors and fern bars and climate-controlled shopping malls.

Lots of these older people remember when neighborhoods actually were normally safe and sociable. A rarity today. They don't see a return to those days in thier lifetimes. To many, The Villages looks pretty good.

I think that intentional communities offer big pluses. Like many of you I prefer resident planning over corporate planning. But realistically how many resident-owned intentional communities are there today?

Ideally city centers could be revitalized and secured for residents. The high density services, sociability and recreation are well suited to older, less mobile citizens. Elderly city-center residents are common in Europe. Maybe we'll get there one day."
The Villages: Florida's Disney World For Retirees : NPR (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125389925#commentBlock)

----------------------------

So. I have this question: Does anybody living or snow birding here in TV really l-o-n-g for the "shallow artificial mirrage of reality" that would be living as a senior citizen in the lovely "revitalized" and "secured" downtown (OOPS...I mean "city center") of Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, Newark, Oakland, St. Louis, KCMO, New Orlaeans, Memphis, etc......which happen to be in the top ten most dangerous cities in the U.S.??

Most dangerous U.S. cities - Detroit (1) - CNNMoney (http://money.cnn.com/gallery/real_estate/2013/01/23/dangerous-cities/index.html)

[manaboutown]

or even residing in a idyllic bucolic Vermont village? The state with the biggest drug problem: It's Vermont. (http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2013/10/13/the_state_with_the_biggest_drug_problem_it_s_vermo nt.html)

Now who would have thought?

The Villages looks better and better to me compared to the alternatives.

[graciegirl]

Andrew Blechman in his book Leisureville has given some valid background information on retirement places in general and The Villages in particular...but..

If you wanna know what it is like to LIVE here and what motivated people to move here, ask either a happy or disgruntled villager.

We are not like most populations in Florida as we are all older and more conservative than most and we would have to have a bit of pioneer spirit to move away from the familiar and the loved and the well mostly COLD areas we did.

We were seeking something and most have found it in this place geared for us in the older (and wiser) population. Many seek opportunities to do healthy things for our bodies and our minds and we find them here.

What ruffles my feathers and gets my knickers in a hitch is the assumption in the book which is really a social commentary that we olders have no right to lay down our civic responsibilities. Well Junior, we sure do. Most of us have served on as many committees for improving things in our lifetimes as Andrew has years in his life.

We have done as much as we can to improve the world. It is someone else's turn now. And we still have many opportunities to volunteer here in areas that help our fellow man....and to help each other.

So bottom line is that Andrew is a writer who aimed to sell books and added a lot of sex and a lot of gossip and created a summary of a very busy fellow called Mr. Midnight.

I hope that Andrew saved all of his money from the book proceeds so that when he gets old enough and wise enough he can retire here where I am sure he will sing a different tune.

[senior citizen]

...............

[senior citizen]

...........

[Moderator]

Please stick with the topic of the original post in this thread.

Moderator

[Patty55]

Blechman? IMO, the man is an idiot who got lucky with one book. (Not the pigeon book-LOL)

What has he done lately?

[senior citizen]

...............

[Peachie]

Every mature adult who has lived a long life, raised a family and seen it all, knows that with each decade in our lives....our opinions alter and change.


Why everyone gets so upset over a book is beyond me.
THE VILLAGES SELLS ITSELF...........and that's a given.
Everyone should lighten up and allow freedom of speech.

Senior, the reason the population of The Villages is so upset over Blechman's personal opinion of The Villages in that book is the same reason you don't like Vermont painted as a drug mecca.

Stats bear out the fact that Vermont is indeed the worst drug-riddled state in the Union and that makes many of us want to avoid it and by the same token; it's probably an attractive statistic for the people one wouldn't want moving in and taking over their state.

You can advise us of the many wonderful qualities of Vermont but most people can't and will not see beyond the drug issue. This is true of the information Blechman claims of The Villages, everyone from the outside believes the worst.

[Patty55]

Nope, not denying freedom of speech but IMO he's still an idiot who wanted to sell a book and then followed it up with nothing.

Just your typical one trick pony.

[ilovetv]

Regarding:

"Andrew is still raising a child. He enjoyed having the elders in the neighborhood to give his daughter a sense of the "generations".


Usually it is the desire to have somebody around to babysit for free at short notice.

His disdain for "the elders" and the "generations" is quite evident in his writings and reviews.

And anybody who resents people like us for actually enjoying what we have EARNED and SAVED over the last 40-50 years is just a jerk. Period.

[graciegirl]

How would he like it if we did a social commentary on him and his beloved place to live?

We could say that he SHOULD move somewhere where he could do more good than just hanging out in his nice neighborhood. When the word "should" enters the debate it is hypothetical and opinionated and philosophical and based on assumptions that not everyone shares.

I still wonder if there is a Mr. Midnight and wonder whether it:shocked: has dropped off from overuse.

Inquiring mind, don't cha know.:1rotfl:

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Never have read the book nor even seen it. Whatever Blechman has to say is up to him. If someone chooses to read it, that's up to them.

Sandy and I are doing o.k. forming our own perspectives on TV as time goes on. Somehow, we've managed to do just fine without the book! :D

Bill :)

[senior citizen]

...........

[manaboutown]

Andrew Blechman in his book Leisureville has given some valid background information on retirement places in general and The Villages in particular...but..

If you wanna know what it is like to LIVE here and what motivated people to move here, ask either a happy or disgruntled villager.

We are not like most populations in Florida as we are all older and more conservative than most and we would have to have a bit of pioneer spirit to move away from the familiar and the loved and the well mostly COLD areas we did.

We were seeking something and most have found it in this place geared for us in the older (and wiser) population. Many seek opportunities to do healthy things for our bodies and our minds and we find them here.

What ruffles my feathers and gets my knickers in a hitch is the assumption in the book which is really a social commentary that we olders have no right to lay down our civic responsibilities. Well Junior, we sure do. Most of us have served on as many committees for improving things in our lifetimes as Andrew has years in his life.

We have done as much as we can to improve the world. It is someone else's turn now. And we still have many opportunities to volunteer here in areas that help our fellow man....and to help each other.

So bottom line is that Andrew is a writer who aimed to sell books and added a lot of sex and a lot of gossip and created a summary of a very busy fellow called Mr. Midnight.

I hope that Andrew saved all of his money from the book proceeds so that when he gets old enough and wise enough he can retire here where I am sure he will sing a different tune.

Gracie, I agree with you 100% on this post.

I found Andrew's research into the background of 55 and over communities, especially The Villages, unexpectedly comprehensive for a popular read, as well as apparently factually accurate. Mr. Midnight's exploits as well as the goings on of his party-hearty acquaintances were certainly entertaining.

Obviously Blechman had an agenda. As he saw things his neighbors who were active and supportive citizens living in his picture-book perfect New England town chose to abandon it for The Villages. As I see it Blechman viewed these folks as resources. They paid taxes which went to the schools although they no longer had children in school. They were actively involved in community affairs and so on. In his mind they were seceding although as a matter of principle (his) they still owed their money and time no matter their ages or that they were retired. Andrew kept beating his drum about how great living in a small New England town such as his (which happened to be in Massachusetts if I recall correctly) was no matter what one's age; that they should not leave it, especially to move to a community designed and operated for active seniors such as The Villages. He seemed to feel they were self indulgent and hedonistic, turning their backs on society at large and that they should continue to reside in his community, contributing their money and time.

As I am now a senior of almost 72, safety for my body, my mind and my property are high on my list of priorities. I felt Blechman was painting way too rosy a picture of life in a small New England town. When I encountered for the very first time a few days ago the article on Vermont, a New England state, I felt it much in point in challenging Blechman's argument that seniors should remain in such communities rather than seek out havens from weather, taxes and crime among other things.

[senior citizen]

............

[Peachie]

When have I ever denied the drug issue?
I've mentioned it many times. It's no secret.
It comes from "without".......it is insidious in its nature.
They come in and hook the young and middle aged into using and then selling drugs within the community.

Compared to other states, it really isn't that bad, if truth be told.
It's just that now we've caught up with the rest of society.

I've said over and over how wonderful TV is. We were impressed.
You are taking things totally out of context, I'm afraid.

As far as avoiding it, that's your prerogative. The recent fall foliage traffic was great for tourism within the state. It still is safe. The police have a definite handle on things.........the serious drug lords are in jail. All of the ones rounded up were booked by the end of the first day. IT WAS A HUGE DRUG SWEEP. We are proud of our police and law enforcement.
They have families too and do not want these druggies coming into our state. Again, no secret.

Senior, follow the train of thought here.. regarding Blechman's book, you stated: "Why everyone gets so upset about a book is beyond me."

No one said you denied the huge drug issue in Vermont, but you did go on to come to Vermont's defense advising us it's not that bad. This is what The Villager's are saying about that book, it's not that bad here, that is why the book upsets us.

I wouldn't say Vermont is catching up to the rest of society, by the stats, it has surpassed society drug use and Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, etc. all have beautiful color and views too.

[senior citizen]

...................

[Bogie Shooter]

I know what you are saying......and I understand. I just can't find it.
Believe me, our townspeople (all 16,000 souls) abhor it and want it to end. We trust our police to do their job.
40 some were arrested out of 16,000. Among them were the Drug Lords from "away" as the cops said.
I think a "scare" was put into them, hopefully, anyway. Springfield, VT. with a pop. of 10,000 had a drug sweep with 30 arrested and jailed.
Rutland City, one hour north of us, ditto. So, yes, it is here.
But there still are worse places to live........but we are more aware, for sure.

I just found this:

America continues to wage its war on drugs. Drug use and drug trafficking has come to be expected in large cities, but size doesn't matter when it comes to drugs. It is affecting both large and small American cities.

An example is Missoula, Montana, a beautiful western state surrounded by national forests with a population of around 67,000. According to a survey by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, this city had the highest rate of illicit drug use with 13.8 percent usage per household polled. They also have a huge methamphetamine problem with 50 percent of adult incarcerations due to meth.

Just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico is a little town called Espa�ola with a population of about 10,000. This little town ranks among the top ten in the nation for drug overdoses. They have 42.5 drug-related deaths per 100,000, compared with the national average of 7.3. In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports that cocaine and crack are D.C.'s worst drug problems with the second ward having the highest rate of cocaine use of any area polled in the nation.

Chicago, New York and Boston have the highest herion-related hospital admissions in the country, and Baltimore and San Francisco have the highest numbers of heroin addicts and heroin-related crime of any cities in the nation, according to the DEA. New Orleans has one of the highest crack problems which has also led to their leading the nation in murder--95 per 100,000 people--that are known to be directly related to drugs.

Columbus, Ohio, rated by Forbes as #29 in the Top 50 Safest Cities to Live, in 2011 reached an all-time high in drug overdose deaths with 1,765 deaths. According to The Columbus Dispatch, one Ohioan died every five hours that year from a drug over-dose. In fact, since 1999, Columbus' drug overdose deaths have increased 440 percent. The drug problems appear to be pain killers such as OxyContin. From 1997 to 2010, prescriptions for OxyContin increased from 7 to 67 during this period, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch newspaper.

And the point is?

[senior citizen]

................

[Yorio]

No place is perfect but when close to 50o/o of the people are moving from another part of Florida, we must be doing something right. I enjoy excitement to a degree so if there is a speakeasy in TV after 9 pm, I might like to visit or a nice piano bar with Mr. or Ms Night sitting across from the table, why not. I wish there was a little bit of Leisureville for real. I might visit once every three months to see the other side of wild life. What I do not understand is why some unsociable people live here too. Do they enjoy this place? Luckily, they are a small percentage. They are missing out on the fun.

[Peachie]

[QUOTE=senior citizen;771803]My husband said that if she is reading that our drug problem in Vermont is the worst in the nation.......then it must be because of our small population.
In other words, it's in relation to the small population.

Senior, hit on the link under post #17. The drug use cited for Vermont is per capita, so if Vermont was more populated, the problem may be even bigger yet. It's not the end of the world for Vermont.

All of this discourse is in correlation to your statement that you can't figure why everyone gets upset about a book that embellishes unsavory statements about The Villages.

My response was a comparison from me stating your reaction if negative things were embellished about Vermont, you would be upset too. You ARE upset when Vermont is displayed in a less than decent way and you should be. Now perhaps you understand why that book upsets many in The Villages.

[Bogie Shooter]

[QUOTE=senior citizen;771803]My husband said that if she is reading that our drug problem in Vermont is the worst in the nation.......then it must be because of our small population.
In other words, it's in relation to the small population.

Senior, hit on the link under post #17. The drug use cited for Vermont is per capita, so if Vermont was more populated, the problem may be even bigger yet. It's not the end of the world for Vermont.

All of this discourse is in correlation to your statement that you can't figure why everyone gets upset about a book that embellishes unsavory statements about The Villages.

My response was a comparison from me stating your reaction if negative things were embellished about Vermont, you would be upset too. You ARE upset when Vermont is displayed in a less than decent way and you should be. Now perhaps you understand why that book upsets many in The Villages.

That remains to be seen.......................

[manaboutown]

Actually, reading "Leisureville" is what got me to visit The Villages in the first place. I had never heard of The Villages.

Andrew pointed out that in his town (and no doubt in most communities of of any size), only a small percentage of taxes (<1/2%) went to support senior centers, senior activities and senior interests whereas a significant percentage (55%) went to support schools. Surely, in today's world a big chunk of municipal revenue in a typical multigenerational community goes to the police force, jails, and other public safety and welfare costs. In a city or town having serious illicit drug, burglary, robbery and violent crime issues public safety costs are percentagewise enormous. His neighbors were drawn to The Villages because it offered an affordable active lifestyle for people their age: golf courses, recreations centers, swimming pools, all sorts of clubs, dances, and many other activities attractive to seniors. Furthermore, although I do not recall it being mentioned they probably felt relatively safe in The Villages. Those were all very valid reasons for them to have made their move.

[Love2cruise]

2BNTV, nice to see you posting again. I hope you are settled in and living your dream.

[Barefoot]

When have I ever denied the (Vermont) drug issue? It comes from "without".
Compared to other states, it really isn't that bad, if truth be told.
It's just that now we've caught up with the rest of society.

SC, you say that you don't understand why people get upset about a book that embellishes unsavory statements about The Villages. Peachie was just trying to point out that you feel the same way about Vermont .. you get defensive and want to point out all the positive aspects. Of course ... that's what we all do when our Home Town comes under attack by outsiders who don't understand the true situation!