Mental "Reservations" About TV? If you had any, how'd they work out?
 

A small handful of years away from retirement (or one bad day at work!)... Curious for a perspective from newcomers, or actually any villager I suppose, how your pre-move mental reservations about life in TV lined up with what you've experienced after moving? Is it what you thought or hoped for? Were your mental "reservations" confirmed or proven otherwise?

"Our" perspective would be from a mid 50's couple... healthy, active, very social, love to travel the world. MY personal retirement FEAR is boredom, and not living a full, active life in retirement. We'd both like to keep busy and give back /volunteer where and when able. (No grands yet as our kids are only in their early 20's.)

We appreciate any insight anyone would care to share. Thanks...

Wish we had moved in 5 years earlier.
You will not be bored living in TV.

We have not moved there yet, but are in the processing of buying a pre-owned now and close in May. We have visited twice and are currently living in a 55+ community in TX and moving to TV from here because there is just SO much more to do there. I feel like a kid in a candy store when we are there. While where we live is nice, in the 10+ yrs we have been here the number of homes has overwhelmed the "clubhouse" and common facilities. That is one thing we LOVE about TV...LOTS of resources and they add as they continue to build. Will it be BIGGER than we might like at some point in time...perhaps. But I think at our ages and for what we have experienced, we have found OUR "happy place"! (p.s. neither of us has ever lived in FL, or even had the desire to...but we are that sold on the place!) ;)

The only way you could possibly be bored in the Villages is if you have a VERY narrow, limited scope of interests that generally keep you in seclusion.

There is a club for everything down here, in some cases several clubs. From kayaking to kite flying, mah jong, archery, softball teams, bowling, book clubs, custom tricked-out golf cart fans, architect buffs, japanophiles, people from Ohio (pretty sure there's a few of those clubs because EVERYONE here is from Ohio for crying out loud), the GOP, the DNC, movie buffs, oh yeah there's a few golfers too.

And if you aren't a "joiner" you'll have no problem just doing a lot of stuff on your own without being pressured to join (though everyone will suggest it).

You could sit by the poolside with your earbuds on and tan yourself into oblivion if that's what floats your boat but most people are WAY too busy for that.

You can also work - full time or part time. There are jobs all over the place, everyone's hiring.

What he/she said........ Don't over-think it would be what I'd add.

Did not have any reservations 16 years ago.
Still do not have any.
Yes TV is larger (by over 4X). Has only made it better.

And is going to get even bigger. But when it all fills in with all the restaurants, shopping, connections it will be better.

More traffic? Yes. But less than where we came from...even now.

Compare other retirement communities. They do not have the lifestyle we have. That does not mean they are lesser communities. It is all what you want....and how it fits with what you used to have.....with a much different perspective.....you are retired.

One is retired and loves it here. I have a different perspective, yes there are many things to do here. Yet after 5 or 6 weeks, I am climbing the walls. I miss my high energy, stressful job. I am an adrenaline junky.

I work 4 months, call is involved, so can work 50 to 60 hours a week. Then I take off a month to 6 weeks to decompress here. The slow pace here really take a toll on me toward the end. I have been known to take 5 or 6 hours of classes at the gym, every day. . Then I Travel back north to snow that I love, and my job.


It’s not about money, it’s the adrenaline rush I live for.

For me I really have the best of both worlds. Maybe in a few years I will outgrow the need for speed, but for now I am not ready to just stop being in what I call the adult world.

More than a dozen years ago when we first looked at The Villages, we were very skeptical. It was too good to be true, too polished, too well run, too nice, who was behind all this??? Something is wrong. Who is making money on all these people???

Well. There wasn't anything wrong, it is well run, it isn't too good to be true. I came on this forum and asked if anyone really KNEW the people who built this place, what was the catch??? No catch. Wonderful place. So very glad we decided to buy here and then sell and buy another house we liked even better, except for we had to leave the people who we really liked in that neighborhood. But here we are liking people in this neighborhood. I hear this so much. Be assured this is a wonderful place. P.S. I still haven't met the builder(s). AND I am not a realtor or an agent. I don't LIKE people who sell houses. You won't be pressured here and it IS all that and a bag of chips.

My wife & I are in our mid-50s and are somewhat a snowbird. No kids (that I know of). We can’t wait to permanently move down here to The Villages in a couple of years, OR sooner!! If your fear in retirement is boredom, then read the book called “The Joy Of Not Working” by Ernie J. Zelinksi. It’s a mind opening, Aha moment for me. Good luck.. -myk

You took the words right out of my mouth Graciegirl, our perfect Village ambassador.

New comer perspective
 

We moved here Oct 2018. We were wowed with all the amenities, but post move we realize we pay for everything (if you want to use the online golf reservation system, then you pay extra). The amenity fee keeps going up. Everything is crowded during SnowBird season and people are downright rude. I can go to any grocery store on any day and see an argument about parking spaces, places in line, well just about everything.

The restaurants are terrible and overpriced and it has been much harder to make friends here than I ever anticipated (everyone seems pretty cliquish). We have determined that we may be "too young" to be here. Maybe it is just the neighborhood, but we feel that we are still too young at 57 and 62 to really be here. And one of the things you need to know is that if you choose to move here while you are still working then your activities are really limited as everything happens during daylight hours.

We are still asking ourselves if we made a mistake by coming here, but we need to stay in the house about 3 years to really recoup what we put into it. While I am slowly getting into some activities, it is still difficult to ascertain if we made the correct decision.

With all that said, you have to decide what is important to you. Make a list of "must haves" and then decide.

My father moved to TV about 20 years ago and we have been visiting every year since. When people ask us about the lifestyle my answer is always: "If you're bored in TV, it is your own fault." It's completely up to you how active or how laid back you are.

We moved to TV almost nine years ago and quickly became involved in many activities. We have settled down now and are more involved with Church activities so don't go to the squares much or eat out. The Villages has grown to be a big city rather than a retirement community but with the exception of TV emergency dept.(very important but expect changes), there is so much here along with the beauty of driving on Buena Vista with the flowers, trees, etc. We now have all of the stores that we need and as we get older, that is important to have them close. For travel, TV vans are great--door-to-door service 24/7. $40 one way but you would pay so much more at the airport for parking and the convenience is great. Our house is very well built and all buildings are top quality. We love Polo and TV Polo Club has the best facilities almost anywhere. If you move here, try Polo. When I was concerned about the growth of TV, I changed my mind set from living in a retirement community to living in a medium-sized city. We moved here from the twin cities so the traffic doesn't really bother us. Besides, we are retired and have time to slow down or wait. Good luck--hope this helps.

There is a wonderful couple on YouTube called Jerry and Linda (The Newcomers). We are just snowbirds but I watched all of their videos before we came. They have been here a little over a year now. They are sooooo informative. I learned sooo much and they are delightful to listen to.

To Sharon17340, some people find it takes 2 years to "fit in". It's a matter of finding your niche. With multiple clubs of the same interest in different venues, it's trial an error. You may not feel comfortable in 1 place, but you might in another. It takes time to cultivate friendships. There are younger people but you have to be willing to do things with older folks, who I found are welcoming to newbies. You'll probably be more active (tennis, pickleball, etc) and so much more. I can't do a lot of that, but swimming is my "sport". Keep looking...

Sharon, I am so sorry that your experience here is as it is. I hope that you will be able to look into some other areas for entertainment. There are some very fine restaurants outside of TV so please check them out. You are young and can get around. We don't golf so have always played water volleyball and basic invites everyone after a quick class through Sea Breeze. Polo is fantastic here with the most beautiful x-race horses (we call them polo ponies). I do not push religion on anyone but our Church (New Covenant United Methodist Church at Lake Deaton--Rt.44A) is where we have found our closest friends and is the most welcoming Church we have ever attended (we have moved 20 times and have always attended Church). I sincerely hope that things will change for you and that you can begin to enjoy TV. If you need a friend, please call me (352-633-0452) and I can give you some restaurants, activities that you may love. Good luck, Sandi

I’m 53 moved here 2 years ago because my husband had a bad day at work (lol). We love it, I am never bored. You can do as much or as little as you want. I still sell real estate, 2 decades now. I love sharing my lifestyle with others. Plenty of opportunities to volunteer. I do Rotary, as I was a Rotarian in my other life. I have ADHD so if I was bored I would bounce off the walls!

Upon retirement back a few years, I was looking at the 45 or 50 hours of a work week and thinking of what I was going to do with those hours after I retired. For me it came relatively easy because of my activities. Bowling, softball and joining clubs. I found out one of the main thing is finding new friends and having activities with those friends. It was scary at first. I read some books of how to retire but, the day to activities worked out great. Here is a quote I heard on television that fits. A body at rest stays at rest and a body active stays active.

We bought a house in a newly finished neighborhood about a year and a half before we could retire and move here. Our main reservation was that the neighbors would have formed a social circle in our absence and we wouldn't be welcomed into it once we moved here. Instead, we were met with open arms by the best neighbors we have ever had (and we had great ones in North Carolina for 20 years before moving here).

A secondary reservation was that we would make some friends that we would lose too soon due to health issues. Sadly, that turned out to be true. We got to be really close to our "back yard" neighbors and after two years of knowing them, they died of separate health issues within a year of each other. It was a double heartbreak for us to lose them both but still a great joy to have known them for the time we did. It will happen again to us and some day we will be the cause of it happening for the friends we've made here. Until then, we are determined to enjoy our friends and where we live as much as possible.

One thing that puzzles me is why there aren’t more recreation centers with weight machines, treadmills, elliptical machines, etc. Another thing that puzzles me is why access to these in the four recreation centers that have them costs the equivalent of a dollar a day, use it or not. The many beautiful executive golf courses are covered by the amenity fee, even though they are very expensive to maintain, and even though the majority of people don’t use them. I’d like to see the above fitness equipment in every recreation center, and covered by the amenity fee. Charge for using the exercise classes at the four recreation centers that offer them, just as there is a substantial charge for using the full-size golf courses. A few minutes of exercise with weight machines helps people maintain muscle mass and joint strength in a way that merely walking or playing golf does not. How many people who would benefit from it don’t do it because they don’t want to pay $365 or more a year when they wouldn’t be using any exercise classes or yoga?

My comments in Italics on the post from sharonl7340:

We moved here Oct 2018. We were wowed with all the amenities, but post move we realize we pay for everything (if you want to use the online golf reservation system, then you pay extra). I use the online golf reservation system and don't pay extra. The amenity fee keeps going up. We've owned since mid-2016 and haven't seen any increases in the amenity fee. Everything is crowded during SnowBird season and people are downright rude. In a population this large, there will be rude people but I saw as much or more rudeness every where else I ever lived before retiring and moving here. I can go to any grocery store on any day and see an argument about parking spaces, places in line, well just about everything. I must be wearing rose-colored glasses or something as I just haven't seen this and my wife and I have shopped at multiple grocery locations around The Villages.

The restaurants are terrible and overpriced and it has been much harder to make friends here than I ever anticipated (everyone seems pretty cliquish). For restaurants, "terrible" is in the eye of the beholder. There are restaurants we haven't cared for but it's mostly about our taste in food, just as there we restaurants we didn't care for everywhere else we have lived. Maybe we're not gourmets, but we have found the prices reasonable at the restaurants we frequent; certainly on par with similar level restaurants in other states. Compared to large metropolitan areas, we do find less international cuisine but compared to cities of about the size of The Villages, we find it about on par. We have determined that we may be "too young" to be here. Maybe it is just the neighborhood, but we feel that we are still too young at 57 and 62 to really be here. We were 62 when we moved here and fit right in. My niece was 52 when she moved here and fit right in and loves it. But then we all moved into new neighborhoods and the neighbors were close to our ages. Perhaps you moved into a long-established neighborhood with older residents? That can certainly happen. And one of the things you need to know is that if you choose to move here while you are still working then your activities are really limited as everything happens during daylight hours. I think this is a very valid reservation. We do a LOT here, but as retirees, we have the time now to do it. As my retired brother puts it, "I don't know where I used to find the time to work!" Maybe a retirement community isn't the best place to live for people who are still working full time.

We are still asking ourselves if we made a mistake by coming here, but we need to stay in the house about 3 years to really recoup what we put into it. While I am slowly getting into some activities, it is still difficult to ascertain if we made the correct decision. No place, including The Villages, is going to be perfect for everybody. Some people do move from here to other retirement communities or to non-retirement communities. I wish you good luck on finding your place here or elsewhere.

With all that said, you have to decide what is important to you. Make a list of "must haves" and then decide. Amen to that!

Thank you for such honesty. We have been a few times to visit. We are early 60’s and very active. I have all these same concerns. Don’t want to move then feel it was a mistake. Recently rented for a month. May need to rent for longer for a better feel. Thank you!!!

Remember this life is what YOU make it. You give some people a gold brick and all they do is bitch that it's heavy.

TV is not where you come to retire but to enjoy your golden years;you can relax & do nothing or do everything. It's your option. Many retirement communities, you don't have that option. The number of things you can do in TV are unlimited. Just come and enjoy and relax.

It would be impossible to disagree more with this person than I do. We moved here when I was 54---no issues at all. The one thing I would note---leave your ego at the door when you move to the Villages. Many people had big jobs, important jobs, lots of responsibility. No one wants to hear about your exploits in the state where you lived. Get along. Be happy. Integrate into your new community.

We're 58 and 60, here. I work afternoons. I can still get to the archery range for an hour's practice in the morning, and get home before dark, clean up and enjoy some dancing in the square.

The restaurants aren't "bad," but they're pretty typical strip-mall restaurants. Somewhat overpriced IMO but we don't have to eat there every day - I still know my way around a stovetop.

You don't HAVE to do online tee times. You can use the old fashioned clunky version of getting tee times - call them on the phone, or you can even just show up and see if they can fit you in with a 2-some going out (not recommended but it's still an option).

Snowbird season IS much more crowded, but that's to be expected in a state that gets most of its revenue from tourism and related taxes. If you think this is bad, you should've seen the A1A in Ft. Lauderdale back in the 80's during winter recess and spring break. Fuggedaboudit.

I don't see fighting for spaces, ever. I'm sure it happens, but I don't ever see it. And I -work- in one of those stores during mid-day, so have to actually be in those parking lots during peak time. There are lots of spaces - just some folks don't want to walk an extra 20 steps and circle around looking for the closest one. Meanwhile, they would've gotten their take-out and been driving away if they'd just parked away from everyone else and walked. MOST Villagers are able-bodied and don't have any particular "need" to be close to the entrance. So while I do see clustering around the parking aisle closest to the doors of any given store, I don't see any fights, space-wars, yelling people, horn blowing, bird-flipping, or anything closely resembling an argument about a parking space.

If you're from the boondocks where your next door neighbor is a mile away and the entire town of 400 people gather the second tuesday of the month for target contests at the shooting range, then yeah this is gonna be WAY too crowded for you.

But if you've ever lived in the burbs and have gone on summer vacation to Florida during any of your 12 grade school years, it's a cake-walk.

My fear was that I would have bugs in my house in Florida. Did not happen because the pest control here is good.

Paradise has a fitness area that doesn't cost anything extra. However, it is an outdoor fitness area - it has all body-weight machines with no bulky heavy disks to lift or settings to set, no one needed to wash/sanitize the floor mats or windows or mirrors, because there are none of those things.

In an actual gym, you need qualified instructors to make sure that people using the machines know how to do it correctly (once they learn how, then whether or not they apply the instruction is up to them). You also need more maintenance on those machines because there are MANY more parts (such as cables) that can break and need repair/replacement. On the outdoor machines, they're all just weather-coated metal and rubber grip handles. No cables, no pullies, no weights, no settings.

That's why gyms have to cost extra.

Is it O.K. with you if I use your line? That saying just about wrap's up 90% of the concerns that most people have. :coolsmiley: :mademyday:

Outstanding!!!!
:mademyday:
:clap2:

We had a similar experience to yours. We initially bought in The Villages because my parents loved living there but after a couple of months we felt that it just wasn’t for us. We were around 60 at the time. We met a few very nice people but most seemed part of established cliques. Most restaurants were mediocre, winter was cooler than we had expected and it took almost 2 hours to drive to a gulf or ocean beach. On the other hand the golf was easily accessible and time spent with my parents was priceless. We have since moved to Jupiter, can walk to beach and are very happy there. I would rent in various areas of Florida before buying. The Villages is a beautifully planned community with many options for an active lifestyle. It’s just not for everyone.

Workout needed!
 

Totally, totally agree!

Many thanks for the book recommendation! I'll check it out.

Thanks Gracie! You're ALWAYS so positive!! Love it....

Thanks for all the replies everyone. There's definitely a lot to consider approaching retirement.

i know~! excellent post...OMG, I'd be miserable if i woke up like that every day.

If it's not about money, maybe in a few years you can volunteer down here full time, God knows it is needed in this area.

Although we have not moved there yet, we will close on a house at the end of this month. I just wanted to share my input on this and how my wife and I decided we were going to move there. One thing you will find is lots of opinions both pro and con on just about any topic. We started looking at The Villages about 2 years ago and visited twice on Lifestyle visits. I also used resources such as this forum and some YouTubers (Skip Smith and The Villages Newcomers are good resources) to get input on what it is like living there. The key to all this information is to filter it out for you. What one person may list as a major complaint may not be a big deal to you and vice versa. Based on our experience there and getting other people's input I made a spreadsheet of pros and cons with a weighting factor for each item based on how important it was to us. When we looked at everything, the pros far outweighed the cons and we are hopeful we will be very happy there. I think the other thing to keep in mind is that no place is perfect and if you are expecting that you will be disappointed. Make sure this is the place you want to be, focus on all the positives and don't dwell on the negatives.

I grew up in St. Petersburg until the age of 27 (minus 3 years in the Army), and I also lived in the coastal city of Pensacola for 6 years, Savannah, Georgia for 8 years, Spring Hill, Florida for one year. However, prior to moving to TV, I spent the last 22 years in Baltimore.

I knew when I wanted to retire at age 60, nine years ago, it would be back in Florida, the warm weather was calling. I had some experience with a retirement community. My parents who worked all their life in St. Petersburg retired to Spring Hill, Florida, about 60 miles southwest of here near Weeki Wachee Springs. They lived in a community built by US Homes called Timber Pines started in 1983 and build out ended around 2000. It finished with 5,300 residents on 2.3 Square Miles, with 3 golf courses. It's completely walled with two gates and is not open to the public.

My parents lived in Timber Pines from 1983 until 1998, about 15 years. I visited them quite a few times and even lived in Spring Hill all of 1989 and sold real estate in Hernando County. So I had a good idea of a retirement community and how it should operate.

In 2003 I saw a 30 minute infomercial on the Golf Channel and got the VHS video and packet on The Villages. Finally in April 2011 we took a 7 day lifestyle visit and lived in a cottage at Lake Sumter that week. We enjoyed everyday, I played two rounds of golf, our salesman Tony Trussler showed us every style and model home we requested to see.

I had been thinking of Pensacola all these years, but after seeing what I did in 2011, it became obvious. We moved here fulltime in July 2011 and have never regretted anything.