Is The Villages getting too big?
 

Sorry in advance for this...

Saturday, we were headed to the Home and Garden Show in LSL about 1PM...forget it! Got stuck in traffic entering the area from Morse Blvd. and it took 15 minutes just to get back out. Didn't even try to find a parking place..it was so packed with cars and carts, couldn't even turn around. Perhaps they should have planned the Chili cookoff at a different location? Or make it a two day Garden show?

This morning at 7:30AM, I called Colony Health to see about getting a same day appointment for a medical issue that has been bothering me all weekend, and...no appointments available today. They offered to refer me to an Urgent care clinic. I didn't think that was the way these Village Health centers were supposed to work.

We all know about the terrible parking problem at Colony shopping...with due respect, Publix does a great job of having check-outs open and moving folks thru the lines quickly!

Over an hour wait at most restaurants at normal dinner time (5:00-7:00PM)...many posts (the most recent one I remember is about the new Italian place in Brownwood, also Mezza Luna) have suggested trying to go to dinner at 4:00... REALLY!!?? We (party of 4) waited over an hour at Cane Garden last week..etc. To me, NO restaraunt is worth standing for an hour waiting to get seated at a table. Are there any that take reservations or "call ahead seating"?

These are just a few of the examples of what I see as The Villages getting too big.

It sounds like I am complaining, well, yeah..kinda...but that wasn't my initial intent when I started writing...I'm really looking for ideas on either how to deal with it, or suggestions we can forward to the powers that be. We really like it here, but not being able to enjoy dinner out without a long wait, or being able to even get near the Garden show just spoils it. I must add, that we are not stuck in a mind set that we have to use a golf cart to get where we are going either.

We've only been here a little over a year, (full time residents) and we realize things get much worse during Jan-March/April, but it's getting to the point were we don't enjoy going out anywhere....and isn't that kind of the intention here?...going out and having fun with friends and neighbors?

All the reasons that you have stated are very valid IMOP. On Sat we went as well to the Chili cook off and Garden show. We got there around 11 AM and got a golf cart spot in Sweetbay parking lot. Still way open at that time. Went through the entire place and left at 1:30 PM. Had a really great time until I heard the woman behind me complain about all the "wide bodies" that she had to go around. ( I think it's funny that people that can't hear well speak loudly to the next person thinking no one else can hear them)

The Colony Health Care place I have yet to sign on with but your concern will be a question that I will have for them!

Waiting at restaurants: When we lived in CA, we waited for a min. of 1 hour for a seat in a restaurant especially in Newport Beach. Here, I look at it as a way to talk to others sitting around me. I love to talk and ask peoples opinions on all sorts of things so I find it fun.

So since you the OP are full timers, just wait 8 more weeks and all will be better for you.

I love it here no matter what the season, the wait, the crowds or whatever. I have found my thrill here in TV.

Peace.

You took the words out of my mouth
 

First of all, don't apologize for starting this thread. I agree with all that you have said. My husband and I were just talking about the same thing. We were wondering if this is where we really wanted to live after all. The winter months are just plain horrible. We rarely go out to eat and rarely try to attend any special function that takes place in the winter months. It's simply not worth the aggravation. We keep to ourselves and either go over to friend's house or have them come here. The infrastructure simply can't handle the amount of people. Is The Villages too big??? Yes, but there's nothing we can do about it so you will probably have to change your habits for the winter months. When Spring arrives, you will see that everything gets back to "normal". You will be able to enjoy everything that The Villages has to offer whenever you want to. You kind of have to psych yourself into having to bear the winter months with the thousands of people that flock here. It's a whole different mindset. It's just like living in a tourist area for 6 months. Hang onto your hat because we are still growing and there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. April-May will be here sooner than you think. Until then, enjoy the best you can.

People are moving here for the same reasons most of us moved here. We certainly can't fault them for their good insight and judgement. And, as word of The Villages spreads throughout the country, demand to come here will only increase. I think the way to handle the impact of the growth, especially during snowbird season, is to explore the surrounding communities given that you said you have a car. For example, an Ocala resident I met on the airport shuttle during Christmas told me about an excellent live theater at the Ocala civic center. I plan to investigate that further. The Villages is a great asset to all the merchants and vendors near it. I think the saying "a rising tide floats all boats" is an apt one for the communities near us.

I love the vitality in the winter. People are so happy to be here; they're smiling, waving, enjoying life. Businesses are thriving this time of year. Without all these extra folks, there would be no restaurants to enjoy during the other nine months; there would likely be only one grocery store in all of TV; we would have golf and rec centers and that's about it. So, to me, it's a fair trade off. I can be inconvenienced for three months and smile when I am out and about during this period for the pleasure of being here the other nine months.

It is a good time to socialize in each other's homes, have more activities on the block. As was said, talk to people when waiting for dinner or go early or late (never have to wait at Cody's after 9:00 pm (when I actually like to eat my dinner). So, try finding the good that comes with the crowds. They'll be gone before you know it.

Yes. It is too big right now. Yes. The Chili cook off is crowded with newbies and stalwart souls. Most go ONCE.


Yes, the traffic is horrible and this is the beginning of the biggest month of congestion and new drivers are out in force and in lack of wisdom about how this place rolls.


Yes. there are too many people eating out. There is valid research being done now on you know who and whether they know how to cook...at home...ever.


Yes. but YOU, are one of the nicest and most thoughtful posters of all, OP. And if you are having a glum space, you are entitled to it. I personally think that the POA should sue Gary Morse over this very long patch of winter weather. we were not promised this stuff at ALL.


Yes. But everywhere in Florida is flooded with seasonal residents and it is very busy and crowded with people who have a right to get away from the snow and cold and damp. Now they are here and completely frustrated by the last week of cool, damp, gray weather and they are even behaving grumpily.


Yes. But have you read the first posts just this last couple of days about people who are waiting to move here? They too are deserving of living in lower Paradise, just like us lucky folks.


I hit a rough patch last week, JB. Feel this hug. It will be better soon. The sun will shine.

I totally agree with the points made with the posters above. The Villages is very crowded here during the peak 3 month winter season. I have witnessed a noticeable increase of people, traffic, opinions and attitudes over the last 4 years we have lived here. It is going to get more populated as The Villages nears build-out and more baby-boomers and retirees make this their forever home.

The best kept secret is that The Villages is an absolutely beautiful place to live in between April and November. No crowds, lovely weather, open tee times, and the list goes on.

We came to the Villages with the same reasons that the seasonal people come here, to escape the cold and nasty northern winters. We have to put up with these minor inconveniences or adjust out schedules slightly to accommodate the added population, traffic, etc. Because of the "snowbirds" patronizing the businesses around here, we get to enjoy these conveniences year-round.

We have friends that have vacation homes in Cape Cod and rent them out. We have stayed with them before or after the "on" season when the crowds are gone and the weather is spectacular and the restaurants are empty.

We have friends that purchased a home in the Daytona Beach area and say that they have to adjust their scheduled during the NASCAR Speed Week, or Bike Week, but they knew that when purchasing their home.

60 more days and us Villagers will have some much appreciated elbow room :)

Oh come on now, folks.

I drove my golf cart to the Chili Cook Off on Saturday, got there at noon, parked in back of City Fire, went with the flow of people around to the chili stations, visited lots of exhibitors, sat in a chair a while on the square - and had a wonderful time.

Where we came from in the DC burbs, we would have to drive in heavy traffic at lrast 40 minutes to go to a restaurant AND wait for a table ANY time of year. The Villages is paradise all year long. Do a little personal adjusting in high season and ENJOY yourselves.

Go to anywhere that's popular in Florida during Jan - April and it will be crowded. Relax and enjoy...You are not going to gain anything except an ulcer by being aggravated.
We are all seniors in life and I am not in hurry to leave this beauty here!

Yeah, I'm bummed by the crowds and traffic, and the dreary weather. I can't wait for April. However, I recognize that the snowbirds have every right to be here, and thank God for them as they support the community financially so we can all live here reasonably. In my heart I'm happy for them to come, and I enjoy their joy in being here. But alas, my head can't wait til I can get out of my very own neighborhood without waiting for 20 cars and 10 golfcarts to pass first and give me an opening.

Yes it is nice here in the "off season" BUT have you seen the number of new houses going up south of Hillsborough down to Rte 44 and now Fruitland Park? With the addition of so many houses and still only 3 town squares etc I believe it will become crowded here even during the summer months.

I really appreciate everyones's comments, and agree that it is this time of year that's the most difficult to deal with...and I accept the fact that the winter visitors are part of the reason all the restaurants etc. are here for the rest of us the year round...but my thinking was really in the direction of how can we improve the experience for all, while The Villages is at or near capacity.

I mentioned perhaps having the Home and Garden Show (and Craft Fairs, etc) be a two day event. That would certainly be a new idea for The Villages, as far as I know...All events of this type where we came from are multi-day events, at minimum, a Saturday and Sunday. That would ease some of the urgency and crowding. And why don't the restaraunts accept reservations? I'm not criticizing, but rather wondering why?

Mike, I didn't see your post while I was writing my last one, but yes, more growth and how it affects the off season is also on my mind. There aren't any publicized plans for another town square. I'm not really sure we need another one, but perhaps there are better ways of utilizing the ones we have.

Yes this place is getting too big. The reason :

TOO MANY PEOPLE WANT TO MEET GRACIE!
GRACIE (AS bILLY Joel sang ) "don't go changing'...:bigbow:

As the eminent Philosopher Yogi Berra once said

" No one goes there anymore..it's too crowded"!

I think the comment about the POA suing Gary Morse was out of line. The POA is doing a great service for ALL Villagers.

deleted

It was a joke about the cooler weather we have been experiencing.

Now that I am here I can be comfortable in my complaints about it being too crowded!!! We are currently working with the plan of renting out our home for a month or two in high season to get out of the crowds. March will be the first time we do this so we'll see how that works; however I agree with several others that in no time at all there won't be a season because we will be crowded like this all year long with the new building going on. Guess the options are to roll with the punches or leave 'cause I don't see any fix coming down the pike.

Did you really think Gracie wanted the POA to sue because of the cold weather?

We had some friends that visited the Villages for the first time a couple of weeks ago. They liked some things and even looked a some new houses, but they were surprised that no gas stoves were available because the salesman said that the Morse family had a" problem" with the gas company and at the end of the week they said that the Villages was just to busy for them to even consider coming back. Yikes!

I just got back from a great weekend in Delray Beach with some wonderful friends. Delray beach is a vital, happening town with lots of great restaurants and bars with live music and street fairs and farmers markets, etc. It is so crowded there that it is difficult to walk on the streets. It is impossible to find a parking spot. I know it feels a bit crowded here in the winter months, and it even felt a little more crowded this last summer than the one before it, but it's really not too bad considering we live in a prime snow bird location.

I think it was just a little poke a the POA.

We've gotten along just fine without ever going to a Chili Cook-off in TV, and by buying groceries at places other than Publix at Colony Plaza between 8am and 12pm. There are lots of other options and hours, if one can muster up some flexibility.

As someone suggested, there are hosts of other nice communities in the surrounding areas. Try exploring outside the bubble during these three peak season months, and be glad you won't have to prepare for a blizzard and being stuck in your car on I-75, freezing and trying to sleep in the car with fuel tank dwindling and being iced in.

the old saying everything is relative is the issue here as well.
What is the expectation? No waiting? Always get the space you want?
The restruant you want when you want it? The t time you want? No traffic?

Of course not we are all reasonable.....eh?

Some of us who have been here for at least 10 years (and many more) can talk about when there were only 30,000 people here. No shopping what so ever South of 466 (not 466A....466). There were no homes south of 466 (not 466A....466). No shopping centers off Rolling Acres. No Lake Sumter Landing!!!!

Some might say there was nothing here....we and 30,000 +++ others did not see it that way.
Then TV continued South over the next 8 years. Reached a critical mass in size that began to attract national stores like Home Depot, Kohls, Target, etc.

At over 100,000 we are happy to have all that has come during our stay here. Would we do it again now that it "so big" or "so busy"? In a heart beat.

There are very few times over the years we could not do what we wanted when we wanted to do it. Or go where we wanted to go when we wanted to. Very few indeed. And yes the traffic has increased. Just think about it for a moment this years slow season traffic will exceed what was the busy season of only a few years ago.

We all know if there is a quality, desirable place to be, to go to eat to visit, to live, to play, et al it will be very popular and busy. So if some want to go where there is less of "busy" just remember you will get much less of a lot that we enjoy here.

To each his/her own......TV lifestyle....half the size or double or triple the size or whatever it winds up at will still be a unique lifestyle not easily duplicated many locations around the world.

We purchased our first TV home in 2006. This winter is our ninth.

Yes, we have seen tremendous growth in the last 9 years.

Yes, there is more traffic and the Squares are over crowded----especially when they have special activities.

Yes, there could be better planning by those who plan such activities as the Chili cook off and garden show. Why not have them at separate squares?

TOO BIG IS RELATIVE. COMPARED TO WHAT? HAVE YOU BEEN TO CHICAGO WHEN THEY TURN THE CHICAGO RIVER GREEN AND CELEBRATE ST. PATRICK'S DAY? NOW THAT IS A CROWD!!

OP, your Thread is good discussion. I don't know we can solve the "too big" issue but I sincerely think there are small things that can be done to make "things" work a bit better given our 100,000 plus population during the winter months. Those that post on TOTV are pretty good at suggestions. I'm listening---hope the "planners" are too!

Mr. Morse, if you are listening, sunshine during January would help spread out the crowds a bit. Sir, see if you can do better next year. Thanks!

I agree with most everything said, but to add a little note about the square and no parking on Sat. It was the 1st of the month and there were also approximately 2000 renters picking up their Id's on that date. Yes, it would have made a lot of sense not to book these things simultaneously...but when different entities book different events.
Anyway, I love it here. Even tho' I am close to colony..there are plenty of other stores besides that Publix. My neighbors and I dine out often...just don't go at 6 or 6:30 and expect to be seated. We do also go to a lot of the surrounding area restaurants. We also have a lot of dinners, cookouts, and parties in our neighborhood.
We golf, go to events and club meetings, and yes they are more crowded. It does get frustrating at times with all the traffic and bad drivers :icon_wink: but hey I was never promised the perfect life here. I enjoy and give thanks for what I've got....it definitely could be a lot worse.

Yes.

If you think it's big now, get the new villages map and you will see how huge it's going to be. The villages will extend to 44. There is a huge area south of Hillsborough trail that is being developed now. You also have the area in fruitland park which will be developed. Let's hope they build several more supermarkets in the area. Lots of shopping areas up north on 441 but I think the trip up there will be a pain with the traffic as TVs develops more.

Yes it's busy and thankfully so. It's energizing to see so many people that want to be here to either live or visit.
It's only a few months.
If no one came then our houses would not appreciate and the services of retail and restaurants wouldn't be here either.
Try Naples in the winter. Busy there too.

OP you do make good points and yes I am the one who suggested eating dinner at 4pm. We skip lunch and then after dinner enjoy the music in the squares. Flexibility is the answer to the winter crowds. We've been here 3 1/2 years and I'm sure other full-timers who have been here longer will agree that this winter's weather has been unusually cold for such a long continuous period which eliminates all the outdoor seating availability at the country clubs and restaurants. Less seating + more people = frustration and longer waits. At least we didn't have to dig our way out to get there.

Not at all.

At the rate The Villages is growing, the " season" will be all year long.

I would venture to say that "anywhere" in the U.S. where folks retire, this time of year is busy (albeit crowded). Been to the gulf coast on a vacation some years back it was that (crowded)...but the traffic was A LOT worse. Also on the Atlantic side on vacation...the same! Been to AZ and Lost Wages as well...crowded and horrible traffic. The boomer's are beginning to retire so get ready for MORE of the same folks. My personal "take" is to tell myself during "the season"...take more time, slow down and keep enjoying what we have. It's a whole lot better then living up north this time of year!

Yes, it can be frustrating at times with the traffic, larger number of people, longer waits to dine.....but for many of us, this isn't new. growing up near Cape Cod, summers were crowded. Living in Southern CA for most of my adult life, crowds were present winter and summer. In the summer, people would flock in from AZ, in the winter, from everywhere else...;)
When living in the areas we came from, we ventured to other towns for restaurants, events....not everything was where we lived. The Villages isn't the only place around for entertainment, dining, fun....we are surrounded by other communities that offer things for us to do.

The Villages is a wonderful place to live, even with the larger population....but it isn't the only source for our dining and entertainment experiences. Venture out, see what's around....ENJOY...and when you get back to our community, appreciate it....it's beautiful, clean, well laid out and home, my home and I love it!

AND today, the birds are singing, the anoles have ventured out from their hiding places and the sun is shining.....ahhhhhhh:a040:

OP -
Anyone who lives in a tourist destination understands your complaints. Hubs and I contend with the same issues all summer long as we live on the Jersey Shore and people come from all over to spend time there - from day-hops to seasonal vacationers. And then we travel to Maine in the fall to enjoy foliage season with other leaf-peepers. And then we come to Florida to escape the frozen wasteland of the Northeast for the winter. People in those tourist locations either learn to live with it or leave it - not a hard decision to make, really! We seem to be the exception in that we live with it AND follow it AND adapt! It's for sure that life is never dull!

It was meant to be comical. Gracie would never intentionally say anything to hurt anyone's feelings or be malicious in her posts. Read some of her posts. She always knows just what to say.

I think we need more southerners to add politeness and the population will be fine.

I am surprised that anyone is surprised that The Villages is so crowded. there was no question in my mind when I first visited The Villages that it was going to be over built. what I didn't anticipate was that the economy would not recover. I believed that when it began getting crowded I would sell and move. However values dropped and I refused to take a financial beating. the summer here began getting crowded two years ago and this crowding will continue as more people move in

The square mileage is small in comparison to population and the infrastructure not updated enough to accommodate traffic. Add to this renters visitors, etc and I feel like a sardine

Feel like a sardine? I'd say this is like sardines:

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...1&d=1391455292

"Commute times doubled or tripled for many motorists, and crashes closed a pair of interstates during peak travel hours. Congested roadways spanned the metro as drivers struggled with limited visibility and treacherous roads.

Between 5 and 10:30 a.m., Minnesota State Patrol troopers were called to 67 crashes in the metro area, seven of which involved injuries not considered serious or life-threatening. Troopers also responded to more than 100 reports of cars spinning out or running off the road, the patrol said.

Southbound Interstate 35 near U.S. 8 in Forest Lake closed for more than an hour shortly after 9 a.m. so authorities could clear a chain-reaction crash, according to the State Patrol.

Minnesota Department of Transportation cameras showed at least a dozen vehicles involved in the pileup, many swerving into ditches to avoid trucks and semis stalled on the road or involved in previous collisions.

About the same time on the west side of the metro, southbound Interstate 494 was closed for about an hour after another multivehicle crash near Bass Lake Road in Maple Grove.

By early Thursday afternoon, 5.2 inches of snowfall was observed in Fridley, 6.2 inches at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, 4.2 inches in Lakeville and more than 3 inches in Forest Lake, according to the National Weather Service."
Winter storm brings snow emergencies, traffic mayhem - TwinCities.com

"It was a messy commute Wednesday morning as snow fell throughout the state.
Statewide, the Minnesota State Patrol handled 175 crashes since midnight as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. There were also 192 people in the ditch or spun out, and one semi jackknifed. None of the incidents were serious or fatal.

In the Twin Cities metro, troopers handled 137 crashes with 15 injuries.
KSTP Reporter Todd Wilson and Photographer Adam Stevens were driving on Interstate 94 west past the Lowry Tunnel when they came upon a couple of spin-outs – only to get in a crash themselves."

State Patrol Responds to Hundreds of Crashes | KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul