Help ! I need some positive reassurance
 

Hello everyone,
My wife and I have heard about TV for quite some time from friends and neighbors here on Long Island so this past April we drove down and visited. WOW, was all we could say, what a beautiful fun place to live and the people we met who live there having the time of their lives WOW. After much discussion we put our house on the market, accepted an offer and are soon going to contract. BUT now after reading about sinkholes, lightning strikes causing house fires I am afraid I'm getting cold feet while my wife has a carefree let's give it a shot attitude I'm the nervous nelly.
Could some of you PLEASE remind me of all the great lives you are now living it would sure make me feel better about our decision to become a Villager. Thanks for your help. Nick

Hi! I grew up on L.I. too.
We moved to Tampa in 1997 and never regretted it.

For lightning we have the SECO whole house surge
protector. In addition surge protectors on all the
electronic stuff.

The quality of life here cannot be beat. You can't worry
About what could happen.

You got hit by Hurricane Sandy up there. I haven't lived
through a hurricane in the 17 years I've been down here.

And after living with the traffic and congestion of New York
you will really enjoy T.V.

Good luck with your decision!

Live and let live
 

Hello. The positives far outweigh the negatives. After you live here for a while you will take all of these things in stride. Just prepare the best you can for lightening, and the sinkholes.....not much we can do about them. I believe once you get here those worries will be put aside. Happy moving!

Doesn't the fact that 100,000+ are here mean anything?
Only you can make the decision.
The problem is that the good stuff is seldom posted on TOTV. You are reading only the few of the less that good.

You also won't miss the huge oil bills to heat your home, the snow storms, shoveling the snow to get out of your house,home taxes and the LIE during rush hour. There is also a Long Island club .

We went through EXACTLY what you are feeling right now. Others might remember a couple of my posts. So we put off looking for a week when the next thing you know there was a gas explosion of a home in a nearby subdivision here in the Chicago burbs. Now we felt this 5 miles away. We then realized you can't let your fears take over. So.....we closed on our new home in TV TODAY! I wish you the best no matter what you decide.

Nick,
We're from NJ. Settled on our dream house in The Villages Dec. 12th. But still working in NJ. Can't wait for retirement!!!

You just went thru a brutal winter in NY. The winter that wouldn't go away... And, again, Hurricane Sandy. NY also has intense thunder & lightning storms.

Every part of our country has issues. Wouldn't you rather live life to the fullest in TV? No place like it!!

Everywhere has something -- snow, earthquakes, too many people! You can't drag me out of here. Love it. Love it. Love it.

If you don't grab for the brass ring NOW, when will you do it?????:coolsmiley:

I went to work this morning in my golf cart. I cleaned house for a wonderful couple who are from Long Island. While I was at their house we laughed and talked about the wonderful restaurants we've eaten at recently here in TV and just outside the walls of the bubble. They share stories about their beautiful grandchildren and her daughter still in New York. I'm so glad we met.

My husband and I are heading out in a few minutes to play trivia at one of the restaurants at Spanish Springs with people we love and met here in TV at one of the pools. It is getting ready to rain but my goodness, the lush beautiful flowers and other plants are indescribable-not only in my own yard but all over The Villages.

I just took photos of one of my neighbor's yard to share with another friend who built a beautiful house in Pinellas. She's slowly transformed a house into an indescribable home in just a little over a year. It has been exciting watching it happen. I wanted her to see the way my neighbor and friend has worked her lawn on the golf course over the past 20-plus years. They are such nice people. A truly good, hardworking couple. He retired from he Navy. They are a true love story and are now moving into the twilight of their lives.

They've share some wonderful years here in TV together. I hope you and I are so blessed. There are no promises in this life except we will one day meet our maker. Don't worry about what you think might happen. Love each other and make the most of this day.

Come on down and start a wonderful new chapter in your life! It is really lower-paradise.

Nick, I lived on LI on the water on the south shore for many years. I have been thru quite a few hurricanes. When my first wife retired we decided to move on and we ended up in Va. So she could be near her daughters. Well time went on and she passed away after a few years. Still living in Va and now re married the new spouse and I purchased a home in The Villages 7 years ago after their bouts with Hurracanes & Tornados. But have never doubted our decsion to move here. Now that time has come and we will be full time frogs by this time next week.
Bottom line is like others said here you have no control over Earth, Wind, Water or Fire. And that holds true no matter where you are The Villages, California, Arizona and I can go on but why, you get the drift.

Maybe you could rent for 1 year and see all the various factors in context, with your own eyes and ears seeing/hearing what others around you here say. Seeing people face to face makes it a lot easier to weigh their opinions and advice according to the level of trust you perceive in them.

This board has only a tiny percentage of TV residents actually posting here (many read but don't post/opine). So it's not really typical of TV as a whole.

Also, if you rent awhile, you'll get a better idea about which neighborhoods you want to focus on when looking to buy a home.

Congratulations! Ribbit!

You really must think about what nature can bring. As Gilda use to say "it's always something". Florida has some of the issues you are worried about.

The Northeast has nor-easters and Hurricanes like Sandy. So don't worry you will deal with what we have here. I had to deal with Tornados in my previous life. Now that's unpredictable. I will take Florida anyday.

Huzzah!!!! She's back!

14 years of the Villages Life Style and I'm still excited every year I return.I would suggest a long term rental so you can make an informed decision as to if it is your cup of tea and also see what type of house and neighborhood is right for you.Good Luck.

You left out the coming range war with the Stoners.
The thousands of wild dogs that run wild on your lawn and do there business.
The evil developer.
The crime wave.
The IRS Bond Issue.
Global warming ? FL is the 1st state to flood.
just for starters,,,,,,,,,,,,

We're blessed, fortunate and thankful as we have a northern home and a Villages home. That said, we rented for four years and bought three years ago. Ask yourselves this VERY IMPORTANT question as my wife did.....If not now, when ??? The Villages is all it's cracked up to be....FUN. We once heard said that if you're bored in The Villages, it's your own fault. TRUE. Our biggest decision is when we want to make it full time. Best of luck to you in your decision.

You can do it.

It's so funny because after being in TV in May for only 5 days it was love at first sight. I left part of me in TV and can't wait to sell our house so we can be frogs and not Riverrats here in Ca.

We hear all the negatives from our family but still want to be in TV even with the sinkholes, lightening, humid hot weather and even the love bugs weren't that bad.

We have already been selling off stuff we don't want to move to TV.

We will have a long drive from Ca. with a cat that won't be too crazy about being in the car for the long drive but we think it will be worth it to start living a full happy retirement. We will be full timers and can't wait to be back in TV.

Out lifestyle preview was wonderful. We meet so many happy people and they were active. We loved the people we met. We even were lucky to meet some I had chatted with here on TOTV.

I hope you get the answers you need to make your decision. Change is always hard but I think this change for us will be the best thing we can do for ourselves.

We rented three times before we bought..my husband wanted to buy first time I wanted to wait.. But happy we did

Being from NY myself, I think it's natural to have some fear going to weather conditions, than what you have experienced for years and years.

However, did you feel safe when Sandy hit? I was in CT at that time and we got over 3 feet of snow, in one snowfall. I don't miss it one bit. Uggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Anything can go wrong no matter where you live, and it's a lot better in TV.

As a New Yorker, you learn to deal with whatever is thrown your way and it's a lot easier here in Florida!!! One home out of 56,000 plus had a sinkhole? The chances of something bad happening, are so miniscule. Accentuate the positive. Being warm all year, going to parties, hanging out at the pool, going to the squares, etc...................

Dude, come on down and start enjoying yourself, instead of worrying about all the possibilities of something that could go wrong. You can't live your life in fear!!!!

Ask yourself, "what is it worth to get on with the rest of my life"?

Think about this: I've lived in FL for over 30 yrs. at one point I was transferred to Long Island, where I experiencd my first hurricane! There are natural disasters everywhere, so that shouldn't stop you from moving to our most wonderful home, The Villages. Remember that you are buying into an active lifestyle, not just a house.

Six years next month and each day gets better. Absolutely no regrets - well maybe one. Wish we moved here sooner.

Fellow LI purchased 15 months ago in Fernandina and counting down the days until I can retire and be there full time. It is amazing how many Long Islanders are moving to the Villages. Walking in my neighborhood East Islip and see a house for sale and the women is outside weeding her garden. Stop because I am curious as to how the retail market is, so I ask her where she is moving. Figured good way to get conversation started? She says the Villages, Florida. Go figure....obviously the conversation was not about the market, but how great it is in The villages. Where are you from in Long Island?

Nick
Nicky
Nickster
GET-ER-DONE
:boom:

If Not Sure...
 

If not sure I would consider renting for 6 months with option to rent another 6 months.

Then you can look around and see what Village you would like to live in and if you decide TV is for you.

Make a good decision. Very few move here and leave. I do think there will be a day where TV real estate
gets a little scarce.

I'd rather get sucked up in a sinkhole or hit by lightning having fun in TV than to spend the rest of my life working, freezing, shoveling snow, or sliding into cars on icy roads. As you have seen first hand much fun awaits you in TV. Why worry about things that most likely will not happen to you? Listen to your wife and just make the move. You won't regret it.

I have to agree with everyone else
Life happens
Mother Nature strikes anywhere and everywhere
You just never know
Come on down and enjoy life
Debbie

Fellow Long Islander here. There are storms everywhere. Sinkholes happen everywhere. Snow is no thrill nor is ice.

Its a wonderful place to live. Tons of friendly people. Something to do and stay active everyday of the year... Rain or shine... And your already plugged into the best site for the best information on The Villages... Welcome... Welcome... Welcome....

Hi everyone,
We are from Selden LI, we will be closing on our house on and around Aug. 15th so we should be there early Sept or Oct.. We look forward to meeting all of you. BTW thanks for the reassurance. Nick

The reality is that unusual circumstance can get you no matter where you are. The number of people here who are impacted by lightning and sinkholes in The Villages is barely negligible. Come on down and don't worry! See ya at the Square.:a040:

Absolutely Nothing
 

Said in a few words, there is absolutely nothing that I don't like about The Villages. Oh, the traffic ticks up during "the season", but that's no different than any other place in warm weather locations during the winter up north. And even our elevated traffic is nowhere near what folks have to navigate in places like you live in Long Island.

If someone asked me to list the things I like about The Villages as well as the things I don't like, it would take a long time to create both lists. But one would have a whole bunch of entries, The other would be a blank page.

C'mon down.

s/ An Eight Year Frog

Ha-Ha " range war with the Stoners" now THAT'S funny:a040:

Us too...
 

We are in the same position as the original poster on this subject. We just spent two weeks in the Villages and both of us fell in love. It isn't perfect, but it sure does give perfect a really good go!
We made peace with the lower quality home/much smaller quality home for the money than we have now; partially because in two weeks we basically only used the house to eat , bathe and sleep :>)
Now that we are back in the "real world" and crunching numbers and weighing pros and cons we are left with only ONE thing that is holding us back. It isn't that there are sinkholes. It is that sinkhole insurance isn't available and/or is highly tenuous as to whether it will renew and at what price.
We have good first hand experience with hurricanes, floods and tornadoes as we are originally from South Louisiana so we aren't natural disaster lightweights. The difference is that we have always had, at reasonable cost, insurance riders for said disasters.
I figure if TV averages 2 sinkholes per year that ARE NOT catastrophic and therefore not covered by normal homeowners insurance but still leave you with a massive ($50-250k) bill to properly fill them in...each home would have about a 1 in 6000 chance of having this bill over 10 years. Those are decent odds; BUT if you are the 1 and the bill eats the bulk of your retirement nest egg and leaves you unable to support yourself in retirement the odds aren't going to matter much.
On the other hand, if TV in general and/or individual Districts set up some type of "self-insurance" to cover either deductibles for those lucky enough to get coverage or cost of repairs for those who can't get it it would cost very little per homeowner to cover a guesstimate of 2 sinkholes per year. Even using a high cost of $150k each, at buildout that would mean a whopping contribution of $5 per year per household to the fund.
This wouldn't be rocket science to set up either. Perhaps charge every household that wishes to participate $50 to join the "sinkhole pool," no pun intended, and $5 per year to remain a part of the pool. The initial contribution alone with an 80% participation rate pulls in about $250k as a starter fund. If these numbers aren't adequate they can always be tweaked. Even if residents had to put in $50 or $100 every year that beats the heck out of sinkhole coverage. It is also in line with the spirit of community that TV fosters, and lets us take care of our own (think barn raising style). It also would eliminate the horror of fighting insurance companies for payments and would possible let TV find reputable, excellent service providers to "contract" with at good rates to take care of this. The developer can handle his own sinkholes :>).
Has anyone considered this self-insurance option?
Thanks everyone. We so want to be there but are financially just not able to reconcile gambling with such a huge chunk of our retirement nest egg.