If not The Villages, then where?
 

As I watch the prices of homes in The Villages skyrocket, it appears we are rapidly being priced out of the market. We have a few years before we can consider buying and I'm afraid we will not be able to afford a home there when the time comes.

Are there any other communities you could suggest we look in to? What/Where would be your second choice if you could not afford to buy a home in The Villages?

We are trying to keep our options open at this point.

I would love to hear your suggestions.

Thanks.

One place you can do endless research is the following site:
Ideal Active Adult Communities | 55 Places

You can search by location, as well as many other parameters, then get a list of communities.

You can click on one community at a time, and look at how many homes, the price range, the age of the community, their amenities, lifestyle, homes for sale, etc.

as the baby boom effect continues you will fine the same effect on almost all the communities of the quality of TV.

The best time to buy was yesterday. The second best time to buy is today. And the most expensive option is waiting!!!

This may be helpful.


http://www.55places.com/blog/100-mos...ities-for-2014

You could consider doing what I did. I am retired now but my 90 year old mother doesn't want to move to TV full time. She loves the four seasons in Michigan and her friends, family and church. I'm hoping I can change her mind after this past winter!

We had our TV home built in 2012. We have have rented our home in a long-term rental program since day 1. As a rental, most updates I do are a tax write-off. My first renter wanted a custom master closet and I am now looking for plantation shutters for my current tenant.

it breaks my heart that i'm not in our home but it works for now.

There are so many decisions to make as you look to retirement. One good thing about Florida is the huge number of places to live! Have you stayed in TV for 3 months in the winter time yet? I mean rented a home and actually immersed yourself into the lifestyle? If you haven't that's the first thing I would do. Then you can stay somewhere else in a different part of the country the next year, and go from there. My cousins spent a winter staying at about 5 different communities during a 4 month "retirement investigation". They had a lot of fun, but they loved The Villages the most.

Have fun! :crap2:

It depends on the homes you are looking to purchase, villas are in demand and currently there are under 30 for sale with TheVillages.com. However, there are over 500 designers for sale, some for over a year. I would think you could get a designer for a good price, supply and demand thing.

I too have downsized, in my dreams, from a ranch to a villa and even at that I may not be able to afford the maintenance of 2 homes as I would have to be a snowbird. Continuing to rent seems like it may be the best option, pay and go, no worries.

Also, if you are selling your home up north, you will probably get a higher price than a year ago, so factor in that.

So many options
 

WHAT ??????????????

""Move over, Arizona and Florida: When it comes to your golden years, these 10 states are tops. ""

""Once again, such popular retirement states as Arizona (No. 16) and Florida (No. 39) didn't make the top 10. Yes, they're lovely places to visit, especially when it's cold everywhere else. But retirees must consider more than sunshine before making a move.""

http://money.msn.com/retirement/the-10-best-states-for-retirement-in-2014-1
Click on hyperlink for photos & state details. Follow top arrow to advance photos.....

Having been in every state listed, except for Idaho & Utah, I can attest to their natural beauty. I guess many folks are rethinking their original plans..........we, ourselves, know many who are thinking of North Carolina so they can retain the four seasons.....PLUS have the mountains as well as the seashore, but mostly those who are staying put at "home" only to "winter" away....changing the location as the whim strikes.......this way, keeping the family home* for holidays & special occasions......especially when there is nice acreage involved plus dear old friends, creating continuity for the grandchildren........*comfy like an old pair of shoes.

""Here, in ascending order, is our 2014 list of 10 unexpectedly great states for retirement.""
No. 10 Virginia
No. 9 Iowa
No. 8 Idaho
No. 7 Montana
No. 6 Nebraska
No. 5 Wyoming
No. 4 North Dakota
No. 3 Utah
No. 2 Colorado
No. 1 South Dakota

""Living your golden years ""

""In the center of the country, there's a patchwork of states that's tough to describe without a map. They're north of the Sun Belt, east of California, west of Appalachia. Some are in the Midwest, a couple of states are in the West and one is ensconced in the South. While collectively they have no geographic identity, perhaps there's now a reason to give them one.""

""They're the best states in the country for retirement.""

""Bankrate's 2014 ranking found that these predominantly interior states would be the best choices for your golden years.""

""Just like last year, Bankrate considered a variety of factors in creating this ranking: the local weather, access to health care, cost of living, crime rate and tax burden. This year we fine-tuned the process by evaluating government statistics on health care quality, and we improved our measurement of weather to include levels of sunshine and humidity.""

""Finally, this year's ranking adds a broad standard-of-living measurement from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a comprehensive survey gauging people's satisfaction with their surroundings.""

We considered these things....our budget, criteria for things to do (and the costs they entailed), weather and more that are personal to post.

senior citizen, THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE TV, PERIOD

Those ten states that Senior listed.....other than Virginia, are quite a hike for family members - I would feel extremely isolated. Virginia's a bit too snowy for me now.

First, TV has a variety of priced homes. Recently I've seen homes at 115,000 that certainly could make a retirement home. Without knowing your price range I will take a shot outside of TV you might find more house for your money. Stonecrest, Arlington Ridge, Plantation at Leesburg, Spruce Creek----all relatively close to TV and from there you could still visit TV Squares, restaurants and shopping.

Best of luck---I think you will love this area of Florida.

There are so many options available for seniors. Snow, change of seasons, warm year round, cultural activities, beach......But, I have to agree with slipcovers that there is no place like The Villages.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there any retirement community that is warm year round, has numerous activities, and housing is affordable for many budgets?

We found ourselves in a similar position as the poster a year ago. We watched as housing in The Villages was going up in price, but we had a couple years until retirement. Once we were certain we wanted to be in The Villages (it's what is right for us, but not everyone) we purchased a villa. We rent the property to defray some of the expenses. An option mentioned by Sable99 and something that the poster may want to consider once they are certain The Villages is the right fit.

SNOW must have had a high points factor for any of these to be Top 10.

They are not the top ten that retires pick. The article was about top ten CHEAPER places to retire.

TV home prices are definitely increasing, but from what I've seen, this is happening across the country in almost any desirable location. I'm not sure you should be priced out of TV much more rapidly than any place you'd likely consider comparable. (Not that there are really many places that are truly comparable...heheh.)

If Not The Villages, where?
 

We've been to the Tucson Arizona three times and The Villages, renting four years for a few months and have owned for three. We had decided that TV is the only place for us. While renting, my wife and I would do a three mile walk from Caroline in and around Sumter Landing and back and as I would tell my wife, 'Why would I ever want to leave the reservation?' That said, there is always, always a deal in The Villages. You just have to have patience and search the properties if this is where you want to live. While we are fortunate enough to be snow-birds. I can see us upgrading to designer and becoming frogs in a couple of years....but that's just us. Keep your eyes open and good luck to you.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...handle-116778/


St Joe's land company is building a development in the model of The Villages in the Florida panhandle. Although it's been in the planning stages for many years, it looks like it may be finally getting off the ground. This project will take decades to complete and could be something to keep an eye on if you like the concept of The Villages.

I have lived in Stonecrest for five years. Hubby and I love our community. Two remote gates into the promised land..Walmart. LOL. Pools indoors and outdoors. Many activities. Houses reasonably priced.

There are still opportunities and will always be down here, hurry up estate sales, occasional foreclosures--fixer uppers, some of those can be really profitable if you can do some of the work yourself. Also during slower periods and some village build outs there are sales on the remaining homes.

Prices will keep on going up probably as 15M additional boomers are predicted to retire in the next few years. That and people are living longer.

Some people have had too much of the Kool-Aid that is called " The Villages"!!!!:loco:

Here. Sit down and let me pour you a nice glass of this red stuff. It is lovely here. Listen to me and find you are getting very sleepy.

Grow old along with us.
And do not make a fuss.

If not The Villages, then where. Suggesting to someone a place to retire is like recommending a good restaurant. People have different priorities and different tastes so I am always reluctant to endorse much.

The OP made mention that the price of homes here are getting higher and will price many people out. The market still is below what I paid for my home in 2006.

I do get a little concerned for people who describe TV as Disneyland and quite honestly I would describe their response as hyperbole and discount the recommendation.