Lovin' the Lifestyle
 

We took a ride south of 44 today (looked at a few open houses). It just boggles my mind how many houses are sold and people have moved in south of 44!!
With all those new residents, it really hasn't had a significant impact on my lifestyle. I am a priority golf member... and I am able to get tee times on championship courses (pretty much the exact time I ask for). I'm also able to get Exec. tee times (maybe a little later than I'd like but I still get them). I am able to get into restaurants. (Maybe COVID has some impact on that).
Bottom line? Still love it here. I'm not frustrated by any overcrowding. Let's see if things change with the snowbirds are here. But overall?? I'm pretty happy and still love it here.

Amazing activity here

There's really a lot to like about life in TV...

once there's a vaccine widely available everything will evolve to whatever the new normal will be and we'll all have "fun, fun, fun...'til daddy takes the T-bird away"

After 17 years here and an additional 100,000 residents we still love the lifestyle....Like most residents still do.

I think the "growth" tends to get over intellectualized.......but to each their own.

Not the friendly home town it used to be.

...

We're actually looking forward to being around people again. Living out in the country we can barely see our neighbors. I think as we get older having a sense of community means more to us.

We don't know what the "good old days" were like in The Villages so our baseline will be different from those that have been there for awhile. Either way, home is what you make of it. The people you surround yourself with make a huge difference. When we did our Lifestyle visit everyone we met were very nice. Even the New Yorkers were smiling.. :D

I agree. I think a lot of the negativity is the fear of what might/could happen (for example, turning all the squares into apartments). I think most people are pretty happy here.

You must live north of 44 somewhere as it's really friendly way down south.

Very friendly place to live. Sorry for those not experiencing the same joy!

Just wait until 60,000 plus new homes are completed.

And golf, unless they start building new executive and championship courses you can forget it.

Oh, they most definitely will change. All the inconveniences you mentioned not having will become very real when the snowbirds return. Last winter, many of our tee-time requests were denied. Unless we wanted to wait an hour or more, we had to eat dinnner at 4:30 or 8:00. Streets and stores were crowded. Long lines were everywhere.

The government can’t afford to build roads to handle the peak traffic. If we had enough businesses to handle the peak, many would not survive the summer drought. So, things are only adequate to meet the summer needs.

This would be a better place if it weren’t so seasonal. I’m not complaining about the maximum population. I would love it if the snowbirds stayed full time. If they did, there wouldn’t be so many empty storefronts in Brownwood and we’d have a much better variety of stores and restaurants. Want to see a COSTCO, Trader Joe’s, etc.? Stay year round.

We are already seeing an uptick and it’s only October.

Nothing different from any area the snowbirds live. (Ft Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, etc etc). If you dont want snowbirds, move to the mountains in Montana

maybe friendlier
 

In some ways it may be friendlier - when we "fully open" my time was consumed with various clubs - constantly going from here to there
great clubs to be sure, but i think i was more busy than when i worked

now, i actually talk with my neighbors, and BTW i am way north of 44,
we may be socially distant, but the key word is social

I believe the issue of “more crowds and traffic” really depends upon where you are from. Sure, it does get busier here when the seasonal residents return, however this is nothing compared to the daily traffic we encountered up in the Boston area. Or even the Holiday traffic anywhere near any of our Malls.

It was my ex-wife for whom the Beach Boys wrote that song back in 1964 while they were staying in Cape Cod that summer. Fortunately, we had a "friendly" divorce and still talk about this episode. Your response enliven my thoughts about this . . .

Traffic?
 

We moved her from SoCal so we just laugh about the traffic complaints, even in the winter. We are living and loving the good life here and we escaped the socialist state of California.

Friendly people always find friendly people. Maybe something to think about.

Moved here in June from the Clearwater FL area. Friendliest place ever. We were welcomed by almost every person on our street in the first week. We had more interaction in the first month than in 27 years in our last home. Constantly have small safe gatherings, so much fun here. More crowds in the winter is the norm everywhere in FL. so I am used to that.

:bigbow:

?
 

Have you BEEN to Brownwood lately? Not many “open storefronts” anymore...as a matter of fact, there are many new buildings to house new businesses.

If it wasn't for Covid you wouldn't be able to get into restaurants as easily. Also, the snowbirds are not back yet so just wait. However, as far as golf even in the busy times of the years still able to golf as much as I want.

Restaurants
 

We only go to restaurants that take a reservation. We never have a problem year round.

20 years, 5 new homes ,in Fenney now , I’m 81 and I still love this place and the growth . I’ve lived all over fl snowbird season is the same everywhere, I’m sure all of us took summer vacations , wasn’t everything crowded . I eat out usually at 7 even in season, so you might have to wait 15/20 minutes you sit at the bar , chat with new people , relax , as for the traffic if your in a hurry leave a few minutes earlier , put some jazz on and at least here the traffic moves

I have a few shirt that says.....If you don't like where you live.....move, you are not a tree.😁

Yep
 

Also depends who you run into or are near.

North to South people who wave hello usually get a return response.

It has been the warmest summer in US history and also the last 5 years have been excessively hot. In the Villages, you can notice the additional heat and humidity in the summer. To have an ideal life, The Villiages residents would need to form a co-op to buy property along one of the Great Lakes or smaller lakes, like the finger lake region of NY Then have the winter TV Land people (that wanted to) rent inexpensive apartments there or buy simple, small homes for the summer - then, enjoy same lifestyle, activities, and entertainment as here. It would be possible because of large group purchasing power.

Sorry, I just started dreaming out loud. But, it would be nice to leave heat and humidity each summer and still take TV land with you.

In the Southern area, there are already 5 exec courses and a great pitch-n-putt course. In the village of St. Catherine, a new 18-hole course is now under construction.

Northwoods, I agree. Have been here 23 yrs. Still love it. Nothing south of 466A affects me. All my activities and friends are in my cirlce. That's were I volunteer, socialize with friends, shop, doctors etc. and all accessible by golf cart. My favorite form of transportation. People looking for a brand new built homes have no choice but to go south. They obviously have not considered resale homes that have all the markings of being done so far as landscaping, etc. But to each his own.

I have some issues/concerns going forward, for TV, but "friendliness" or lack thereof is not one of them. I can't say I've never run into a jerk, but they are few and far between.

“Down” here we have lots to do in our area. We do venture “up” some, but mostly enjoy all we have below 466A.

For the summah months we are buying a travel trailer to see family up north and visit the northern states Canada and the Rockies. There are always alternatives for July -> Sept

That is a very smart way to do it. you get the best of both worlds / latitudes. Plus that gives you max flexibility. Kudos!

Kenswing- Hey , I'm from NY and I'm a doll! LOL The seasonal crowds do add more wait times, but its still less then the wait times back home. But I'm sure a lot has to do with the pandemic right now. Once this virus is past us, Things will be booming better then ever. And we will get back to normal.

Overcrowding?

Amazing, every time I read one of these posts from people who complain about “overcrowding” I just want to laugh.
99.9999% of these complainers have absolutely NO CLUE what overcrowding really is. My profession required some international travel, when you experience life outside of the bigger bubble you really come home with a completely different frame of mind and deeply appreciate the lifestyle, we are lucky to enjoy. Silly little inconveniences such as seasonal traffic or waiting another 15 minutes for a table at a restaurant means absolutely NOTHING.

Before one can complain about overcrowding one must experience TRUE overcrowding, say nine months in India would qualify.

We moved here permanently in 2015 and we love the lifestyle! We checked out other retirement communities in Florida and decided the Villages was for us and we are glad we did!

Reserve your camp sites way early, the RV industry is booming and RV parks will sell out quickly. We have had RVs for over 40 years and have never had problems with reservations until this year.