Nervous moving to the Villages
 

We live in the mountains of northern Idaho. It can be a hard way of life, Anyway we sold our home and have rented a place in the villages. We are excited but very nervous. Just wonder how many other people felt as we do. And is it as fun as it seems.

Yes

Yes

I'm sure it'll be a huge change from Idaho mountains. Regardless, it's a great place.
Good luck in your venture and welcome.

Sure, we felt that way.

There can be a great deal of culture shock, close neighbors, friendly people and lots of activity yet quiet. Still safe/secure and orderly.

Still, it's not for everyone.

It all depends on your attitude. Be out going, find some clubs that follow your interests (might take a few months since many are not doing much due to the Covid.), find some physical activities that you enjoy and join in.

If you are a golfer, pay the $8/month fee to access the reservation system. Reserve times with other people and you will eventually find folks who you will play with regularly.

There are classes on pickle ball which will help you learn the game and meet people.

Host an afternoon open house/garage party for your neighborhood to meet folks. You will break the ice and the neighborhood leaders will help you get involved in the activities.

Most of all, have fun. Welcome to The Villages!

One of the most serious psychological "stressors" is a major move, no matter if it IS a wonderful place.

You will return to Idaho .... why did you move?

We are moving because we are sick of the long winters. it is dark here at 4pm in the winter. you work all summer to get ready for the next winter. we are 25 miles from a store 50 miles from our doctor. and we were offered a ridicule's price for our house. And no would never come back to Northern Idaho

“We live in the mountains of northern Idaho. It can be a hard way of life.”
Sure seems like a good reason to me!
Welcome, and I’m sure in short order you will find life in TV a lot easier!

It is going to be a huge culture shock to your system but you are gonna LOVE it here. What's not to love? It's a whole different way of life from what you have had.

Take a look at this video of a ride in The Villages in a golf cart. The video is very long so you can jump around if you prefer but it gives you a pretty good look at this community........

Golf cart ride in The Villages Florida - YouTube

Great statement - Thanks Gracie

Grandfather Advise
 

When our Grandfather turned 100 we sat with him and interviewed him for our history. One question we asked was how he lived to be 100. He had been a Sheriff in New York at the turn of the Century and a farmer. His response to our question was. We eat too
much bread, eat food with chemicals and most of all "you worry too much"! The last was the most important. (Of course he did not drink alcohol!). Just enjoy the move and be excited how much better your life may be with the new experiences.:ho:

:coolsmiley:

I love that. Thank you.

My son and his family live in the Idaho panhandle in Sandpoint. My son is 51 and this year for the first time he commented that the short days in the winter were getting to him. He lived in Alaska for years in his twenties and I never heard a single complaint from him. I think most people seek warmth and sunshine as they age. My grandchildren love the skiing and snowboarding right outside town though. Book Your Family Ski Resort Vacation to Schweitzer Mountain - Idaho

You're coming from the mountains to here!
Expect to meet many nosey body's and some that skip their medications from time to time, other than that it's OK.

I get it we live above Sand point. and yes we too lived in alaska when we were younger. The cold is getting to us. it makes our bones hurt. Thank you .I think we will be just fine

That is funny. trust me even in the mountains people know every ones business..

We're right there with you. We're in WA. About 50 miles from the Canadian border. These cold and dark winters are starting to make my wife's body ache. Florida makes her feel good.

We're excited too, but not in the least bit nervous. We'll be moving in about two months.

Thanks we are heading out May 25th. I am ready. snowed here last night ugh....

The good thing about renting is taking your time to decide if this place is right for you.

Not for everyone but certainly right for us.

The great thing about the Villages is you can do as much or as little as you want and still have fun. Everyone does what they want, what brings them joy. For me it is driving the golf cart and just enjoying myself.

We still have our house in Mass but I sure hate the winters now but I am sure yours are worse. Enjoy your time renting, look at a lot of houses but when you find the one, don’t delay because they can sell fast. Good luck.

I'm from New England and lived in a depression (not exactly a valley) between two mountain ranges. I was a bicycle ride away from both of them for most of my life. We had a proper Autumn (the Merritt Parkway is a designated National Scenic Route for this reason), and the usual expected 3 other seasons that are notable because each one is remarkably different from the other.

While I don't miss the Nor'easters or sub-freezing temperatures, I do miss New England. I miss the mountains, I miss Autumn. I miss apple picking at the orchard, I miss berry picking season. I miss my wild raspberries, I miss my huckleberry tree, I miss my 5 200+-year-old sugar maples in the back yard. I miss real actual Town Greens and the fairgrounds where we had food truck festivals and the International Irish Dance competition every year, and the agricultural fair during the last days of summer.

I miss driving down the main road in Wallingford to appreciate the Victorian Colonial homes all decked out in their finery for Christmas. And yes, I even miss snow (though not the icy winds that usually accompanied it).

I will ALWAYS be a New Englander. But I'm here, and it's very lovely here, there's plenty to do, or I can sit on the lanai and do nothing if I choose, and I have wonderful neighbors that make me feel like I'm "home." So I'm a New Englander whose home is Florida. I know I'm not alone in that - there are LOTS of New Englanders down here who share the same feelings of nostalgia and wistfulness of our own backgrounds.

That's one of the best things about the Villages, as opposed to any other retirement community. You can find lots of your "people" down here who share similar backgrounds, who might even be able to give their opinion on the same restaurants "back home" that you used to enjoy. They might even have attended the same football game you did the day your team clobbered the opponent in the last 8 seconds, and you can share with them your own version of the exact same play-by-play they give you from their perspective.

The facade of the Villages is just that. A facade. It's a pretty picture. But it's filled with people who are, for the most part, genuine. And many of them come from your neck of the woods, and you'll not feel lonely at all if you reach out, or accept their hand when they reach out.

It is an adjustment. It can be overwhelming, just remember you do not have to try everything in one month. If you buy a house live in it for a while before painting and landscaping. Relax meet your neighbors, join the facebook page of your village and just have fun

Twin Falls.... Idaho...here, come on down, you'll love it.

TV has a lot to offer, even for those that don't golf. Things are beginning to open up again. Renting first is the best approach, that way you'll find out if you like the lifestyle and if so where you might want to buy

good luck

What are you nervous about? You say that living in the mountains of Idaho is a hard life. Living in The Villages is very easy. I never felt nervous about moving here. I loved it from the moment I set foot here. I also have the philosophy that nothing has to be permanent. If I hated it here, I could always go somewhere else.

We are coming up on the 5-year mark of living in The Villages.

Both of us are originally from N.J. We miss 4 things about N.J. and that would be our Grandchildren.

The Villages is what you make of it. The thing is that there is an opportunity here to do whatever you like or to do NOTHING.

I'm betting you'll love it. :welcome:

Renting was a very good idea. Take your time to make a final decision and look around Central Fl for comparism.

The thing is, you're not stuck here if you decide T.V. is not for you...Took me three years to get out of Mexico(selling the colonial)to get to T.V... Buying or selling homes here, move very fast...

I'd rather be in your mountains or on a beach, lake, river, or any natural setting. I am only here in TV because my wife insisted. This is not her opinion; she loves every little thing about it. For me though other than the warm winter weather, it sucks.

Driving anywhere is a pain. Way too much vehicle traffic and it will continue to get worse as they are continuing nonstop developing. Homes are crammed together & you can hear everything from next door - it can be as noisy as an apartment building. Heavy golf cart traffic is ridiculous and dangerous. I ride my bike on the cart paths and it is scary. Read the local .com newspaper for all the latest drunk cart driving accidents and crimes.

I am more prejudiced than most because I don’t play golf, I don’t like games or clubs, I don’t like to socialize, I don’t swim or like pools, and would much rather be around animals than people. I’ve been here 3 months and haven’t even needed or would use a TV ID card for anything. I prefer solitary pursuits, cycling, hunting, fishing, kayaking, reading, television, sitting on a beach, etc.

TV is a marvel of cookie-cutter overpriced homes in a town that reminds me of The Twilight Zone episode where a couple woke up in this picture perfect town only to find out everything in it was fake and they were in a giant being’s terrarium. The place is just plain weird.

Get outside TV and this central part of FL is pretty darn ugly. Swamps, brush & scrubs, ugly trees, trashy homes, dumpy house trailers with plenty of crime & drugs to go around. I carry a legally concealed handgun pretty much everywhere I go.

To each his own. As for me, I am counting the days until we can return to our lakefront home in PA.

Dhdallas, I remember an almost identical post from you a while back. If I were as miserable as you say you are I would move. Life is too short. I hope you are able to find your happiness.

Dude.. I am so sorry you're this unhappy. I know you love your wife and that's why you're here, but dang.. Is it really worth the unhappiness you're living?

Any change has its challenges. We moved from Maine, very different here on about every level. The only thing that really didn't change were the people. In Maine we had great people and grumpy people, same here or any where you live. We never looked back after our move, have made the most of it and it suits our lifestyle. Just remember, if you try and it isn't working, move! No reason to be unhappy - no risk no gain. Have fun and life is short, enjoy it.

I would never insist that my husband move to a place where he would not be happy. My husband would never insist I move to a place where I would not be happy. We agree on major decisions.

...

It may take you a year or so to adapt to the summer heat. People are friendly here for the most part. Golf cart travel is a gem. Lots of nature to look at. Just follow the rules here and you will enjoy it.

My opinion of the Villages is somewhat less hostile than yours, but I totally get what you're saying. HOWEVER - I found that by looking in the northern section of the Villages, we were able to find a home that even I would be willing to live in. We don't have "kissing lanais" up here. The homes are absolutely NOT cookie cutter up here. There are even a couple of neighbors with those gall-durn tacky pink flamingoes on their lawns, and I LIKE it. That's right, I LIKE knowing that my neighbors can enjoy a snicker of whimsy. And so can I. For me it's gargoyles. Some have ducks. One neighbor's yard has all kinds of "craft fair" kitch on the lawn. And some are meticulous and tasteful with nothing more risque than a potted fern.

We are a close neighborhood, but we also enjoy our privacy. There is rarely any golf cart noise, because we're on a loop that only connects to "civilization" on one end of it. And yet we're close enough to the postal station to walk (3/4 mile 1-way) and mix with civilization if we want to.

We're tucked away from the rest of the Villages here on the "Historic" side of 441, but close enough to party at the squares when the mood strikes.

Don't be nervous! People are very friendly; everyone was new here, once. A friend of mine who moved from New Mexico to the midwest was a little disoriented by no longer having the mountains as a reference point, and it's very flat here. But beautiful in its own way. All the main roads go by numbers instead of names, and that's a little confusing. But you'll soon learn 466 from 466a and why they are miles apart. Enjoy!

thank you

This is the price some of us have to pay for the many years of love and freedom to do our own things. Now it's her turn.