Is The Villages getting to big?
 

I do love living here in The Villages, but I want all Villagers to stop and think for a minute. The Villages currently has a population of approximately 140,000 people. Considering the amount of land The Villages still owns that has not been developed, by the time the future villages are developed our population will be well over 200,000 people. Remember, The Villages is not a gated community but a community with gates. On any given day at any time of the day anyone from outside the villages has full access to every road every street every business and all the town squares. If for some reason a person or persons with Less than honorable intentions approach a gate at 3 AM in one of our villages and you do not live in the villages you simply press the red button the gate goes up and you enter. The 20% of the villages that have gate attendants are not allowed to ask you what your businesses is and are not allowed to stop you from entering any village at any time of the day or night. Also keep in mind that many of our seniors who live here in the villages are allowing their grand children and children to live with them. Everything I mentioned above including a community future population with over 200,000 people is bound to see a significant increase in crime and traffic. Go to On Top of the World, Dell Web, Margaritaville, or Stone Crest. Try entering the property without authorization and see what happens. You will not only be stopped but you will be asked to leave. I’m just saying.

Yes, it has gotten to "big", to too big IMHO.

why does being "big" make us more susceptible to gate encroachment? If anything, I would think being close to the center of a large Villages would make me less likely to be the target of person with "less than honorable" intentions, than being in the center of a small "community with gates"...kind of like being the middle fish in a large school of fish rather than the middle fish in a small school.

I have another thought for those who worry that TV is getting too big. Imagine if the TV developers quit developing. What would stop another developer from buying up that land and developing it? Would we, in TV, be better with other developers doing their thing around the current confines, or would we be better off with TV growing bigger around us?
I feel strongly that with the TV developers track record of success, with their well demonstrated ability to change with the times and desires of new retirees, we are well served by their continued interest in developing TV.
Someone is going to do it, it would be best for us if the people who are good at it continue to do it, rather than someone else, who may screw it up.

I would really hate for someone with “less than honorable” intentions to try to make their way into our home.

Just sayin….

Okay, there are nearly 140,000 residents and what is the per capita crime rate? Will it go up when there are 200,000, I'm sure it will but most likely will be at the same percentage as it is currently. One thing you forgot to mention about the gates is that all entries are on cameras and criminals realize that many homeowners also have cameras and alarms as well as weapons. I feel completely safe here and will continue to do so.

when i was looking at houses in StoneCrest it was a major hassle to follow my Realtor thru the Guard shack .... after looking at a couple houses , i was approached by a Stone Crest resident who offered to sell me ID and a Villages Gate Entry Card for 60.00... so i know it happens , it happened to me! sometimes I question my decision to buy here in the Villages, but my neighbors here are the greatest!

Yes, TV has gotten way too big.

I went to Margaritaville but spent the whole time looking for my lost shaker of salt. Then I blew out my flip flop , stepped on a pop top, cut my heel and had to cruise on back home to The Villages

I don't see much difference between The Villages and Del Webb and Stonecrest. At Del Webb and Stonecrest, you just tell the gate guy that you are going to the restaurant, and you drive right in. I think Top of the World is the same way. Maybe they have different rules when the restaurants are closed, but I don't think the security is really better than The Villages.

The Villages is getting too big but not for the reasons you suggest. We have outgrown our hospital system with too little planned for the future population.

In those developments the roads are private here they are public. I would suggest you look into moving to one of those just saying.

You are free to move to any other community as you please.

I felt the same as you for the same reasons when TV hit 40000 people. Is this a case of now that I'm here let's lock the gates ?

I agree and would not want to live in any other community...
:coolsmiley:

No locks on the gates leaving TV. You can always move and then watch that community grow. Unless you become a hermit and move to the mountains or like place...

:ohdear::ohdear:

No place on earth I would rather be

don't forget.....there are cameras at all gates

I don't think it's getting too big. I think the developers are conscious of building extra amenities needed with the new villages. The hospital shortage is a problem, but I think we all know how bad our hospital is, so it's always wise to consider going to another city for an emergency if possible (but this shortcoming should definitely be addressed!!!). I don't go down south to the new villages often and I'm sure the opposite is also true. Every village has been designed to have all needed amenities. As far as public using our squares, I think it's a nice change to see young people, especially kids! I'm personally happy more retirees will benefit from this fantastic lifestyle.

If you did your research when you moved here you would have known what their intentions were, but now you want to complain about it. I have been to some of the other communities you mentioned and none of them have what we have here and with all the activates available to us, this is how you spend your time?? Another solution....You can always move.

Insert smiley face here. :)

The one restaurant worth going to on On Top of the World is the Candler Hills Country Club. It's located just outside a guarded gate so no need to enter the property. They will not allow you to just ride around to visit, you'll have to go to the office to be escorted around the complex. If you have a name and address of a friend to visit you'll be able to get in but they take your name and license plate number plus the cameras get a photo of your car.

If TV is too big, has too much traffic, too many cyclists, too many roundabouts, too crowded, etc etc....
Stop complaining and move!
Your house will sell quick to someone who wants to be here!
Don't want that? Then, stop griping, enjoy and thank God for our blessings!

Totally agree with you especially your point about the hospital. I wish in one of these new villages in the south they would build another square for those people down there. That would help with some of the crowds in the other squares. Not sure with all they have added in the south there is still not a new square.

We have County Roads the other places are private roads.....From what I understand the villages used to be private years ago but had to change due to the County. We cannot stop any Tom, Dick & Harry from coming in.......a tad more security would be nice but not sure how that could be implemented at this point.
As far the new building the concern is that the quality of the new building is reportedly way down - cheapo builder specials etc.....yet crazy high prices to boot - not sure what the outcome of it all will be.

You are correct 20 plus years in The Sheriffs Department, Corrections, K-9- ICE if you only knew what is really walking around out there you would not be taking late night walks and it’s getting worse by the day just watch the news

You should investigate your rumors.
“I understand “. “Is reported”

Reply
 

And your point is?

Bye. We will miss you.

Nothing is or ever will be perfect. Yet, we demand perfection.
Truth-before moving to the villages I became aware of an island off North Carolina that was for sale. Roughly 10 acres with a nice home and a small herd of wild horses. I'm sure my wife would object to the manager-me.

Bigger
 

In 2019 one of their employees at Sarasota told me a Villages official told them their plan was to have 300,000 people - they just got started on round 2.

I’m not concerned about crime rising in The Villages if it expands while maintaining its current makeup. Consider that at our current size, if you exclude people who live together getting into fights or ex-boyfriends and girlfriends stalking, or that sort of rare thing, there is essentially no crime in our neighborhoods. There are no murders, no assaults, no shootings, no rapes, no burglaries. Despite what you consider inadequate security at the gates, our residential streets are quiet and virtually free of cars. It’s rare indeed to see people driving around who look suspicious.

The fact that nearly all residents are older makes crime much less common here. Also, the sorts of people most likely to commit crimes are more likely to buy in towns where the real estate is much less expensive. So if we maintain our present gate situation and keep prices high and buyers old, crime should stay low. If the developer were to change its policy and sell to young families, that could change, but apart from one neighborhood coming up that is aimed at employees of The Villages, I don’t see that happening. If the housing prices were half as high, or lower, that could bring in crime. My only worry about crime is building within Wildwood city limits, as Wildwood has much more crime. I wouldn’t want Wildwood drug addicts using drugs in the proposed park with trails connecting Wildwood with new villages or using those trails to get into these new villages and burgle homes. I would prefer a high wall with no entrance.

I think anyone who has been here for 10 ton15 years would definitely agree with you. The original concept of Harold Schwartz and carried on by His son is long gone. The Villagers is a nice place but do not kid yourself, it has turned into nothing but a giant sprawling suburb with no end in site. Along with which comes increased crime, relentless traffic and all the other things that comes with over growth.

My view is it is not a 140,000 conglomerate but 70+ Villages of 2,000 people each. Brooklyn is HUGE but your neighborhood is where your world is. Citrus Grove and Orange Blossom Gardens are different communities.

We tend to think honest. The gates, do we think a criminal would not simply go around them. Your front door. Do you think someone braking in is concerned about damaging your new paint job that you invested so much time picking out the perfect color?

Increased security? I only have questions no answers. Do we want random stops to inspect your papers?

I found your shaker

All the crime in The Villages isn't committed by outsiders, Villages residents can hold their own in the crime department.

Crime that is a pattern/habitual/commonplace in a community can only a problem in a community that is in close proximity to very high-density housing that allows kids and lots of kids. The Villages will never meet this definition. Traffic, however, you are doomed.

I would feel SORRY for someone with less than honorable intentions trying to break into my home. It would not go well for them.

Not sure why you mention Brooklyn but I am an ex-New Yorker. People from Brooklyn know or care little about it's history. Brooklyn WAS the suburbs of Manhattan. Few from Brooklyn know that both Brooklyn and Queens are on Long Island. Parking in Brooklyn?
Where can you park? When you find a parking spot you need to look in all the bushes, trees etc for the sign that says why you can't park there. The meter maid, will be out to ticket you as soon as she finishes her one the job coffee. Been there, done that. Why we left.

Yes, the Villages has gotten to BIG and pretty soon it will be getting to BIGGER and maybe some day it will get to too big, but it is already the biggest.

I'm looking forward to the day TV is so big we'll be able to buy a home that makes Disney just a half hour drive via a golf cart.