First day? First week?
 

As I sit here at home in Indiana reading TOTV, I am wondering what it will be like on our first day and during our first week when we finally get to llive in TV!
Would some of you share your experiences? I can live vicariously thru you while the temp dips into the teens again tonight!
Happy New Year to all!

This is our story.
 

:crap2::pepper2:Wife and I left Long Island where we were both born and raised and our home of 30 years in Aug. 09. As we drove I looked at her and said I can't believe we did this. After closing on our new home in TV we walked in the door and we both looked at each other and said I can't believe we finally made it. Life since 9/10/09 our first day in TV has been a FANTASTIC adventure. Everyday brings something new and exciting. New friends new people to meet new places to go. With TV growing the way it is it's just an incredible journey. I hope you enjoy it as much as we are. I WOULDN'T TRADE THIS FOR ANYTHING!!!

hijack
 

Sorry but I was from Lafayette Indiana Barb and ahve 2 kids there. Did you grow up there? Will be watching this thread to see how everyone responds to your question!!!

No, ssmith, I am originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hubby is a Purdue grad from Kokomo, Indiana, tho and we have been here in West Lafayette for 17 years. Two daughters graduated from West Lafayette High School and both now live in Raleigh, NC with their families. One son-in-law is from Fort Wayne. Our son is oldest and graduated from South Newton High School and lives in Cincinnati.
I daydream about TV all the time....and always wonder what it will be like when we are able to live there...hence the question! Am hoping folks will share their stories and they will get me thru another day in the dreary Midwest!

We moved in 2005 as a snowflake (now a snowbird) and love it. We went on the trolly when we were looking and the guide said to get out and meet people "No one is going to knock on your door and ask if wonderful people live here". Well she was wrong -- within 12 hours of moving in our great neighbors were knocking to introduce themselves.
We love the the people, the lifestyle, and the weather. It just keeps getting better...

I drove down from Pennsylvania with my dog. Arrived around 5:30 AM and just breathed a sigh of relief. I had been "commuting" back and forth monthly for about a year so I was already familiar with the neighborhood. Hectic at first getting organized and starting new job but fell right into the swing of things. Did alot on weekends and was like a kid in a candy store for a while. Well, maybe I'm still there because there is so much to offer and I am expanding my horizons everyday. And, it does keep getting better!

My hubby and I came to TV for the first time in 2004 and we immediately decided it was the place for our retirement. After almost six years of visits, many hours on researching and watching homes being bought & sold, and chatting on TOTV, we finally bought in May of 2010. After a breast cancer diagnosis, radiation and chemo we really knew it was time for me to retire and for us to have fun. NOW we bowl, bicycle, motorcycle, dance, march in parades and are pleasantly busy all the time. We have not regretted a minute of our decision and look forward to many, many years here!

We had our furniture picked up, got the dog to the vet for her final check-up, loaded the car, said our tearful goodbyes to friends and neighbors and headed out. Only drove as far as San Diego that first night, we are from a place only 30 miles north. The next morning, our eastward trek began! We arrived late in the evening about 6 days later. Hubby's Mom was following us in her car, she moved to TV when we did. Our first night was when we sighed a BIG sigh of relief...here we were, in a brand new house, with only an air mattress and some dishes, but we were HOME! The first week was exciting, especially for the dogs, ours and Mom's had no clue what was happening so whenever we went to get something, like food for the house, we brought the pooches....one was about 50 lbs, the other about 95. Got crowded in the car...lol.
We were so busy setting up appointments for tv, furniture delivery, meeting people, trying to figure out where things were that we didn't have a second to feel sad about what we'd just left....a house we'd had for over 30 years, friends (though they too had been moving away over the years) and a wonderful climate. This was an adventure and everyone on our street was having the same experience. Seems we all moved in around the same time!

Remember how you felt when you got your first bicycle, your first car, your first house? Well, it's better than that! ENJOY!!!:a040::a040::a040:

We did alot of shopping the first week we were here. It was so much fun buying different things for our new home.

I'll be there Saturday for the first time in our new home in TV and plan on doing nothing but shopping for most of the week! I guess I'm looking forward to it:)

It's fun, Russ....you will enjoy this spending, without a doubt!

Welcome Home!

Hi Hawkeye Barb,

Our first week in our TV home was easier because we were/ are snowflakes and purchased a turnkey vacation home. Since we had closed by mail, the first things we did were meet our Realtor to get our house keys :coolsmiley: then went to TV office to get our picture ID's made. :a040: Wow, TV resident cards! We were so excited.

Next morn we were still pinching ourselves as we ate breakfast on our lanai and talked about how much we looked forward to becoming frogs in a few years. I met Redwitch, our wonderful home watch person and dear friend, found our mailbox, did some shopping. Of course we shopped for a golf cart (although we didn't buy one until the next visit).

For now, this was our vacation home. So... the rest of the week we played golf every day, went to the squares, met people, took dog to dog park, danced, laughed and toasted our good fortune.

Here's to yours!
:beer3:

Russ, I'm excited for you! :a040:

In January 2001, I looked out the window of our empty Ohio condo and watched the moving van go down the street with 'all our worldly possessions' so to speak. After telling us of all the other stops he would make along the way, I was concerned because the driver was asking us for some directions, and I wondered if we would ever see these 'possessions' again!

The 'possessions' did arrive safely and we unloaded and piled many, many boxes in the garage. The next day we started unpacking some boxes, then took a break and went to "Bichara Bakery" for coffee and peach pie!
(Bichara Bakery used to be in the building where Starbucks also used to be in Spanish Springs.) Our routine became unpack a few boxes and go for coffee and pie (and try to decide which golf cart to buy) till all the boxes were unpacked.

You will also find your own special memory of your first day, week here in TV.
Hope it is soon for you!

Just closed on our new home in TV on Dec. 28. What a great feeling to know that we made the right decision. Spent the first week pinching ourselves, shopping for furniture, biking, swimming, eating breakfast on the lanai, pinching ourselves, going to Lake Sumter Landing to listen to the music and get ice cream, learning where all the necessary stores are, pinching ourselves...you get the idea!!! It was wonderful! Unfortunately, we can't be down there full-time until we sell our home in NJ. But, for the meantime, we will relive those special times of our first week in TV!!

We just arrived for our three month stay in TV. The first three days were just shop...shop...shop...until we got ourselves established. Today was golf! Yay!

Look for our golf cart with the Maine license plate reading "DIRIGO" in red and say "Hello"!

Enjoy your time and congrats on your new home. i come in next Tuesday for a week and will be working around our place and also doing a little of goofing off.

the villages florida book
 

We just closed on our villa in Buttonwood on December 20th and will arrive on January 17th at TV. Dick will stay a week and I will stay about a month or so as Dick will retire in December of this year. We have visited TV three times and just couldn't not buy, we had such a great time and met such great people. I keep getting ads for a magazine called, "The Villages Florida Book". Is it worth subscribing to to keep up with the news? I have been visiting Talk of the Villages every day since we bought and find it an amazing site to learn and laugh. I am sure we will be using it for years to come as it is so enjoyable. Just wonder what y'all think of the magazine? We are from Chicago but I couldn't wait to use the "y'all". (lol)

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Florida is a y'all state, unless maybe you're in the panhandle or North Florida somewhere. Texas (when I lived there) was a you-all state, parts of Tennessee were y'all states, and definitely Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, South Carolina and most of North Carolina. But Florida? Maybe in the rural areas around here. Too many relocated yankees and midwesterners - don't think the south's population really boomed until a/c became available to the masses, probably in the 60s.

But, hey, if you like saying "y'all," go right ahead. It does sound more relaxed.

I am soooooooooooooooo happy for you.

I'm still a wannbe but I will buy a turn-key home. I will probably spend the morning setting up appointments for services needed and leave the afternoons to going to happy hour to celebrate my good fortune and have a good time. Meeting people and going to Crispers to meet all the wonderful people whio dispense such useful information on TOTV and start long lasting friendships.

The rest of the time, I will be repeating to myself,. I can't believe I finally made it. I can't believe I made it. I can't believe I made it.

Hi y'all,

:welcome:

Love,
One of the few Southerners in TV :)

p.s., Hi Pat, Hi Mint Julip. (Where have y'all been?)

P - Isn't it supposed to be "Where have all y'all been?" :)

Bill

That's right,it is all y'all .... ;) .....but only in Florida do you have to go north to be in the south....:wave:

Headin' Down The Turnpike!
 

My husband and I decided to retire in the summer of 1998. We came to The Villages, after looking at all of the other retirement communities between Leesburg and Ocala, and chose our lot mid June. Two months later we were driving a Penske truck, hauling a flatbed with our car on it, heading out of Maine, south on the Maine Turnpike! To this day I am still not sure how the move happened so quickly! The Town Square at Spanish Springs wasn't completed but we thought we had died and gone to Heaven! After all, there was more there than we had seen in any other retirement community and we had looked at many. We have lived in the same villa for the entire 12+ years. To say we have been contented would be an understatement. It has been a thrill and a pleasure to watch what the developer has done here. I read all the time about folks who have just arrived here and "pinch" themselves to make sure they aren't dreaming. Guess what? I still pinch myself sometimes, for even after so many years of living here, this lifestyle seems unimaginable, incomprehensible and truly magical. I simply cannot imagine a better place to spend these years, when we get to be kids all over again! "Tag", you're it!

Also an Hawkeye fan originally from Iowa living in Indiana!!! Going to TV the end of this month. Hope I find it as great as you all talk about.

Just make sure you bring your checkbook.......you're gonna need it!! :)

Bill

All y'all!? That's imitation southern, Hollywood Southern or whatever you want to call it. But it ain't from around these parts!

Now, would you Damn Yankees quit tellin' me how to speak Southern.:ohdear:

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Yes, ma'am. :wave:

Bill (or I guess it would be "Beel" to some.... :a20: )

Your well stated comments have represented The Villages well! So, all I can add is "ditto".

JudyO,

Congratulatons on your purchase. You and your husband will miss the snow and cold of Chicago a lot right :). What will you do with your snow shovel and the ice scraper for your car? I'm on the opposite end of Chicagoland (N.W. suburbs) and as I was brushing the snow off my car while leaving work today I was wishing to be in TV but I will be a wannabee for quite a while. I'm hoping to visit TV for a couple of weeks this year.

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

srob004, I spent the first 18 years of life in Dubuque. Where in Iowa are you from? Parts of eastern Iowa had lots of snow on the ground at Christmas. I get back to Dubuque about every 2 months to visit my Dad.

Enjoy your visit to TV. Wish I could go there in January!

Thank you for posting. It statements like this that makes my desire to move to TV that much stronger. I can't wait to be in paradise.

I am happy for you the move was everything you hoped for and more.

Re:Schaumburger---I grew up in north central Iowa (Kossuth co.). then after school moved to Laurens, Ia for 28 y. Now living in Zionsville, In

Hi! I see you are from Mokena. We lived there in the mid-'70s. My wife has family in the southwest suburbs and my family is near Seneca.

We reserved a lot in Tamarind Grove and plan to start building in August. I plan to retire in April 2012.

The best is yet to come! :a040:

First Day--First Week
 

Our first day included having a moving company to come and help unload the truck we had rented to bring down. It was much faster than when we had loaded it. Then we took the U-Haul to a storage unit to put in storage some stuff that we don't need (probably won't ever need, but treasures my husband wouldn't part with). Went to the grocery store and bought Diet Coke, White Wine, Beer, and some munchies. Neighbors from our cul-de-sac and street behind us came over to say hello and glad we had made it. We had purchased the home in January but moved in in June. Rayburn Court in Hemingway is a wonderful place to live.

We unloaded stuff, often shaking our head and wondering why we had brought that along. My husband,who is slightly obessive compulsive, would get engrossed in looking at the stuff in the boxes and wonder where certain items were!

We headed for the square on Friday evening with the golf cart. Had a great time and a couple of drinks. Headed home and that's where we went wrong. It would be a very good thing to take the Villages Map along with you AND a flashlight. We took a wrong turn and ended up on Mallary Golf Course. Ended up going through two houses back yards to get to the street (sorry!). Then my husband started going up Morse Blvd North. Not a place a golf cart should be anytime. I got out and he went back up on the curb to get to the golf cart path. We finally made it back to our little place of heaven. We laugh about it often now, not so much while it was happening.

We didn't unload a lot of boxes. We had intended to be snowbirds, but the week we had closed on one house and had a moving sale, our other Missouri house burnt. We became Frogs. So our real estate agent found us the house of my dreams in Bonita. Went through the whole process again within four months (without the golf cart experience). We love our Columbia Way cul-de-sac neighbors and continue to maintain our Rayburn Court friendships.

Talk of the Villages is a tremendous source of information and friends. I found one that I can go to movies with from here. Don't stay in your house. Get out there and meet people. Soon your calendar will be so full that you will have to pencil in "me" time. Don't worry about unloading all the boxes at once, take time to relax.

Good luck to all of you with the dreams of coming to The Villages!! I look forward to a long and happy retirement here.:thumbup:

The only negative for me, as far as moving to The Villages was concerned, was leaving my three children and 6 grandchildren back in Maine. I know that this can be a serious issue for many folks who retire away from the family. We know of several couples who sold here and moved back up north because they missed their families too much. For me, keeping the e-mails going back and forth through cyberspace is every helpful, as are the phone calls that we all make when we need to hear a voice. And, there is always Skype if you just HAVE to see a face! I think we all just have to give this drastic a move some time......time to see if the lifestyle makes the sacrifices worth it. For my husband and me, both coming from childhoods that were not very happy, The Villages has provided the opportunity to have that second chance to be a kid again. Let's face it: By the time most of us arrive here we are nearing the last few good years of our lives. My feeling is that we do not get another chance, in another life, to finally "play" and have that childhood that many of us never had. So, no matter if you spend the first week unpacking, or if you spend it shopping or on The Squares, your eyes will fill with wonder, your ears will hear the mockingbirds in a nearby palm tree, and your heart will be filled with happiness when you realize that you just made one of the best moves of your life! I hope you enjoy this place as much as we have. There is just no other place on earth like The Villages and I, for one, feel very fortunate to live here. It's time for Hopscotch so "Bye" for now!

Congrats & good luck!
 

Glad to hear your home is complete and you are moving in, at least temporarily. Have tried to follow your posts on the process as we're HOPEFULLY moving this year. Happy for you and your wife!:coolsmiley: