North versus South
 

I have been out and about more than usual lately and I love to talk to people. May I offer one piece of advice to all residents of The Villages. If you want Spanish Springs and Eastport/Middleton and everything in between to continue to be a wonderful place to live, please stop comparing north to south. Recently I was at an establishment north of 466, as soon as I said “Hi” to an individual, the usual question was asked. What Village do you live in? My answer “ South of 44”. Immediately I get the lecture: I would never live south. There is nothing there, no trees, no golf courses, no rec centers, no pools. And the best one is all the roads are straight. I've had this conversation before and my answer is always the same, “everyone has their preferences.”
I don't want to get into that debate. But, the questions continue, how much did you pay for your house, how much is the bond, you guys are destroying our lifestyle.

These conversation are what will destroy our Lifestlye! Why can't everyone just have their preferences and be happy!
Let me hear your opinions.

This discussion has been going on for years. Everyone feels where they live is the best and that's fine.

But, I can say that the newer areas in the South definetly have a huge difference in the "look and feel" than homes north of and including Fenney.

Also, you have to remember as time goes on, costs increase and the developer can't provide as much as they used to for a given price so it's left to the homeowners to add the upgrades that use to come with new homes at their cost.

Finally, I "hear", many purchasing new homes "in the south" are flipping them after a year anyway so to them it doesn't matter. Or they are corporate purchases being used for rentals, etc... I also "hear" many of these homes are just sitting and not being sold as fast as in prior years. Many have done no upgrades and are trying to sell a year later at a profit. Not as easy as it used to be.

Just the way it is now.

The conversations won't destroy anything. The fact remains if you want a new build you will buy south of 44, far south now. If you are happy with a re-sale take your pick. South is not barren as your conversation noted, Fenney for example has 3 pools, along with a rec center, 2 golf courses, bar and grille, fire pit, pickle ball, walking trails, putt putt, lawn bowling, croquet, and all the other goodies. How many northern villages have all of that?

My opinion is sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.

All the roads are straight? Really? I knew south is not as pretty as what we have here in the northern area (between the 6s) but I didn't realize that you don't have nice windy roads to add to the lovely atmosphere we have. I do also know that down south, there are not as many lovely plantings as we have in the more established areas.

You are correct, it is more a matter of preference.

Everybody likes where they live the best...it's human nature.

IBTL !!! :pepper2: :popcorn: In Before The Lock!

P.S. The answer is south. No seriously, the answer is depends on what you're looking for. New area that will grow as you spend your years there, with a younger population and easier to join social groups, or an established area with mature landscaping and an aging commercial zone and population (in general, not an absolute truism).

As for the unsolicited advice / conversations / opinions / declarations regarding the north's superiority, I pretty much tell the Yankee to GFYS and the horse he rode in on. I'm easy going, until you're an Adam Henry.

I live on the east, and I would NEVER live on the west

East is east and west is west but where I live is still the best

When we purchased, we were in the South, we are now much closer to the center, and it appears to be actually slightly North of the center, and the house never moved and neither did we!! Actually, we like this area, about an hour maximum (by golf cart) to the far North or far South, and very close to Brownwood.

Most villagers who have been here for even a short time already know all the attributes and drawbacks of every region. So when people pontificate they are really not informing, they are just calling somebodies baby ugly and/or rationalizing their own preferences. There is really no upside or point to it.

But mine is different, IT IS THE BEST.

:loco:

Did you "hear" those things on TOTV? Because I certainly disagree with them.

When I got here that was no south of 44 or even a Rohan. Even then traffic was doubled down by 466A. Most want new home, so be it buy what want and don’t get in my area better than yours conversations.

There were three high schools in the school district I attended. They were called XXX East, XXX West, and XXX North, built in the listed order as the population grew. There was a meme back in the 70's:

East is least and West is best, but North has air conditioning (East and West did not have A/C at the time).

44 has become the Mason-Dixon Line?

Odd, because not a week ago, driving in the southern part, I verbally acknowledged how curvy the roads are. Lol. I was born here in Leesburg and have watched this place grow from the start. I stayed in several rentals in different areas before buying. I thought I’d prefer the more established areas most but wanted to buy new. Now, 4 years later, I never EVER go north of 44. I don’t like that vibe. It’s very cookie cutter and just basically homes and golf courses. to me personally. I much prefer the look of nature in the south where they kept a lot of the woods. Not to mention, I’m less than an hour from Orlando down here.I Love it!!

Why not just give your village name? Probably won’t know where it is anyway.

I believe age has more to do with why one chooses to shelter in place between the 6’s. My parents would never move from the 6’s, but it wasn’t because of flowers or retail (which they detested) in their eighties it was easier to claim their love of the area than to venture to the south.

Both my parents felt safer with walking paths south of 44, instead of walking on roads in their neighborhood, with house after house. They loved the woods, prairie, and abundance of wildlife (except for the bears) which reminded them of our northern homes.

Mom loved the open concept of newer homes, larger bathrooms for devices and Less maintenance.
She did say it would be a bonus to live among younger neighbors. Listening to sirens daily, less active people, gets old, like them. But moving isn’t going to happen because we are too old.

I think bashing where someone else has chosen to live is rude. There's pros and cons to everything in life.

So true! Our village got ripped to shreds last year by the same old fools on TOTV and we just had to laugh at the ignorance.

I think your post will have the opposite effect that you were hoping for!

No Championship courses and the north has most of the rest plus more.

So you don’t travel past the 6’s to know what is available? About 60% of people we play golf with in the north have no idea where Brownwood is, and have never heard of Eastport or Middleton. Then again the age is usually between 80 to 90 plus years old, and they only play courses within 15 minutes of their house. Yet are extremely opposed to any growth to LSL and beyond

We also love the south end. Well said.

We live in the very far south, Moultrie Creek, at least for now this is the very far south. We tried to live in the North, but two sales fell through due to insurance reasons. So, we decided we would buy new and here we are. We absolutely love living here and have made so many friends. We were all moving in together, so forming strong friendships was easy and natural.

The South is a construction zone for the next several years. It looks nothing like the North and probably won't for a good ten years, as plants need time to mature and landscaping needs to get settled in and matured.

What I have noticed (and what I dislike) is that the developers do not invest as much into each village entrance. They've definitely went on the cheap. It bothers me because some of the charm has been forgotten.

The winding roads, well, they seem plenty winding enough, so I'm not sure what that particular person meant. The multi model paths here aren't as pretty, no boulevard style paths and the landscaping is immature.

When I'm up north, I experience ageism quite a lot and for that reason alone, I'm so happy we live in the South. I'm 56, and get a lot of rude remarks from women in the villages. Of course the majority is very kind but the mean spirited remarks in the northern end are hurtful enough that my brain keeps them on repeat. That was something I wasn't prepared for when moving here. I love everyone and I don't care about age.

It has been fun to watch the construction and marvel at the engineering the villages can do in a very short amount of time.

Speaking to the homes not having all the upgrades, for us, it was far cheaper to do our own upgrades at a lower purchase price than to buy a pre-owned home with them in place. The bond was not something we wanted to deal with, but here we are.

We do enjoy the villages from the farthest south to the most northern. We are frequently at LSL and we enjoy most of this by golf cart. We attend Fairway Christian Church and typically go by golf cart when the weather is nice. It's a golf cart lifestyle and we embrace it. We truly love every inch of the villages.

I am happy to hear other people's experiences and am fine with their different preferences. However, I draw the line if they start telling me what I should do. I find such people repulsive.

Yup, you won’t change their perception so enjoy what you have and realize everyone has an opinion and some just want you to hear it (part of their therapy I guess).

We're south of 44 as well and now we rarely go north because there's so much to do down here. On the rare occasion I go north, I realize how dated everything now looks: the rec centers, the home styles, the landscaping. But of course, I wouldn't dream of saying that to someone who thinks they have to justify that up north is better.

So yes, to each his own.

South vs North
 

We moved here 2005 just a block from sea breeze. We were the furthest point south at that time. Since then I can now drive my car to 2 Publix, 1 Winn Dixie, 1aldi, and one Walmart market in 10 minutes. Same for Lowe’s, Home Depot, Outback, Culver’s and all the fast food chains plus Walgreens and cvs. Soon can drive golf cart to all grocery locations when Aldi is done in Sumter. Eventually the south end will have more places to eat, shop. Point is the central location now seems the best unless you want new construction.:gc::gc:

I have a monthly engagement about ten minutes east of Sawgrass, at that rec center with a watermelon theme. I live five minutes from 466A and Buena Vista. It takes me thirty minutes to get there in my car. It gets over at 8:30. Sometimes I skip it because it’s such a long drive, and at night. (Though I enjoy the empty streets.)

I’ve heard the conversations you talk about. What I don’t like “down South” are the mosquitos in the evenings because of the nearby wetlands. I’ve lived north of 466A for four years and never seen a mosquito at my house, and I don’t have it sprayed.

However, the conversations after we talk about where we live tend to be about our medical problems, right? Would you prefer those? (Laughing.)

I always see, "What Village do you live in?" as a way to judge what you paid for your house, and your social standing. If the answer is Bridgeport, you have substantial wealth, if you say, Orange Blossom not so much.

From me the question is simply a way to judge how far you've traveled to an event.

The only concern I give to social standing is if a person seems fixated on it then I find someone else to talk to.

People are so ignorant. Of course things are different in new construction. They have to take into account land, water, new construction methods, etc. You still live in the Villages and can enjoy all its activities no matter how wealthy you are. Hopefully, you will meet nicer people in future encounters.

Seems like I've had more of the opposite. "ewww, you live where all the old people live."

Seems when you get older, you should get wiser and more tolerant of others.
I guess I was WRONG.

When I am asked "That" question, or I ask it myself, it is because I want to get an idea of what part of the Villages you are from - how close you are to me or friends or how close to where we are at that moment. I do not consider it a social standing question and here's why:

I don't give a F about what people think of me or my situation. I know how much money I do (or don't have) and am quite happy with it. I used to work in an area where people looked down on me because it was a ritzy area (Yorba Linda, San Clemente) and they thought a public servant was beneath them. You could see it in how they looked at you, how they spoke to you, and the things they said ("I know you probably don't get how important this loss of view is to us" for example). I always chuckled to myself because their ritzy area wasn't nearly as ritzy as where I actually owned and lived.

My Villages house is not an indication of my wealth - it is a second home and I got a lot more than a similar priced second home in any other area of Florida. My price point in the rest of Florida gets me a 1000 sqft condo that needs a remodel in a 50 year old building with a carport parking space.

Here, even in the lowest cost housing, one gets a phenomenal access to amenities and activities, a garage space, and a brand new 1000 to 1500 sq ft house in a clean, safe, and new area with like-minded and like-situated neighbors.

The Villages is a win-win, IMNSHO, regardless of which side of the Mason-Dixon one resides, or if one is Historical or in a Premier.

Some say the best part of the historic side is that they can smoke (even cigars) poolside at Paradise Rec Center family pool. "Rules" say otherwise but in reality they can. And they do.

Seems to me that the best reply for those living in the south area when one from the north inquires about thier bond is "how old is your roof?"

I have met several people and sure I ask where do you live, but I would never say anything about the north or south being better, Everybody has a list of things they like in TV and have most likely moved into an area they want to live or as many moved to an area that they didn't like and sold and moved to an area they liked better. Anyway, my point is you live where you want to live and no one should put you down for where you live!

We also have 2 Publix, Winn Dixie, Lowes, HD Outback within 10 minutes or less. Don’t shop at or eat At Culver’s Aldi CVS Walgreens but also in that 10 minute range.

Kroger and Walmart along with Amazon frequent our house. No time or fuel involved.

However we live south of 44, moved from 3 houses in Seabreeze area. Hopefully retail will all stay north of 44, it’s not like I need to go to a retail more than every 6-8 weeks.

There is no "bad place to live" in The Villages. But, if you Golf, then it is much BETTER to live in the Central and Northern areas of The Villages because they have more Executive Golf Courses. It is much more convenient to travel by Golf Cart to numerous local Executive Golf Courses for those living in the Central and Northern areas of The Villages than for those "down south". The Developer can change this by building a comparable number of Executive Golf Courses in newly developed areas, but they haven't done so . . . PITCH & PUTTS DON'T COUNT!