Welcome to Chicagoland taxes
 

It has taken ten years now, but looking at my TRIM notice, the proposed county taxes, added to the amenity fees, have now topped the $7K mark, just like the old homestead in DuPage County Illinois.

However, I still think the value for dollar paid is better here. There are almost no potholes and I don't have to shovel the rain, nor will I slip and fall on the frozen sunshine.

Apples and oranges. Your tax bill at "the old homestead in DuPage County Illinois" probably didn't have an amenity fee that supported 80+ rec center, 120+ pools, 45 exec golf courses, community watch passing by your "old homestead" 3x/day and flowers in RBs and entrances changed out quarterly, nor did your local businesses support live music in 4 different venues 365 days/year.

So please subtract about $2400/year from that 7K false equivalency. And for the coup de gras---this is NOT Illinois.

Amenity Fee isn’t on your tax bill.

Are those the current taxes in Illinois or from a few years ago?

I hope you weren’t addressing that to me. It was the OP that created a false equivalency by adding the amenity fee to his taxes and posting it was now the same as his taxes in Illinois, I was telling him to take the amenity fee out of his tax equation

Our ANNUAL property tax bill in the Villages is just a little bit higher than our QUARTERLY property tax bill in taxachusetts. And what we get in the Villages for our monthly Ammenity fee is one of the best deals available anywhere.

Apples and oranges is right... If Illinois got the crime under control, it would be head and shoulders above The Villages. All a person needs is one pool, a couple of golf courses, the live music is better in Chicago as well as the restaurants and entertainment. Who would be shoveling at this age, condos take care of all of the that and beautiful Lake Michigan is right there. Mass transportation and a great airport are near and best of all, top notch medical care is available.

Agreed. Paid 10.9k property taxes in MA , sold our house last spring and haven’t looked back

Chicago is a dumpster fire, has been for many years. I grew up in the burbs. Fun city to visit, couldn't pay me to live there.

No, it isn't. OP prob meant MAINTENANCE fee, which is a non-ad valorem assessment. I would consider this and the fire district fee to be a tax as it serves the same purpose. The bond is not a tax, but it "plays one on TV".

The taxes are way lower in FL than any northern blue state, even before you factor in zero income tax.

Well since that's never gonna happen, it's moot.

True, but it costs 5X when you add in traffic time, parking $$$, and there's still that pesky risk of carjacking or being mugged, so...hard pass.

Lots of gorgeous lakes near TV.

Don't need mass transit in TV, so not sure why this is relevant.

Finally, we have a winner!

If Chicago is your paradise what are you doing here?

Sumter is the 14th highest in taxes with 53 countries trailing
 

Sumter county has the 14th highest property tax rate with 53 other counties trailing here in Florida.

Florida'''s property taxes, ranked by county

As I said if the crime was under control.. I, personally, think it is still more fun to live in a vibrant area with mixed populations and movement. Living here is like we're all in a big kettle until we're done and then we're removed.

Look at the map @Aces. #1 highest property tax state in the US is IL.

Our MI bill for 3,400sf with 1 acre, lake house 2,300sf, and the cabin 1900sf, all have lower taxes than any of our 5 homes in TV.
I don’t count bond as anything other than something we sell with the house.

“Mixed Populations” ???

I love our Big Kettle. If you want MP visit Ocala, Wildwood, or Orlando.

There's is something for everyone.. glad you love it. I want to live in vibrancy not travel to see it.

That sounds like a lovely choice, you're fortunate to have those options.

You tell me! Actually, the discussion started with the comparison of Illinois to Florida. I thinked it was skewed with the fact of all the facilities that are available but by the same token, who needs ALL those facilities to be happy but yet they need to be paid for by the residents. Like I said, one pool, one rec center and a couple of golf courses are the most we'll ever need.

Again, then why are you here, instead of somewhere more "diverse and vibrant"?

There was a recent carjacking including a loaded gun and people who have been assaulted in The Villages. The lakes near The Villages have gators and aren't especially nice. (The gulf is great if you want to drive 2 hours through crazy traffic and normally big crowds.) Mass transient would be appreciated by many in The Villages were driving cars/carts are no longer available to those residents because of visual and other handicaps. There have been threads to that effect. Hey, it works for the crowds that live here but there are fine places to live outside this enclave.

I think you've missed the point, The Villages works for many, but there is usually an insistence in some posts that it is the "end all" choice for places to live. Not everyone feels that way, other features in different areas attract others. One poster went after Illinois which seemed rather funny to me because even with it's warts, it has so much more to offer in life experiences. No I don't live there and never have.

Dumpster ? Don’t you mean forest fire?

Yep. If these are huge negatives to you, perhaps hold your complaints and go to your idyllic city.
I tend to dislike whiners. If I don’t like something I don’t complain to others, I deal with it and take charge.

Not whining, clarifying with cloistered Villages that there are other heavenly places on earth, I know it's hard to hear. :icon_bored:

Heh I feel the same way about people insisting that Florida is heaven on earth, that you feel about people insisting the Villages is heaven on earth. And I always get the "if you don't like it, leave" ergo decedo (traitorous critic fallacy) response from people who don't have the mental fortitude to address the substance of the discussion.

My response to them is usually something along the lines of "pay for me to live somewhere else in a similar style and comfort level and I'll get in line for a ticket out." If The Villages was in Albuequerque or Santa Fe, and had the same cost of living, we would be there instead of Florida. Alas, TV is in Florida. It sucks, but it is what it is.

The trouble with moving to that next heavenly place, is that you always bring yourself along! :shrug:

Is it the county taxes plus the amenity fees (which are about $200 a month)? Or is it the county taxes plus the utility bill which includes the amenity fee plus water, sewage, etc. and is usually about $350 a month.

...reading between the lines, I think I know what you mean by your last line. But if I state it (the P word) I will get dinged...

My property taxes here in the villages are much less than those on other houses that I own. So I am happy. Some of that is the fact that the houses themselves here are relatively inexpensive.

Here in Marion County it's the ad valorem taxes that are increasing substantially. This years trim notice shows a proposed 70% increase in the fire tax.

Heres my if
 

hypothetical "if's" never carry the day. When i was younger this was mine

How can you lump amenity fees into a discussion on taxation?

Easy now
 

The original poster pointed out that he included the Amenity fee in his figures then praised all the good things he lives with now vs in Illinois.

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don't forget the military that may be deployed to Chicago. Thankfully, we don't have that here in the villages ( at least not yet)

I use multiple rec centers and pools for various activities that fit my schedule. My sister has one pool, one golf course, and one clubhouse. All are overcrowded and the community is only half built out.

My two cents. Dot com!!

One recent carjacking that made the news versus so many that they do not make the news. Make your choice. I’ll choose one a year over several a day any day.

fort sumter landing?