I want to move to The Villages
 

Someday I hope to move to The Villages, yet I have never visited. I have heard so many good things about The Villages and looked at websites. It would be exactly where I would want to live. I would be moving there single and with out any family near by. Plus, I would not know anyone in The Villages. Maybe it's not a good idea to move single with out family close enough to help you. Perhaps, I'll never make it to The Villages afterall. :cry:

Hi Village_gal,

:welcome: to TOTV. You have come to the right place to get your questions answered. A great first step would be to visit The Villages (TV) on a lifestyle preview offered trough TV sales office. If you are outgoing at all, probably one of the first things you will notice is how easy it is to meet people here. Go to the squares and strike up a conversation.

I don't know your situation, but can tell you that there are many singles in TV and there are clubs for singles. If TV seems like the place of your dreams, I wouldn't rule it out without at least a visit.

Come on down, ok?

Pturner, I do plan on visiting The Villages someday. At the present time I am married, but my husband is not in good health. Perhaps it is wrong to think about my future plans at this time. I dare to mention a move, my husband would not hear of it. In his condition it is out of the question. All I know is I don't want to stop living when I become single. The Village looks like a dream in the future, one I'm sure my family would not agree on. Thanks for your post.

NOW then, don't cry village gal. You already have the right name for your new home.

Are you almost of an age? That would be old enough to know better but too young to resist...or something along those lines. There are the best and nicest people who live here, all quite friendly and some are single and some are double.

Just follow PTurners advice and arrange a visit. If you wait until July we will be there and can offer a personal welcome, but everywhere are friendly people who will soon be your friends.

Welcome to you. I hope your dream comes true!!:welcome::welcome::welcome:

Village Gal:

:welcome: to TOTV. Anyone can be a member of this forum as I am a wannabee myself hoping to go to a goneabee until that day I am a permanet villager.

You already have two of the nicest people as friends with Gracie and Pturner.

Will your husband at least consider going on a vaction to TV? He may fall in love with it as I know I was blown away the first time I visited. I hope his health will allow a visit.

I understand your concern about moving away from family as I have done this myself several times. The people in TV are so friendly that if one makes the slightest effort, they will have many friends.

Please make a visit so you can make an informed decision when the time may be right for you.

I think I just repeated what Pturner and gracie said.

Keep the faith, Village Gal, and some day your dreams will come true. This is a great place to live, whether single or a couple.

Some day....
 

Village_Gal,

We are in similiar situations. I am not in the Villages either but stuck for the time being. I am definitely a wannabee/gonnabee. I got to visit briefly last spring for maybe half an afternoon. That was such a tease for me. I am afraid that if I came down for a lifestyle visit, I would never leave.

Like you, even before I ever stepped foot in the Villages, I knew that the Villages is where I want to be at the first opportunity. I am single but currently stuck as I have an elderly mother that would have a complete meltdown if I tried to move her.

I go online and look at real estate every day. I cannot swing two mortgages but I dream and dream and dream. Sigh. Some day.

I can take my job with me so if I can get down to the Villages before I can retire, I still have means to make a living.

In the meantime, I hang out online reading all about life in Villages.

My husband and I moved down less than 2 yrs ago knowing his health was an issue. But he wanted to be in TV, so we sold our Indiana home quickly and came down. He passed away in Feb, and I am so thankful we were able to be here for his last year +. All of my family is back north and I still chose to stay here rather than put up with winter and do nothing but babysit. It is time to enjoy life! I love it here and whether it is neighbors or people you meet at activities, they are truly great people that have become wonderful friends. They look out for me like I am their family. I am relatively shy until I get to know you, but I have great friends in TV. Don't even hesitate! Come on down.

Sorry about your husband passing away. I must agree it would be almost impossible to find a location like The Villages to meet so many new friends . Half of my neighbors are from Midwest and I get along just wonderful with all of them.

Village gal, I hear and understand your concerns about moving single and with no family nearby. It is scary. I visited TV in January of this year and was sure I was not going to like it. HaHa...I had been there for less than two hours and I was "in love". My husband walked out on me 18 months and I need to move on to a new life in a new location. I hope that new location will be TV. I hope it will be sooner rather than later, but I'm not sure yet how to make the timing all work out. Starting over again at "that age" and the thought of buying a house on my own scares the daylights out
of me. But I will do it!

Hi Momesu,

Welcome to TOTV!

I'm sorry to read of your sad experience. It can be hard and scary to strike out on our own-- but it can turn out so rewarding if we have goals to strive for, a vision of our life moving forward and a little courage.

I wish you the courage to make your dreams come true.

Hugs,
Pturner

Kind of in the same boat
 

Hello Village Gal and Momesu.

:welcome: I am kind of in the same boat as both of you. I am single and would move to TV tomorrow full time if I didn't have to work for a several more years :(. I have lived in the Midwest all of my life -- born in Iowa, then moved to the Chicago area in 1979. My family is scattered -- one sister in Wisconsin, one sister near Cincinnati, and my dad is still in Iowa. So the thought of moving to TV without any immediate family is not a huge concern for me, as I have been 150 miles or more from family for many years. Village Gal and Momesu, I would recommend that you try a Lifestyle Preview Visit. I'm saving my Lifestyle Preview Visit for a year or two only because I believe that potential owners are limited in how many Lifestyle Preview Visits can be taken as I believe some people have used them as cheap vacations and don't plan on buying in TV. I will be renting a patio villa in the Village of Chatham for a week this July, and then I would also like to rent in a different village for a week in October. I would love to come down and rent for 2 weeks or 3 weeks (don't know how that would go over with my fairly new manager), but I'm afraid I would never go back to work after that. And I would love to rent for a week or two in the winter, but that is high season and short term rentals (2 weeks) don't seem to exist in TV from January through March. :cry:

Becoming a full time TV resident (a frog) does seem far away for me, but every day that passes hopefully is bringing me closer to the time when I can move to TV and leave my snow shovel and winter boots behind.

Good luck to both of you.
Laura

Momesu-remember...living well is the best revenge. Forget the past if you can, look to the future and what can be, not what was. You can make a wonderful life for yourself. I wish you all the best and hope some day you can live here.

You will have family close by
 

Two weeks after we moved here weearned that our 38 yo SIL had cancer. We had to head north to stay with our daughter during his surgery. Our new family, "my neighbors of two weeks" watched our house for us. took in packages and gathered mail. We all come down here, away from our families so we all NEED each other. That should not be a concern. Lots of people are single and they are well accepted. When we party we invite singles and couples. Never having seen it can easily be taken care of. Give it a chance.:welcome:

I signed off and almost went to bed without replying. Something compelled me to log back on. Village Gal, you have to understand the uniqueness about TV. It is not another town" or just a "retirement community". What we have found in our 7 visits was a place where making friends is as easy as saying "howdy". Just in the few weeks that I have been registered on TOTV, I've made friends and never met them. People I plan to meet in person some day soon.

During the last 5 visits we brought an old friend and golfing buddy of mine. He lost his wife almost 6 years ago and was a devoted husband and was a very "to himself" and almost shy type person. He and I were paired up with different couples while playing golf and a few single guys during most of our visits. By the end of the round, we felt each time like they all were the best of friends. (All golfers are not like that! Trust me.) No where in the few towns we have lived have we experienced such openness or friendly people and I'm talking "sincere friendly". I'm talking about sitting for an hour by the ponds at the entrance to Glenview Golf Course (along Buena Vista) and chatting with people who just happen to pull their golf cart next to yours with the intent of feeding the fish. To me that is "sincere friendly" and we have seen it time, after time, after time.

My friend is now hooked on TV and plans to move there too. You talk about one giant step for mankind! He has come out of his shell that much. There is something about surrounding yourself with so many people who can relate to you and your situation that gives you a "peace" or a reassuring calmness that makes the decision to move there so easy. Especially after we learned you didn't have to have a gazillion dollars to live there. We knew after our first trolly tour that The Villages was where we wanted to be for the rest of our life. Is it perfect? Nearly. Do I care if it is not perfect? NAW!!!! I'm not perfect either! But I like structure and rules and want to live in a place where the vast majority of residents want the same. Without it there is chaos, like we are seeing in many of our cities and towns now. That is why you will read some "ventilating" on some of the threads on TOTV, because I believe the residlents want to make TV even better and get the few (who apparently what to make their own rules) to shape up, be more considerate, and abide by the rules too!!:boxing2:

Moving alone to a new town can be scary because you are kinda on your own. NOT SO at TV. The vast majority of residents are as encouraging, sincere and helpful as everyone on TOTV. You have already gotten a good sampling of nice folks, just from your one post.

There is a magic about TV that I simply don't have the words to describe. But it is such an active, vibrant community with more activities and ways to rekindle those young adult dreams we all had before marriage, kids, caring for aging parents, and enduring the hard knocks of life that came our way.

Want to learn to dance, but never had the time? Well TV is for you. Name a thousand things you always wanted to do or learn to do but now feel life has passed you by? Well, TV is for you. There is a kid in each of us screaming to get out and everytime we go to TV we let the "kids out" to enjoy themselves. You don't have to impress anyone down there, because I believe everyone who lives at TV is there for one reason and one reason only - to live in a clean, secure and safe community; have a lot of fun; learn to do new things; make new friends and enjoy life for the remainder of the days the good Lord gives us.

I pray you can convince your husband to go. I also encourage you to do the Lifestyles visit. Ours was over 5 years ago. We go back annually, but rent directly from an owner. When we learned there is an assisted living facility there and a Hospice, it took away that fear of "what will I do when I can't get around anymore". But, hey - I'm almost 69 and too young to worry about that. Besides, I've got lots of line dances to learn!!:MOJE_whot:

WOW, guess I have become the "mouth of the South". :blahblahblah: Apologies for being so longwinded. It took me a thousand words to say -"GO! You and your husband will fall in love with TV like we all have!"


I'm finished! :clap2::clap2:

Goodnight and to quote Red Skelton "God Bless"!!

John. We G's cannot wait to make your aquaintance in person.

Your post was a beautiful window into your heart.

What a nice man you are!

Go for it!
 

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Momesu and Village Gal,

I can relate to so many things you are saying. I am alone (well, I do have the dawg, Lexi!). I've been doing my homeword on retirement communities for years & knew TV would be for me. I have a 90-year-old aunt failing in a nursing home. I would never leave her but I can see the writing on the wall. I came down on a Lifestyle Preview Plan in January and as you can see by the avatar, I put a deposit down on a lot. I had a friend with me who had to leave after a couple days to help her daughter so I was totally alone (during a terrible rainstorm & tornado warning, no less). I was actually glad so I could experience being alone in TV. From the moment I stepped on the shuttle from the airport to TV, I met so many nice, friendly, helpful people. I went to the Square by myself....no problem. I know I can handle being in TV by myself with no problem. You will, too! I got lost.....good thing....met more nice people! :) TOTV has been a tremendous help. I have a notebook and take notes of recommondations, etc.

You're right.....it is scary. I do have a nice lifestyle here in COLD:cold: WNY...but I know it will be just as good in TV, if not better. I am blessed with some wonderful friends here and some of them were not supportive when I told them of my plans. However, they are busy with their grandchildren, family, etc. and I don't have that. Now they have turned their heads around. There are many wonderful, helpful people on this forum. I know I have made the right decision about my future.......and I wish you the same happiness that I see in my future. Hope to eventually see ya 'round town! :thumbup:

My wife may at times disagree about the nice guy part! :smiley: However, we have managed 41 years of hugging, fussing, crying and loving together! We are 100% together about getting to TV and she isn't a golfer. I have no fears about growing "older" at TV.

Can't wait to meet you and many others in the not too distant future. Thanks for the kind words. I was trying to share some personal experiences with Village Gal to hopefully help with convincing her husband to visit. Never use the "M" word (move), just visit for a change of scenery. Moving is certainly a scary thought for some or even out of the question because of health reasons. Even if I couldn't do the things I use to, I would still move to TV. That time will come for us all and I believe facing that time will be much easier when you are surrounded by sincere friends who actually care about one another and helping each other through the hard times. I feel at TV everyone is in the "same boat" - loving and living life to the fullest.

HUGS Graciegirl! :wave:

I have already made you my friend in my heart Swimdawg. Write down Thanksgiving at my house.

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Tears of happiness.....you are tooooooo much! Gracias, Gracie :)

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One day at a time, Village Gal! Your day will come........

Hi there,
I am hoping to do a lifestyle preview week sometime this summer. I need to do it in the summer to prove to my friends here in MD that I really don't mind FL summers. They all try to tell me I will hate them. It's MD winters I hate! Heat I can live with. MD is pretty hot and humid itself, but they just don't agree. I really want to make this move work. I feel in my heart it is right for me I just don't know how to make all the pieces fit together yet. Finalize separation settlement agreement, get rid of clutter in MD house, fix up MD house, sell MD house and find somewhere to live in TV. :22yikes: It's all a bit overwhelming for me. I've never had to make decisions like this all on my own. Then there's the actual move itself. Ok one day at a time....

Swimdawg, That was a very interesting and insightful post. May I ask what Village you are planning to make your future home in? I also agree it is a good idea to do research in advance as making a long distance move is a big decision. Since it will be several years before I plan on moving to TV, I have plenty of time to think about it, but TV seems like the right place for me. Aside from dropping some hints like "I don't plan on spending my golden years in the snow belt" I have not told my family of my potential plans to move to TV as it is still quite some time away. As long as my Dad is alive, I feel I owe it to him to live within a reasonable driving distance (150 miles) from his home in Iowa. Once I do plan to move to TV, I'm sure I will get a variety of opinions from my sisters. I have made it a point not to comment to my sisters on their decisions/lifestyles as I feel we are all adults now who can make our own decisions, but I'm sure I will hear their opinions about me moving from Illinois to TV when the time comes. Or maybe they will surprise me and say "Great, when can we come down to visit." Family, gotta love 'em.

Nussbaum,

I'm sorry about the loss of your husband. You are right in wanting to enjoy your life. At my job, I have been e-mailing a new customer for my company for a couple of weeks now, and this woman lives in South Africa. In her signature line on her e-mails she includes the phrase: "Enjoy life -- it is not a rehearsal." How right she is.

So go and enjoy the Florida sunshine and 85 degree temps. because it is 44 degrees, dreary and drizzling in Chicago today.

My wife's parents are part of the reason we haven't moved. But I've told my brother that we are planning to move, even though I take him and his wife for doctor appointments occasionally. He has other family in the area, and there comes a time when, as selfish as it may sound, we become the priority and make plans to do what we want and not try to appease everyone else. If my friends and family object. . . so be it. You are so right with "Family, gotta love 'em!!"

Hope we can meet up in TV one day.

John, I have told my one sibling that already. My other sibling is a trainwreck at best and I am being kind. Once my mom passes, Nurse Gail is retiring from managing all family health issues. Not sure who they are going to call as long as it isn't me.

Gracie, I have thought before of hosting an orphan dinner at the holidays. It is a hard time of year when you don't have any place to go. How nice it would be to invite other displaced people and make our own family and dinner.

Won't it be funny, if Schaumburger, Village Gal and I all end up in the Villages around the same time? I am so looking forward to the day. It is coming, I just know it. :D

John

You are a wonderful human being. Your post made me cry in a good way. Thank you or your openness.

runnermi,

That would be funny if you, Village Gal and I ended up in TV around the same time. It will be probably be at least 5 years for me before I will be in TV, so I will have to settle for visiting TV a couple of time each year for now. Hope your wait and Village Gal's wait is not that long. I am glad my father has good health (now if he would just wear his hearing aids at all times...so I don't have to repeat myself when I'm visiting:sigh:) But he turns 81 next month and at that age health problems can pop up pretty fast. I'm taking it one day at a time because if I think five or more years wait I get unhappy.

The orphan holiday dinner is a great idea! I will bring the pecan pie or green bean casserole -- I usually don't mess those dishes up. No one ever confused me with Martha Stewart. :)

Everyone needs to plan there life as a priority for what they want. We all need to care for our loved ones, make sure that we have planned for their future, but we also need to enjoy our own life. If I knew my time was limited, and I am sure it is to some extent, I would and have done everything possible to make sure she is secure, has the necessary resources, and is set up to enjoy her life. I would want her to be in a place that had the things she wants and needs to enjoy her time without me. I want to be happy and enjoy life with her as long as possible, but when I go before her, which every statistic says I will, I want her to forget about me and do what she has to do to be happy going forward.

[QUOTE=Schaumburger;347216]Swimdawg, That was a very interesting and insightful post. May I ask what Village you are planning to make your future home in? I also agree it is a good idea to do research in advance as making a long distance move is a big decision. Since it will be several years before I plan on moving to TV, I have plenty of time to think about it, but TV seems like the right place for me.
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Schaum, I will be in the Village of St. James, the newest village and probably the last village before Brownwood. I like the location because it looks to be halfway between the town squares of LSL and Brownwood.

VillageGal, my heart goes out to you. It sounds like you have your hands full with an ill husband. Why not make his last days as happy as possible....and at the same time, you can have some fun planning your future by going to this website, TV website, real estate websites, etc......and planning your life after your husband goes to God? As I said before, your day will come.....mine, too! :)

Thinking about all the wisdom presented here everyday. What a good way to start each day reading some of my favorite writers and philosophers on this very site.

My Helene says..."You can't have everything you want" and if you knew her you would see that she is a together person who deals with the reality of today and is cheerful and caring of others.

And if you think about it, that is true. None of us can have everything we want. Doing everything you can to help you like what you have today is sometimes the way to deal with frustration about the future. I have wasted so many precious days worrying and wondering.

I try really hard to find joy in this moment, and kind of like the motto, "Bloom where you're planted". (I fail often at this endeavor)

And Swimdawg, the area south of 466A will have a number of new villages and the first on that side will be called Sanibel. It will be fun to see the names of each new village emerge as they approach the new square, Brownwood.

I am glad that none of us is that far from any of the other of us. It is a big small town, or a small big town.

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Gracie, Are there going to be any new villages built north of 466A? Somehow I was under the impression that St. James would be the last? I suppose ya never know what the Morses have under their hats? (We need that family here in WNY where people are so afraid of change......& the "preservationists" want to keep everything the way it was decades ago....even to the point of not knocking down rusty grain elevators on the beautiful waterfront. Don't get me started!) Your Helene: A very special and wise woman. I saw you 3 G's in that Freeze video and y'all look so cute! In fact, all you TOTV people look like fun people........count me in! :)

[quote=swimdawg;347384]Thank you Schaumburger I am glad you understand

Omg, this morning I was talking with my husband about TV because of the video's that I watched last night. I love zumba and I had no idea there was aqua-zumba until I seen it on youtube taking place in TV. I went on to tell him there were little golf carts all over the place, he smiled. I told him about the concerts and how it was just a little (ok, it's growing) city and how cute it was and how much there was to do there Especially how friendly the people are. He continued to smile and said, "Ok, I'll take you there, we can go spend the day". Now all I have to do is gather up imformation and plan my trip to TV. If anyone has any suggestions such as best days to come, etc. I would appreciate it.

This might not be a move, but a step closer to my dream. Thank you for letting me be a part of this forum, you have all been very nice.

AWESOME Village Gal
 

AWESOME! :MOJE_whot: Hopefully some of the great folks on TOTV that live there could arrange an "army" of welcomers to meet y'all at Lake Sumter Landing. I would suggest taking the trolley tour. It would give you a quick glimpse of the community, if hubby was able to do the trolley tour. Maybe some TOTV friends could join you. Having others share with y'all their experiences would let your husband know that what you have shared is not through "rose colored glasses". Take it slow and easy, but with just one day I would pack as much in as you can without tiring down. I would go on a day when the vendors are at LSL square (can't remember which days those are), just to get a flare of that experience.

Just my "2-cents" worth to get you started.

Wonderful news. I'm sure hubby is starting to feeling your enthusiasm!!

l

Thanks John! Thats exactly what I intend to to.....Since he tires easy I have to chose wisely and make him interested enough to want to return for a second visit. I've offeret to buy lunch, with his money of course. :) Now I have to make sure I choose the best place to eat for lunch. Have a great Sunday.

Visiting TV
 

[quote=village_gal;347429]Village Gal,

The very nice post above was from Swimdawg.

I would also recommend you take the trolley tour if you and your husband come to TV for a day visit. If you call the TV sales office, they will give you inhformation about the trolley tour as far as days and times. I took the trolley tour last year on my first visit to TV when I visited TV with a friend of mine and her sister who looking at TV for a post retirement home. The trolley tour lasts about 45 minutes, and it is narrated by a TV resident who is glad to answer questions. The narrator on the trolley tour I took last year was a single lady who had bought a patio villa in TV several years ago, and her schedule sounded very busy! Of course the tour cannot go all over TV as TV is too large, but it does give you an idea of what TV is like. The trolley tours starts at the TV sales center in Lake Sumter Landing. Then of course, if you want, you can talk to a TV sales rep. I remember a sales rep. took me, my friend who already lives in Florida and my friend's sister who is retiring in 2 months to see some new homes in the Village of Buttonwood -- very nice. I was so impressed! We also went to a few open houses on our own each day as we were in TV for 5 days. Some of the open houses were held by TV sales agents, and some were held by outside real estate agents. We saw homes on the historic side and homes that were new built and had not been lived it. There are open houses in TV every day, just not on weekends as I am used to up north. The open houses are listed in the Daily Sun each day.

Last September my friend's sister bought a house in the Village of Caroline, and she has spent a couple of weeks in her TV home during Winter Break and Spring Break. She is moving to TV full time at the end of June, a few weeks after the school year is over. So she is moving to TV without knowing anyone, but her sister, who is my long time friend, only lives about 90 miles away in Titusville.

Who knows, maybe your husband will fall in love with TV. After taking the trolley tour, seeing how well laid out, well landscaped and clean TV is, I was sold. So when I'm renting in TV this July, I will be driving a golf cart for the first time and getting lost all over the place for about one week. Watch for the confused lady with the map in a golf cart -- that will be me. All help will be appreciated.

Keep posting as you make plans for your visit.