Pickleball enthusiast
 

Hello from the great state of Washington! My wife and I are considering a move in 4 years to TV. We've visited last spring and loved it. Since our visit we've spoken to a number of people and have heard many good things about the community. However, two things were brought up and I would be interested to here some of your thoughts on the subjects.

1) We love pickleball and we've been told the courts at TV are so busy it's difficult to get court time.

2) During the busy season (Jan, Feb, March) it's very crowded and the traffic is a big problem.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Don and Deb

Pickleball courts in TV can have 45 minutes or so waiting times between each game during the winter time when the courts are used the heaviest.

Traffic in the winter time is heavy on the major highways around and in TV but nothing like I-5 in Seattle at rush hour - no big backups to speak of.

Oh, and welcome to TOTV!


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I think some courts can be very busy in the Winter, but 45 min wait is an exaggeration and reflects a worst case situation. Usually you can get back on a court fairly quickly. In the summer many courts are empty, even in the early morning prime time hours.

Pickleball Open Play
 

At Pickleball Open Play hours you line up with your partner (or if you are there alone, as many are, you find another single player pretty easily) along the side of the courts and as soon as one game is finished, the next couple goes in to play the winners. You move along pretty quickly, depending on how many are waiting. There is Open Play at all levels. You will want to find your level. You can also join a league, but am not sure how fast those fill up.

If you just want to play alone or with another couple, just avoid the busy times. We found we could usually find many empty courts around 5 pm, even during the season.

My husband and I came here first to check it out. We are both avid pb players. We have made a habit of coming in the summer. At some courts in the summer we can wait, but only 5 or 10 minutes. We generally leave here in October. Most of the snow-birds are not yet back but we find the town center and the courts much too crowded to enjoy even by that time.

You've heard of anti-matter, sounds like Pickler is an anti-snowbird!

This is the first time I have heard of people who are in TV only in the summer - takes all kinds to make a world. Wonder where they go when the temps get below 95 and people come out of their house to cruise the malls.


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welcome to totv and congrats on considering the villages for your next move. what's not to like about the villages - even with the winter-time adjustments that have to be made! it isn't like one can't find something else to do! pickleball may be the sport of choice today, but have you tried bocce, archery, softball, swimming, shuffleboard, bowling, line dancing [a sport to me!], etc? now, unless you have reached that point in life where we all find it more difficult to adjust than we used to - that would be another factor that you might have to consider.

where we live in nj, life's schedule is just the opposite from the villages...we are "invaded" every memorial day thru labor day with tourists who come for the sand and sea! they clog our golf courses and tennis courts, roads and restaurants every single year! and they bring children! yikes! we decided a good while ago that we would simply enjoy watching them all have a good time, so we just adjust! and staying in to cook gives me a chance to remember what it was like when i used to cook dinner every evening!

the opportunities to be as active as a whirling dervish abound in the villages. you can get in as deep as you want or you can sit back and enjoy watching all of the movers and shakers...there is a simple enjoyment to be found in that, too.

Come on down. Pickleball games are fairly quick so you never have to really wait a long time. In the winter at some locations the monitor will announce that games are only to be played to 9 or 7 depending on how many people are waiting. There are more than 100 courts here so one can always find a time to play. Besides you don't have to put raincoats, boots, etc... on to get to the courts ! My daughter lives in Seattle and plays indoors there, says it's just not the same as playing outdoors in sunshine here. Traffic is nothing compared to 405...ever. Sure it's crowded in winter, but it's a nice crowded. You learn to be flexible.

Mudder,
Your daughter is right, in Washington State we play pickleball mostly indoors because it rains so stinking much around here:22yikes: but, it is better on the knees. Gym floors are much more forgiving than concrete.

Thanks for the comments folks. It's greatly appreciated.

If you enjoy pickleball, 'this is the place' for you. There are plenty of courts and plenty of players. You will meet others and then you can play at your own skill / competitive level. Action starts at sun-up and goes on all day. There are many fun tournaments. (And I just play golf!) but occasionally watch the tournament play.

I can't personally address the pickleball issue, but felt that I should throw in my couple of cents' worth about winter traffic!

I've learned to assume that, when it takes me more than two minutes to get across Bailey Trail because of the car and golf cart traffic, it must be In Season!

When I first came here, I decided that a line of more than 20 cars at the light at Morse & Rio Grande, meant that it must be In Season!

Whatever the delays, they seem small compared to what I remember experiencing "up north" in St. Louis! :-)

SWR
:beer3:

Wonder why they didn't put in a round-n-round at that intersection when they rebuilt it last year?


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One does not have to find a partner to line up for a pickleball game. A single just gets on line and plays with 3 others when the game ahead of them ends. In most cases, the waiting time between games is too short. I need time to recoup from my previous game, but my turn comes up for the next game too quickly.

I couldn't agree more! We are planning on moving to the Villages around November when our new home will be ready. Since our second home is located in Ocean City, MD, summer crowds are a fact of life - 250,000 people within a ten mile area. There is nothing better than, "goin down da ocean hon", so that is where we will be each June, July, Aug & Sept. It might sound crazy to some, but I can't wait to see the many seasons and changes of TV (my future home)! :thumbup:

OCsun, I see your from Forest Hill, we just left Abingdon in July. We sold our home to the new assist manager of the Wegmans grocery store that was built on the end of our street.

My cousin Billy opened the first sub shop in Ocean City in 1963, his last shop was on 144th Street but he retired in 2000. I believe his shop is still there but with new owners. I worked on the boardwalk in 1969, Billy had a shop on Wicomico St. by Trashers fries, and that's where I worked back then.

John W,

Wow! Everybody knows Billy's Subs. I own a condo a block away at Ocean Place located between 145 & 146, on the ocean.

My husbands cousin, owned the Beauty Salon in Box Hill Shopping Center for 20 years. I love your Ravens Avatar, in fact my husband has season tickets and is going to a Ravens Pre-Season Game tonight. :thumbup:

I'll be watching the game live tonight since it's carried by ESPN. The Chiefs game last week I watched live on the internet. I've got my Directv and NFL Sunday Ticket already signed up for this season.

I had Ravens season tickets the first year in 1996 but gave them up after that. I haven't seen too many Ravens golf carts since I've gotten here. In fact I played golf yesterday with a steeler fan, a browns fan on Monday and another steeler fan last week. I found out they're not all too bad.

getting back to the topic of Pickleball and seasonal traffic....

:police: