Coming down for Lifestyle Preview Plan
 

Hi all,

Just me and the wife and I am going to be the spokesperson. We have lived in the Atlanta area most of our lives even though we are not born there. I am fully retired for 2 years and not worried about staying busy as I can always find ways to entertain myself. She likes her job and wants to continue for a few more years so we are not quite ready for a move of any kind.

Have a very nice community north of here called Soleil but it was stopped cold by the housing bust and has several poured basements with no house on them. They look like they were bombed out bunkers, eek. Been to a few places around TV but not impressed. Would love to retire in CA as SoCal has, in my opinion, the absolute best weather in the country, however, the price of real estate is down right scary for anything near the beach. (I feel if you are going to live in SoCal you have to live near the ocean to justify the expense) However, do not want to live in paradise and be "house poor". So good weather has its price and in the end I have often heard life is all about friendships. With that in mind we are contemplating leaving our "dream home" for a bigger and hopefully healthier social life.

We have been down for a couple of visits with friends that live in TV. During that time we saw some homes and got to look around the town, however, we didn't get to just take their Golf Car and explore on our own. Consequently, we booked the preview and aren't telling them we are coming down. (Hence the anonymity in this msg in case they see it) Looking forward to getting the full experience on our own and meeting new people unencumbered by our friends' influence or preferences.

Thanks for reading and if you see a couple with a cat on a leash in TV Dec 20-23 it will be us and please say hello.

Look forward to having a great time.

A great intoduction. I know you will enjoy the lifestyle visit. You will love The Villages. good luck..and welcome

Have a wonderful time. When you check into the sales center, ask for the golf cart trail map (8.5"x11" version-it's free), buy a $5.00 street map and just explore away. I just recently did this and drove the cart from the most southern to the most northern part of TV. This will give you a great appreciation of all there is to offer.

Well, if your friends are on this site and click on your post I think they will put 2 and 2 together, but I appreciate your intent. By the way, anyone that can train a cat to a leash is someone that I want as a neighbor. You wil have a great time and I am willing to bet you come to the conclusion that dollar for dollar there is no place that can compare to The Villages and all the activities available. Good luck and let us know your conclusions. PS. we won't tell your friends. ;)

Welcome to you. What a nice introduction. I hope that your explorations make you fall in love with this lovely town.

I told our cat Mikey about your cat on the leash and he is rolling around on the floor laughing.;)

Anyone who has a cat has to have a kind heart. Hope you find this place that we love, to your liking too.

Welcome to The Village.
I know you are going to love your Lifestyle visit.We was booked for 4 nights and called to see if we could add 2 more days you don't want to leave here ..There no place like The Villages .Let us know how you enjoy your Lifestyle visit.

:welcome: to TOTV.

I was very attracted to the friendliness of people. It's good to explore on your own in a golf cart.

Have fun and enjoy.

[QUOTE=MTHeineken;426221]Hi all,

Jorried about staying busy as I can always find ways to entertain myself. She likes her job and wants to continue for a few more years so we are not quite ready for a move of any kind.

Have a very nice community north of here called Soleil but it was stopped cold by the housing bust and has several poured basements with no house on them. .

:ohdear:don,t know how long ago you were at Soleil,but new builders have taken over afew years ago after Levett went belly-up. seems to be going strong.:bigbow:

These are all very good questions and would fit perfectly into a decorator thread...administrators..Hint. Hint.

And Happinow..I don't know the answers to most of them. I do feel flat paint is "in" right now.

I hope to post a detailed account of our adventures in TV. The cat (Tiki) rides in the SUV and has an onboard potty box. He loves sitting on the dashboard watching the cars and has driven with us on a 4 hour trip so 6 hours may be interesting. We are doing a YouTube video "Tiki goes to Florida - The Villages". Can't wait to see if he will ride in a gas Golf Car.

[quote=old moe;426325]Sorry, but not as strong as we would like. Only 22 homes sold last year was what I found out. Far cry from the 300+ in its heyday. Don't get me wrong it is still a nice place in the built out section in phase 1. Phase 2 is a real work in progress. Nothing like TV.

Great idea, thanks

Thanks everyone for such a warm welcome. TV is surely the most friendly town in America. Hope we run into some of you.

One question ... how important is it when picking a neighborhood? In other words does it make a difference what neighborhood you live in? Is that why some people move after living there awhile? Or is it just wanting a different type home (villa or house)?

MT - we are in an over 55 in Kennesaw and actually put it on the market this week hoping to move to TV! We looked, years ago in Canton but it scared me then! We have friends that went belly up there when the builder went under. Like your wife, I had intended to work for another couple of years, but lost the job in June. My husband is on a contract in DC for another 9 months. We decided to see how long it takes to sell, and I think we are ok as it is a great community and great location for Kennesaw!! When it sells to TV we go (even if I proceed him)
We are between Villa and cottage, new and resale. The best advise I get is when you see the right one you will know!! We will be down ther the 28th - 2 sorry we are going to miss you!!!

Betty
Connecticut, California, Georgia

Flat paint
 

Oh gosh Gracie! I really don't like flat paint...can't wash it and it marks up just looking at it. May have to hire someone to put semi-gloss on. :sad:

Welcome! Am sure you are going to enjoy your visit without notifying your friend. As much as we love our friend who took us in while we were still looking, it'll definitely give you a different perspective. This go around, you don't feel like a guest at TV but you are already a part of TV. Now, as to your other question, this is difficult. People move for all kinds of reasons. I know of a case where they moved and found the neighborhood to be not as accommodating as where they lived before. So, they are still going out with friends from their previous neighborhood. It's definitely a luck of the draw and still find great neighbors in the old established neighborhood or they have established friends already and have difficulty getting in sometimes. With the new Villages like Sanibel, St. Charles, St. James, and Tamarind Grove, every one is new and they want to establish new friends so you more likely will find great neighbors.

Hey neighbor!

Good luck with your sale and move to TV. Over the last 10 years we have looked at a lot of places but TV has the Golf Car factor. The ability to virtually do everything from getting groceries to going out for entertainment by Golf Car facinates us. We currently have a great house that has a backyard with trees and Sope Creek. Thought we would never leave this house but the more I experience a potential TV lifestyle the more attractive it gets. Have not found any other place that tops it. Really looking forward to our upcoming TV immersion. Sorry we won't get to meet but have a great time.

The total TV immersion is what we are looking for and glad you agree with our attempt to do that without the friends. Our friends fall into the same case as you expressed so I wondered how much your neighborhood affects your TV experience. Currently, I have some great neighbors for 25 years but just never wanted to socialize with them. I guess its the same in TV.

mt - the variety of neighborhoods and their proximity to the various activities, restaurants, shopping opportunities, etc is the reason many newbies come to the villages and take a long term rental before they decide where they will buy! it's another option that you have - just sayin, ya know?

Great point because I would think that would be very important unless you just liked to ride in your Golf Car. A long term rental may be in our future.

Love the Jersey girls don't pump gas. The wife lived in Cherry Hill for awhile and she doesn't pump gas either.

MTHeineken,

Welcome to TOTV. Hope your Lifestyle Preview visit is a good one! Kitty on a leash -- love it. Don't know if my cat would walk on a leash. Definitely go to the Squares at night to see the people dancing and enjoy the good music. I recommend that you take a Trolley Tour (45 minute ride that leaves from the sales office at Lake Sumter Landing). Ask question of the residents that you meet -- most are very happy to answer questions about The Villages. :welcome:

Thanks for the welcome. You folks down there are so friendly.

The wife and I both worked for Eastern Airlines for almost 20 years each so we love people watching and the squares seem to be the best places.

I think I saw a video on You-Tube of someone filming on the trolley tour and it gave some interesting facts about the place so we will be sure to go on it.

Plan on asking the residents we meet a lot of questions but having looked on TOTV for a couple of years I kinda get the gist of the feelings people have about TV. I love the suggestions to the people that are negative that if they don't like it they can leave anytime. Ha, ha. So far, during the trips we have been down there, we met a lot of snowbirds that were just down for the winter. Nice folks but not summer veterans who we would really like to meet. Like to know how they "beat the heat" in the summer.

Our feeling right now is one of high anticipation for the preview. We plan on using the Golf Car exclusively and leaving the SUV parked until we leave. Hopefully, the noise from the gas Golf Car won't scare the cat and we can take him around with us. Couldn't have kids thus no grandkids so we only have our cat to spoil. Kind of a kid in a cat suit that we take everywhere. Call us nuts but he loves it and so do we.

The new neighborhoods are going to be close to the new town square, but a fair trek to Sumter landing and a long way from spanish springs. The new neighborhoods will facilitate making friendships with neighbors as everyone is moving in together. If you go pre-owned, you can choose to live anywhere, for example we like the area close to 466 and west of Buena Vista because of it's proximity to almost everything. Some people like the older sections, and some like the northwest corner in marion county - in other words there is something to like about every area, and it just depends on what your priorities are. No bad choices

We too are living in our "retirement dream home" on a lake with all the toys. However, after experiencing the Villages, our dreams have taken a new form, and we will be residents of TV sometime in '12.

We too are living in our "retirement dream home" on a lake with all the toys. However, after experiencing the Villages, our dreams have taken a new form, and we will be residents of TV sometime in '12.

So giving up living on a lake huh? Wow that is as idyllic as it gets.

Just curious as to what kind of lot in TV are you looking at after living on a lake?

We have lived on the lake for 8 1/2 years and love it, but we are ready to downsize and simplify. The lake property is constant work in the spring and summer, and we feel very isolated in the winter - 60 miles from kansas city and st. joseph. We want to buy a place with a pool or room for a pool - we have previously owned four homes with pools.

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Wow, what a great backyard. Gotta be tough to leave? So neighbors close by you will be no problem? or you going walled courtyard for a bit of privacy?

I currently have a salt water hot tub that I love. A small pool would be nice down there to beat the heat. My wife is of English decent so she does not take to the sun well so would have to have shade. All in all is pool maintenance a lot of work? The salt hot tub is a piece of cake.

I know what you mean by isolated as my brother lives on a lake and has to drive 35 minutes (over 1 hour RT) to get a pizza or anything else. That part of it has kept me away from lake living. My current backyard creek 1 mile from a pizza was good enough.