Village + Age
 

We will be buying a home in The Villages in January. We've rented in several different villages about 8 times since 2007 and we realize that one of the most appealing things about The Villages is getting together with neighbors. It is important to us to have at least some neighbors who are somewhat close to our age. Would those of you who live now and/or will soon live in the villages of Duval, Hemingway, Hadley, St. Charles, Sanibel, Fernindina,Gilchrist etc. share which village you live in and what your age is?

I am not aware of any age requirements for any village.

I think the OP is referring to the trend where "younger" buyers buy in the new Villages. My husband and I (53 and 50) are building in Gilchrist (yes, I know we're younger than 55, but as long as TV has a certain percentage of residents over 55, it isn't a problem). We have met some of our soon-to-be neighbors...and they do not seem to be much older than we are but I think they are completely retired so do the math. However, my parents (both 73) just moved into a "spec" home in June in Tamarind Grove, a relatively newer Village. My mother-in-law is 82 and she lives in Santa Domingo (moved to TV about 12 years ago).

I am 107 and live in Laurel Valley. Our village is one year old and I am the youngest.

These kinds of questions REALLY get under my skin.

Sorry. I shouldn't have typed that.

I am 37 and married to a 93 yo...Can I move there ?

WELCOME to TOTV. When you get here you will find that you will meet people based on your activities. Those that you have the most in common with, you will socialize with. These people may or may not live in your Village. It doesn't matter. Age is just a number.

Yes you can and at age 37 you have enough time for a few more husbands to boot!

Gracie- you look great for 107. Must be the water in Laurel Valley.

Yes, CalcTeacher, you are correct in that I am gathering information about trends. Thank you so much for your sincere answer. I also agree that we will socialize with others of like interests. As I mentioned, however, socializing with neighbors is also a lot of fun and being with others about our same age lends itself to visiting with them about common experiences etc. and that is something I enjoy. I have no idea why this innocent question would get under someone's skin. What am I missing?

Well U may get better feedback if U told the group your age(s)

Because most questions of this sort are posed by people who at the youngest end of the spectrum...who seem to be trying to avoid "older" people.

I apologize.

Welcome to you. You will fit in well in any village, just as most people do. The commonality we have is that we have lived and learned and were happy and sad by turns for about five decades,or more.... We have met a lot of people along the way, and accomplished a lot and have many stories to share and many, like me like to hear them..

I am sorry I acted like a mean person.

My Sweetie and I are both 72. He is far nicer.

I TOTALLY agree with you GG! Just move down here. If they are that picky about who they live around or associate with, maybe they shouldn't live here since they are so worried. I have never heard of someone moving to a city and asking what is the age of people around them. They have a good idea here though! Duh!! :agree:

Thank you graciegirl for the apology. As you may have noticed, that was only my third post ever and I was unprepared and uncomfortable with your response. Actually, we aren't very young and trying to avoid "old people". We're 68 and 72 and we are merely trying to gather as much information as possible to see if the villages we are interested in are a good fit for us.

Please don't worry about age differences. In our neighborhood, we have people ranging from the 50's to almost 90. We have a social club that meets monthly and we ALL have a good time.

At the beginning, the neighborhood did a lot of things together, but, as time went on, people met people from other villages with similar interests and we do not do quite as much together outside the social club. But we all get along wonderfully. We joke that you can't take an exercise walk around the neighborhood because you are always stopping to talk to one neighbor or the other.

trying to zero in on whatever you are zeroing in on using age as you think you may know it from wherever else you live(d) or experienced has no bearing whatsoever on what are the ages of whoever in whatever village in TV.

If age is a criteria for where you want to buy you may need to be looking at other than TV.

I know 50++ who are older acting in every respect than many 65+ and 70+.

Remember the 50 somethings of today are tomorrows 70 somethings.....and wouldn't you feel bad if someone chose not to be your neighbor because you were too old.

Forget the age bit....it is a number on a piece of paper that has nothing to do with how some of us behave.

btk

What would your age be?

Your Age.

I dont think you were mean.

Said they were 68 and 72.

Most of my friends over the years have been older than me and I like it that way! (I'm 64.10)
One can learn a lot from persons with more and varied experience.
I will like Gracie at either age!

Hi dlloltv-
Firstly, Gracie is one of the very nicest people I almost know :laugh:
And I understand the basis for your question though I assure you it probably won't really matter once you get to know the people who live near you! I have met many through this forum who I like immensely and really have no idea of their current ages. That being said, I chose to build in Gilchrist where it seems we have just a bit of a party atmosphere! Of course I did not know that at the time, but many of us in Gilchrist and Fernandina have been corresponding through this forum. I think most are on the younger side, though not all, but they do all seem very friendly. I am not quite 60 myself having had the capability to retire a bit early and enjoy life! I close on Dec 5th and greatly look forward to meeting many new friends and hope as well to have lots of visitors! Welcome to TV and I know that you will be happy in whatever neighborhood you choose! Just make sure it's ours:a040:

Okie Dokey, another "Looky Lou" making IMO no sense at all. You've been coming here for 5 years, 7 trips-HUH?

So, what are you looking for, older or younger? I don't know, don't care how much backpedaling, it smacks of age-ism to me.

Access to my village is DENIED.

Yes, you should have typed that, YOU BE YOU.

Awww - give her a break. My husband and I were fulltiming in our RV for 5 years and some of the parks we went to were like "night of the living dead". Then we would go to another park - usually a completely different geographic area and discover the same aged people as the other park living and enjoying life. So some of us have experienced less than desirable situations in senior communities and it is a reality. We all are lucky enough to be here already and understand age really is not an issue; HOWEVER, I would venture to say (at the risk of getting beat up) the newer neighborhoods would probably have more younger people because they just got here and built their dream homes.

We live in Mission Hills..ages range from mid 40's to early 80's. We all have a great time together. Don't worry, be happy. Oh, and when you get to be the oldest(and hopefully you will), remember back to when you worried about the age of your friends. We are 69 and have younger friends that seem too of for us and older friends who seem too young.

Not necessarily..Age often means something especially when it comes to being able to relate your life experiences to others. Most people are more comfortable when they can be around those of the same age & life experience. I don't think it's a dumb question at all as one poster thought. It makes perfect sense. I'd want..and we did..to take a look at the general make up of one area over another.

I would say the best way to find out is tour around the different sections and attempt to learn. Federal law forbids TV or any other developer from giving and/or steering you to particular sections, but if you keep your eyes and ears open you can learn a lot about the areas you are interested in.

Good luck in finding what you want!

JMHO - - - - - Regardless of people's ages, I think you'll find the newest areas will have more neighborhood activities and "automatic socializing". Why? Because everyone there (regardless of their age) is in the same boat - they're all new to the Village they're in and are all excited and wanting to meet everyone around them. Not so in many cases when you move into a Village that has existed for a while - say several years. Most people there have been settled in for a while and have found/made friends both in the neighborhood and via their other activities. Not to say that there's nothing that goes on in their Village from a social standpoint. But you might find that, since everyone's not in the same boat as you (new to the neighborhood), your expectations might not be met. We bought a home in Duval around 2 years ago and found this to be the case. We're snowflakes so that might have a little bit of a bearing on it......but I really don't think so. From Day One, we knocked on doors to introduce ourselves to our neighbors, have spoken/waved to everyone who goes by, and so on. EVERYONE without exception has been very nice and extremely friendly........but for the most part, we'd never know that if we weren't the ones stepping up to initiate the interaction.

Wherever you choose to buy will be great!

Bill :)

I'm 60 and my wife is...well, let's just say she's A LOT younger than me and way too young to qualify to live in the Villages on her own.
But she is over 18 so she qualifies as long as she's with me.

I am a year from retiring and I hope that at some point I meet you. You are a hoot!
My parent are there now and I visit them so maybe we can meet. You are the kind of neighbor I hope for.
EB

I think it's easier to be one of the "young uns" in the neighborhood than the other way around, so I do understand the OP's concerns. If you're in your early 60's, you'll be perfectly comfortable meeting and, yes, socializing with those older than you. You can keep up. However, if you're at the other end, it may not be as easy for you. You may not want to stay up as late doing things with your neighbors. You may not have the energy to go to Ocala for dinner and then dancing in the square and then hearing some karaoke. You're not really a baby boomer so don't quite get the culture and the ideology that comes with that generation. So, there is reason for some hesitation.

Now, all of that being said, if you're a young 68 and 72, fitting in in a new, active village won't be a problem. Most of your neighbors will happily accept any physical limitations you might have. They'll accept you and enjoy your stories if you'll accept them and enjoy their stories. If you're an old fogey, you'll have major issues. But, then, you'll have major issues wherever you live. Grumps hate The Villages.

So, decide what is best for you as a person, not you as a person of a certain age. As Bill said, a new village will have more activities together. An older village will be more set and you'll have to make the effort to join in.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

My husband and I are 70 and we moved to Mexico full time almost 5 years ago. What we found was that the friends we made initially were not necessarily our good friends a few years later. In the beginning we socialized,with everyone but as time went on and we got to know people better, we naturally gravitated more to those with our interests. In my experience, really good friendships can take time to develop. We have lived many places and had wonderful neighbors, but they were not necessarily our best friends. I may be different, but I value the quality of relationships over the quantity. We are looking forward to our first visit to the villages in November as we are considering moving back to the US. Anyone else out there who has lived in Mexico and then moved to the Villages?

Maryanna630

Yes, there are, your observations on friendships have good value. Where in Mexico do you currently live? We lived in Mazatlan, State of Sinaloa for a few years. Build a house by the ocean and learn to dislike our dream.

I completely understand the question
 

Those of us that are in our late 50's don't have as much in common with those in their 70's/80's...just the way it is. Not saying that those in 70's/80's aren't trying to do some of the same activities as the 50's...but the attitudes/style of life/outlook on life will probably be different. We lived in one village for 4 years and then move to Ferdindina hoping to find the younger aged retiree but it is a mix bag in new village also. So, to answer your question - not one specific area is calling to the younger retiree over the older retiree.

Redwitch, Well spoken. I would happily move to any village tomorrow. And I'm 52.

maryanna630, Welcome to TOTV. Hope your first visit to The Villages next month is enjoyable. Let us know what you think of TV once you have visited. :welcome:

Hemingway...we will finally be full time next summer, we are well into year 4 of our 5 year plan! :pepper2: I am 52 going on 80. I absolutely love my friends and neighbors regardless of age and they do not fault me for being younger than them. Most of the time I have a hard time keeping up with them!

This forum is read by a very wide age span of real people. I know and enjoy here in The Villages friendships with many people who range from a girl of 52, one of my dearest friends to a girl of 89, one of my dearest friends. The 89 year old is in my Friday golf group, the 52 year old is in my Tuesday golf group. Most days the 89 year old could beat the 52 year old...but that isn't the point.

I have met closed minded and insensitive people of every age. I have met ageless people. I have met people who I was shocked to find they were much older than I had first thought and some who I found it hard to believe were much younger.

I have met younger people who were all up tight and rigid and never saw the humor in anything, and I have met older people just like them.

I have met younger people who could not participate in sports but still enjoy the art classes I attend. One of my younger friends, in her mid fifties has had both knees replaced and is now able to play tennis again. Another friend in her 70's hasn't had any replacements and plays tennis just as much.

I have met people who remind me of my old aunt in every annoying way. I have met people who I remind of their old aunt in every annoying way.

When you say out loud that you are seeking friends of your own age that is fine, it is HOW you say it, that sometimes is hurtful and shows an interior selfishness and lack of sensitivity.

My goal in decorating my home has always been, to be so up on trends and what is happening in decor that if someone broke in to rob me they would assume I was in my twenties and just graduated from design school.

My goal in living is to have learned enough from life experiences to not to miss anything and try NOT to hurt anyone.

I don't have parties where everyone leaves drunk, but I used to.
I don't take ballet barre, don't run five miles every day but I used to.
I now can paint portraits of people that I could not do four years ago and I am still learning. I don't care if my friends don't paint portraits of people if they don't care I can't extend into a good arabesque anymore or don't want to play pickleball or gamble. I didn't want to play pickleball or gamble twenty years ago.

I think the reason that I don't stay up late may be partly to do with age and partly to do with early tee times, lunch afterwards, followed by an art class, working in the yard and a walk around the neighborhood and a swim and then out to dinner with friends and gatherings after dinner on our front porch.

No one ever should have to feel bad here in this community for being older. This is the last place I would expect to find age prejudice.

If we have it, we need to lose it, because we are missing out on a lot of fun.

Child like
 

I am 58 but my wife says I act like a child. I live in Sanibel so you might want to move to a neighborhood with "older thinking people".:jester:

dlloltv,
Since you have been coming here since '07 and at that 8 times I would think you should have a good idea to the answer to your question and now are trying to only re-confirm what U already know.

I spent 3 different days last April looking around and found the average age less than the 55+ community I stayed at over the last few few winters. bought a lot in June.

Two weeks ago I spent 10 days here in a 8 year old rental, and those folks were older but not old, I honestly did not see a mix of folks in their 50's there.

As to which village I think all are mixed, but new areas will just be a younger mix, but it doesn't matter you'll make friendships with those of similar likes & minds.

But the bigger question is do you want new or a resale there are advantages to both and that question is of more import I believe than where.

I'm building in Fernandina, the street is very new but the people I've met are not over 75. It's adjacent to two Patio Villa sections and about 50 cottages, my guess is most R in their 60's. Which IMO makes most folks there more active.

Based on the number of folks that have replied to your ? we need to hear from you at this point.

.

I don't think you acted mean. Silly questions sometimes get silly answers!

The OP asked a legitimate question. Why some posters took offense is beyond me! So typical of the lynch mob. I personally think that it's very important that you live in a neighborhood of people your age.