Before buying in THE VILLAGES where are other places you considered?
 

Since relocating can have it's ups and downs, flips and flops, for retirees in the process of listing their northern homes for sale, please share some of the other developments or communities you either toured or considered prior to signing on the dotted line in THE VILLAGES FLORIDA.

Did any of them come in a close second?

How about Top of the World in Ocala?
I'm certain some of you must have researched other communities prior to landing in T.V.

Here is a map of the "avenue" in Viera.
It can be enlarged by clicking on pink map.

http://viera.shoptheavenue.com/stores

Scroll on list on left hand side. A to Z.....scroll down.

I was quite surprised to see the list of shops / restaurants they have.

Especially Ethan Allen and Yankee Candle, Coldwater Creek, Kay Jewelers, Old Navy, Talbots !!!!!!!! Bed, Bath and Beyond. Lots of shops/restaurants we know............check them out.

World of Beer......whatever that is.

Might be worth a day trip.....for those who love to shop.
45 minutes east of Orlando.

Also, the Space Coast Baseball Stadium is there....where the Washington Nationals do their spring training.

Had no intention of leaving CA....came to FL to visit the kids in Sarasota and took a ride to see TV. Changed my mind about leaving CA, bought a house here and have never looked back. No other place can compare, no other place.

Thank you Pooh
 

Thank you Pooh.

We went to some places in Myrtle Beach, one was called Jensen Community and we felt like we would be going there to die. Several others were just as bad and can't recall the names.

We also looked at some places near Tampa, Sun City was one. Awful is all I can say about that place. Can't recall the names of the other places near Tampa either, but you do get way more for your money. More sq. footage, marble counters, tiled or wood floors and stainless appliances. Once again we felt the kiss of death was near while touring those places too.

The Villages felt right the minute we saw it When we signed the dotted line we knew we were moving there to live life to the fullest.

Visited FL once when I was 22 and had no thought of ever moving here. Came to visit some friends two years ago and we bought that week. I never dreamed there was a place to retire to like TV. If there is a better place - so what? I'm happy here. If there's a better place I'd bust. And I really don't want to do that.

Some other threads on this topic.
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...king-tv-35944/
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...into-tv-43504/
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...oved-tv-16994/

Before buying in THE VILLAGES where are other places you considered? NO!!!!
We intended on buying here in the villages and we did so. Do we intend to leave because of all the hupla?? NO!!!! That is our choice.

We considered Lake Ashton near Lake Wales, Florida. It is a beautiful place. Twice the house for the money, but not the lifestyle. The lifestyle won!!!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Life life to the fullest and enjoy whatever time we have left on this planet. The lifestyle should always win, because once you are gone there is no more.

I agree that it's all about the lifestyle. Just curious if the OP is feeling any sort of buyers remorse as I find it somewhat difficult to reminisce about those places that were deemed to be, at best, in second place. The Villages is not for everyone but it's perfect for us.

Tom, you are absolutely right. No regrets. This is home. This is our life. We visited for the first time on my 50th birthday and moved in just before my 62nd. The only thing that delayed the move were those 4 letter words -- jobs!!!

We looked all over
We went to Top of the World. On a Saturday and there was no activity.
Stopped at a rec center and no golf carts, no cars, no one. I felt like they were hiding all the people.
We went to Trilogy close to Lake Ridge Winery ( off US 27)
Beautiful homes. They are all solar heated, nice club house
State of the art
Problem.... It's at least 10 miles to get a gallon of milk
Just too far away from anything
Del Webh
Also beautiful homes. Close to I-4
Only one club house
Lake Ashton
Same thing
Plus their HOA fees were almost $400 month
Every time we visited TV it felt like home
Closed on our house almost 3 weeks ago and are is happy
Debbie

I'm on my way down next week to buy a place but since I had so much time to look
due to selling my house, right now I'm torn between the villages and stonecrest.
I'll be looking at both places and then decide.
any opinions on the two would like to hear from all.

We looked at Pelican Preserve in Ft. Myers, Lakewood Ranch, Valencia Lakes near Tampa and Providence Lake in Nashville. These were all wonderful but are not close to the activities offered at The Villages. We just sold our house in Michigan and will be down next week to buy our new home in The Villages.

We've looked at Solivita south of Kissimmee, mostly because we are big fans of the Disney parks, and the homes and facilities are very nice. It just doesn't have the communal feel like the Villages. More like a regular housing development with some nice facilities. Same goes for Spruce Creek (8 miles north of TV). TV feels more like a huge cruise ship than it does a subdivision! Can't wait for my cruise date comes up!