Should I even be looking at The Villages
 

Fifty four years in the cockpit of a helicopter, Southeast Asia - Gulf of Mexico - Persian Gulf and then 30 years EMS Pilot in Boston - then comes a little lump in the throat "Agent Orange Exposure" - the rest is history - treatments = no more cancer but married to oxygen 24/7 now and very limited in go get em activities - is the Villages right for me???

So you were in Nam and first Gulf war? Wow.

Shuffleboard, billiards, bag toss, lots and lots of clubs quite possibly helicopter club, try renting for a month to see how you like it and what all you can do down here. Remember you can get just about anywhere in a golf car, no need to walk. Try to rent near a regional recreation center, more to do there than at the neighborhood centers.

Yes Nam 66-67 / Korea 67-68 the Pueblo Incident / Nam 68-69 - the Persian Gulf was with Aramco 80-86 and ducking live fire back then also due to the Iran/Iraq war the first Gulf war was 5 years later. Figured that was enough and took a EMS flying job in Boston but that wasn't all peaches and cream either. Anyway hoping to get good feedback here to make a solid decision of relocation to The Villages.

Only you can answer that question. But it is certainly worth considering.

There are so many things to do here. If you can’t find some things here, you likely won’t find them anywhere. And, as someone suggested, try renting for awhile to find out without going all in.

As an aside, our community probably has more veteran organizations than most places, and we have the largest American Legion membership in the world. Lots of retired comrades in arms here. Thank you for your service.


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With the O-bottle your activities may be limited physically, but you can always sit and listen to music while having a cold one. Everyday at 5pm you have 3 squares all with different music playing live unless it's Scooter the DJ. We also have 3 theaters that have 8 screens each and mostly Village resident are the users. There are hundreds of clubs for just about every interest, I belong to the Camaro Club. If you trade in your UTV there are a couple of active motorcycle clubs that do day trips, a 3 wheel Harley or 3 wheel Spyder would probably handle like your Polaris. The list is endless.

Here's a shop just outside TV in Wildwood, they always have a good selection of used bikes.

Lucky U Cycles

Have you considered a Lifestyle Visit or renting for a period of time. Depending on the time of year the Lifestyle isit is a great bargain and a good way to get a feel for TV. It is limited to one week I think.
:thumbup:
Don

dbussone - What a beautiful dog - I'm a "Paid Up for Life Member" with the American Legion, I'll try and help them empty a few on a hot summers afternoon, speaking of that the law golf cart driving and spirits - what are the guide lines on that.

Yes I am just trying to get my strength back - then I'll get serious on that one - Thanks "South of the Border"

MERCY!!! Thank you for ALL of your service! Please don't hesitate to come on the Lifestyle Visit program at least! Agent Orange took my BIL before he could enjoy his retirement! I'd suggest visiting in the summer time to see how you like FL at that time of year...it ain't like going to the Weirs, the Presidential Range or even Lake Winnie! 24/7 oxygen is a fact of life for a couple of friends and they have no problems having found a resource to keep their home and portable tanks up to snuff. Your background would likely fit you right in with stuff like the golf cart drill team, any of the remote control clubs or you could start a drone club, lol.

John W - Yes I'm going to look for a buyer for the Polaris if I decide to jump ship and say goodbye to the Northeast for good - and as far as the Harley, I have a TriGlide all ready to go.

Is year round living do-able on the most part?

njbchbum - Sorry to hear of your BIL I have lost many close friends from that era of American involvement around the world - maybe we should bring the boys home that are still standing the front lines for all us here at home - your suggestions are welcome ideas

My father needed oxygen and lived in NH. His biggest complaint until the day he died was his lack of mobility. Once he lost his ability to drive there was no where nearby that he could walk to so he was dependent on someone else to take him places. Here there are many things that are walking distance and also golf cart accessible. All of the rec centers are air conditioned as are the stores and restaurants. I think he would have loved it here but by the time we moved here he was too weak to make the move with us.

Thank you for your dedicated service that caused this awful sickness. You will find The Villages people truly honor our veterans. As others have said, there is much to do that doesn't require a lot of physical effort.

We would be honored to have you live here with us in lower Paradise.

In addition to all of the activities listed, there is an AirheadsClub in TV. They have a web page, but, I am sorry, I don't know how to link. Airheadsclub The Villages

I would be very particular about choosing a place to live. All locations are not created equal, and you need to get several opinions from others than realtors or landlords.

I think the real questions are . . .

Are you happy where you are?
Do you currently have the support of family and friends where you are?

Are you happy with your current doctors, hospital and other medical services where you are?
(Many of these these things are somewhat lacking in The Villages)

Even though The Villages offers opportunities, could you handle "starting over?"
The Villages is terrific for many but still not right for everyone.

Good luck in your decision and thank you for what you have done for our country.

Hi, "Welcome Home Brother"..... Hey, it's warmer here. You can ride around in a golf cart, Trike, Lots of old people, everyone's some sort of their new normal. There is a Vet Helicopter group & Vet center group. You can do as much or as little as you want. Take naps, I love naps. Visit up North when the weather is too hot, AC everywhere. Living in the Bubble. Your kids will freak out because everyone thinks it's Sin City. 95 %of people are in bed or home for the night when it gets dark.

First, thank you for your service. As for limitations, one of our bowling leagues has a bowler on oxygen, he takes off the tubes, bowls and puts them back on. This is a wonderful place, and I suspect there will be many more opportunities then maybe some other locations.

Should I even be looking at The Villages
 

My wife came down with a disease, not life threatening. Went with a specialist that TV people gave rave reviews. I’m a skeptic by nature and ask a multitude of questions in quick succession to see if their wit can keep up. I wasn’t impressed. We’re looking to Tampa. The fact is this. The best hospitals, doctors, ANYTHING will be where the MONEY is. I always have known this and still maintain this.
Anything more serious it’ll be a JetBlue 757 to JFK.


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I'll share with you the story of someone I know who moved to The Villages after having had a very debilitating stroke. The winters up north became very difficult for her between lack of ability to get around and the depression that set in as a result. She and her husband visited The Villages just once before deciding it was the place for them. To this day, they would tell you it's the best decision they ever made. In her limited condition she is enjoying the wonderful year round weather, making many friends, and enjoying those activities that she can do. The neighbors have been incredibly welcoming and helpful, much more than those up north where they lived for many years. The icing on the cake has been the healthcare she has received in TV. She was able to get more care in the way of therapy and after 2 years of little to no improvement, she is finally seeing some real results after having moved to TV.

I agree with others on here that you should give The Villages a trial run. A lifestyle visit would be good, but a month long visit might be better because I think once you get to TV you won't want to go back home after just a week. You can get some pretty good monthly rates on rentals during the off season.

Last but not least, I also want to thank you for your selfless service to our country.

Thank You - Graciegirl for your thoughts

Abby10 - your words are very welcome and appreciated - a 1 to 2 month stay looks to be in my future plans

Thanks to the Village Thinker for your thoughts - I used to work for Keystone Helicopters out of West Chester and had a few shifts out of Lehigh Valley Hospital

Were you flying helicopters at that time? I worked at A-112 Stanton AAF as a controller in '70-'71. That was in the DMZ about 3 miles north of Camp Howze.

Did you know they sprayed AO in the Korean DMZ from '69-'71? The VA finally started approving disabilities in 2011 for service in that area during those years. If you're VA disability is 100% you won't pay any property taxes in Sumter County, just the bond on your home, and if you buy a resale many times the bonds are paid off.

I don't know if this has already been mentioned. The Villages has their own VA Medical Center on Rt 42 in the northern end of TV. It's pretty large and now serves about 16,000 veterans. The Hospital is in Gainesville which is only about an hour + 15 minutes from here, mostly via I-75. They built a new tower in 2010, I had a 3 day stay in 2012 and the room was like new, a single to myself.

Hi ajm903 - and welcome to this chat line.

I lived in both Mass and NH for many years before relocating to The Villages. NH is absolutely beautiful and I miss much about it .............. but, I don't miss the long, long 6 months winter, or the mud season, or the black flies or the mosquitoes in the summer. I do really miss September and October, but I can go back for those two months of beautiful incredible scenery and weather.

We never, ever, thought we would relocate to Florida. We started off in the St. Petes area, loved it and especially loved being near the beach, but oh so transient in the winter! Then someone suggested we should visit them in TV and we instantly fell in love. This has been an excellent move for us, we love where we live, enjoy our neighborhood and have not had a problem getting excellent health care. We have several top hospitals within easy reach - the longest being a 3 hr drive to Mayo in Jacksonville.

Several people have recommended doing a one or two month rental here and I totally agree with that. If you are limited in mobility you will probably need to find a location close to a shopping center and you can only find the correct location for you from living here for a while.

BTW - I had an acquaintance in NH who had also been on the Pueblo, he was an intelligence officer. I cannot remember his name and I don't even know if he is still with us, but the effects of Pueblo stayed with him!!!!

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you much luck and enjoyment.

Hello Madelaine,

Your words and suggestions are well noted - I am starting to put a game plan in motion - Thanks

I was with Boston MedFlight for 30 years as a Pilot until my illness, many great memories and was based out of South Boston, Logan, Plymouth Airport, Hanscom AFB and lastly at Lawrence Airport and lived in West Bridgewater, Middleboro and Danvers so I had the Eastern part of Mass pretty well covered once I was based out of Lawrence I moved back home to Portsmouth, NH but I really think my next stop is going to be The Villages

To all the other posts I might not have answered - your tips and points were very welcomed.

What does any of that have to do with whether The Villages is right for you? This is a great place for people over the age of 55 and even some under 55.

There are 150,000 people with all kinds of different backgrounds. Thank you for your service to our country, but I don't think it has anything to do with your life now.

There are thousands of veterans here. I'm sure that you'll find some that you'll have something in common with.

I think the OP was concerned about his limitations in participating in a lot of the activities. One thing I love about TV is that it doesn't matter if you can't "do", it is a beautiful place to just "be". And in addition to that, an amenity fee of around $150/month is a steal for such beauty and so many options. I'm hoping the OP is realizing by the responses that he is getting that he would be welcome in TV and will probably find more to do than he ever realized no matter his limitations. And if not, just the weather and environment can be worth the cost to be there for one's mental well-being, if not physical.

If you are at the point that the doctors have pretty much completed their work, you might find this the ideal place to be. As others have said, their are lots of things that might interest you. A visit for a month or two should confirm that for you.

Thank you for your service and best of luck.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement - I will be headed that way soon - THANKS