Did you research other communities?
 

My husband and I are currently in the process of researching various 55+ communities in Florida. Did you do this prior to selecting TV? What did you discover and why did you chose TV? We have visited our parents here several times and always have fun. However, the pace of growth is making me nervous as we have a 3-4 year timeline.

Let me start by saying that neither of us are golfers... so I will not address that here.

We did research and visited some of the other 55+ communities. Specifically, we researched Citrus Hills and Margaritaville and visited Citrus Hills. The first did not provide nearly the amount of "happenings" or activities and our overnight stay was rudely interrupted very early by lawn mowers outside our window. The second has not taken off yet... I was turned off by the lack of infrastructure, although they do have a good marketing ploy.:beer3:

After our second visit to TV, :welcome: we were sold on it.:coolsmiley:

We checked out "On Top Of The World" and Citrus Hills. We found that you get more house for your $ in both of those communities...BUT...
there is so much more to do here and that decided it for us.

No, we did not do any research. We visited for a few days, saw a lot of people like us having a good time, and decided we wanted to move here.

However, before we chose a lot and decided what model house to have built and what options to include, we did a great deal of research. We are very happy with our choices, but we wish we had a water faucet on our lanai. That's about it.

On top of the world was quickly eliminated because we noticed the sales agent spoke to us about things we spoke about in the models which we toured unaccompanied.

I understand the use of cameras to watch for damage but the spying really creeped me out. Who knows what sort of oversight they use in everyday. I don't think this is unreasonable to consider given their business practices.

Nothing like TV anywhere else. It’ s not about the house, it is about your lifestyle.

Agree!

Yes. Had more than 10 years to search. We did not restrict ourselves to retirement places.

You should consider health care needs as part of your research. Many TV residents are concerned about the quality of medical facilities in and near our community. I looked closely at the hospital and other facilities before I purchased. I happen to be satisfied with my level of care. If your needs are great, you might prefer a large metro area with more choices available. Just food for thought.

After 3rd trip "driving by" the Villages talked ole boy into stopping, then the research stsrted. Kids live in Winter Park, sooooo, no brainer after checking out Solivita and Top of the World, and many more...Now living in paradise and drinking the kool-aid.

We looked online for about 5 years including other states. Then,we checked out TV (lifestyle, 2012 & 2017; and independently in person) several times while watching the growth of TV online. Also toured Solivita which had beautiful homes for less $$, but clearly lacked ongoing activities. Also had no infrasture for medical/grocery except to drive into Kissimmee or Orlando. It was the lifestyle that ultimately influenced our decision. Best wishes for you to find what fits you best!

We first came to TV on the Lifestyle Preview in 2008, and decided to use the week before our visit to check out other retirement communities in Central Florida. My sister lives in Poinciana, so we first visited Solivita. Nice place, but in the middle of nowhere. It has great championship golf though. Then we visited a few of the double-wide communities in Winter Haven, which were nice, but I don't want to live in a mobile home in hurricane alley. One place there has a marina which was attractive, but the golf was not great. Finally we visited On Top of the World in Ocala, which is also nice. But after one day in TV we knew we had found our place. There was just no comparison to the other places we visited.

My opinion
 

First of all my background is in sales. Realize that your inquiry here will result in a distortion. No matter what the product is people who own it will say how great it is.

We bought five years ago and have no regrets. However there is no shortage of other choices. Including other states and other life styles.

You mention that it is you and your husband and a 3-4 year timeline. I would suggest you each WRITE a list of what is important to you. What you want to do. Teasing a bit but might be the case. If, your husband hopes to restore, farm tractors, build a boat, a plane space an regulations would likely make that impossible.

Far as growth, this place is a planed community and it is congested. The good news is there is plenty to do. No shortage of shopping, medical care, lectures etc. However, if you hope to find a wilderness to explore on a dirt bike, you will likely find a villager behind every tree.

When we were looking, I recall seeing a listing for an island in North Carolina. It was a nice house, several acres, came with a herd of wild horses and priced at one million. There are homes in the villages that go for that. You call the electric company
for a repair, you can look at him/her directly in the mirror.

We visited The Villages twice, then buckled down and decided to really research 55+ communities in mid-Florida. We figured we could easily find something "like" The Villages, only scaled down and possibly less expensive. We boiled it down to about a dozen candidates (including The Villages), then drove down (we lived in North Carolina at the time) and visited them all. At each place we checked off items we were looking for on our prepared checklist plus made comments about things we liked and didn't like about each. On the drive home, we decided there isn't anyplace like The Villages and decided to buy a house we had looked at during the visit here.

I think everybody who has moved here since the first big initial expansion has worried about how the rapid growth is out of control, can't be handled and will change the lifestyle. And everybody who moves here wonders what the previous people were worrying about. We've been here a bit over 2 years and find ourselves saying, "Whoa, they need to slow down!" And then we drive down south into the newest sections and realize that they've done a great job there, too. I know people who are talking about moving from our section (which itself was brand new 4 years ago) further south into the newest areas. And I know people already there who are loving it.

As far as the other communities, we met a few folks at some that said they preferred the peace and quiet of their communities over the "zillion things to do" in The Villages. To each their own. We're still healthy enough to really enjoy an active (and they do mean ACTIVE in The Villages!). Give us another 15 years and we'll be 80 and maybe we'll find their kind of community "peaceful". Right now it strikes us as "boring". No place, including The Villages, is right for everybody. But for now, it's absolutely right for us.

Good luck on your research, your search and your eventual decision!

We came for the lifestyle preview in 2010 and loved The Villages. Looked at homes new and preowned and went home and put our lake home on the market. Our property didn't sell for three years in a slow market, and we were not interested in cutting our price. In the meantime we rented for a few years. In 2012 we decided to look into Stonecrest after hearing some good things about it. We had a Stonecrest rep show us some homes and saw that indeed, we could buy more house for the money. However, we noticed almost no one was "out and about", walking, jogging, riding golf carts, and the golf course looked abandoned. He showed us the indoor pool and clubhouse and again no one was around. The difference in the resident activity between there and TV was palpable. Then the sales person began telling us how easily accessible The Villages and Spanish Springs was. We left and thought if the sales pitch is how easy it is to get to The Villages, why would you not prefer to live in The Villages. The houses and lots were nice enough but the whole vibe of the place was a turn off when compared to TV. We certainly have not visited every retirement community but we have visited Sun City near Austin, and a community in Sarasota in addition to Stonecrest and nothing compares to The Villages in our opinion. You should do your own research as there may be one that suits you better - good luck!