Friendly Villagers
 

I am finding that Villagers are not as friendly as everyone believes. Hard to make new friends. Everyone clickish.

Do you have a specific event in mind?

TV is a city of 100,000+ and you will find the full spectrum of society within its boundaries, the good, the bad and the ugly. Have you tried one, or some, of the MANY clubs available? There is something for everyone in TV, but it may not fall in your lap. Do some homework and you will be overwhelmed by the hospitality.

Have you introduced yourself to your immediate neighbors yet? How about the folks who live in the houses right behind yours? If you live in a courtyard villa this will obviously be harder to do, but I doubt it'd be impossible. You'd just need to give it a little more time, and make sure you spend some time out front every day so they can see you making the effort.

I had no problem meeting my neighbors the very first day I got to the house after we closed on the property. I went out on the front lanai, and the next door neighbor came right over to find out who this stranger was at the house.

Introduced ourselves, and then the neighbor insisted on introducing me to the other nearest neighbors. So now we're all on a first-name basis, and I've even been invited to be part of a neighborhood womens' luncheon group.

I've found all my neighbors are pretty terrific.

Get a Golden Retriever and you will have lots of people befriend you. {REALLY} We met more nice folks because of Max than we could imagine.

Floridagal. I looked at your old posts and see you have lived here since 2012. Sometimes neighborhoods can be cliquish. Sometimes that changes over time to be more friendly, or less.

Daughter Helene who lives with us and I will be home all day today and I will be painting on the lanai. If you are interested to meet us and enjoy a chat or will be near to us on 466, please just ring the doorbell. My first name is Grace. We can have a cold drink and you can tell us of all of your interests. I see you like to play Mah-Jong and Canasta and you have your hair cut the same place I do. I am a person who always enjoys company. If you message me, I will give you my phone number and address.

Don't be lonely, there are nice people just waiting to be met. If you do not want to do this, I understand too.

Our neighborhood has someone who visits all new people within a few days of their moving in and invites them to our monthly meeting.

There, all new arrivals are mentioned and, if you are there, you are introduced.

So ask around and see if your neighborhood has meetings - monthly entertainment, men's breakfast, ladies' luncheon - as it's a great way to meet people.

Plus, at this time of year, many sports/social groups have only half their members present and would love new people to join. Our tennis group has thirty people turning up in the winter, but only ten or so in the summer. Look in the weekly guide to find something you like and just turn up to it. May seem daunting, but I think you'd be surprised by the reception you get.

Just reach out to your neighbors and say hello. Invite them over for a coffee, beer, etc. Thaty will get things started.

.

Funny how things have change over time.
Not long ago we were all new here would wave and greet strangers
with smiles, handshakes and hugs.In just a decade it's all changed.
We have become protective of our postage stamp environment.
Now we barely acknowledge our neighbors

Don't give up. A smile will go a long ways.

We have been here in Fenney for over two years now and have found that for the most part having only a few exceptions, people are very friendly.

Why do you not acknowledge your neighbors?

@Floridagal, this is EXACTLY the kind of welcome I received my first day moving some of our stuff into our neighborhood. I know Grace lives in a whole different part of the Villages than I do, so that means at least 2 completely different parts of the Villages have very welcoming and friendly who are happy to meet and socialize with their new neighbors.

That does seem accurate that people seem to stick to small groups and the memories that these have created.

We have had a small group of neighbors who have done things together since 2005 or so.

Some have moved out for various reasons and there are some couples who seem to stick to themselves quite a bit.

And there are clashes between people with very different personalities.

The location in the Villages seems quite important.

We moved from Duval to Hadley in 2014. Groups already had been established but we were so blessed that a new person stepped up, found all the others that were fairly new and formed a group.

You could be that person in your neighborhood that could find others. Post on here or NextDoor to find others.

Several years ago I was looking for a group of ladies that were new to golf and wanted to learn the game but posted it was not going to be a social group. After several months of gals joining then realizing it wasn’t the group for them, we now have a lovely group that enjoy playing twice a week and truly care about each other. We have become a social group as well.


Friendships take time. Like building a garden, you have to plant, prune, weed and most importantly, feed, water and care if you want beautiful flowers.

Been snowbirding here for 20+ years, and for sure the atmosphere has changed.
More people, and larger range in age groups, plus the 'city' feel to the place now adds to the change.
My wife loves line dancing as a way of keeping mobile and fit, and has made several good friends over the years.
So joining a club, or just walking your neighborhood regularly will soon get a response from the locals.
I am just a miserable old sod, so I have no problems!