How safe are the Villages?
 

As I look to buy something in TV (within a few miles of Sumter Landing), a few places have ADT systems in place. Where I live now, there is little need for such things.
Do people feel safe without security systems, or do you recommend them? I'd think with good, observant neighbors it would be mostly unnecessary.
Thanks.

Some folks come from places where having a security system is common, so they simply continue their own preference to do it down here. Burglaries and break-ins are not common in the Villages though I'm sure it happens on occasion; it's not immune just because it's the Villages. On the other hand, there are multi-million-dollar homes here, and an extra $20/month for security would be a drop in the bucket, and worth their piece of mind.

I come from the burbs, we had a brief rash of burglaries one year but other than that one year (they caught the kids doing it) it was a sleepy suburb where not much happened. I feel no need to add security system to my home in the Villages.

The Villages are very safe. In my opinion, if you want a security system, get a DIY system, but you don't need to pay ADT or another company $37 or more per month for monitoring by a call center. The chances of them ever helping you are slim and none, and slim just left town.

North or south of sumter landing?

The inside of the bubble is very safe and a security system is a personal preference. You will find many have them and you will get all kinds of recommendations. Personally, I don't think they are necessary however my wife doesn't agree so yes, we have one :)

I have multiple cameras covering my property, a doorbell camera and an alarm system backed up with a cell phone in case my landline is cut. TV is not a truly gated community.

In my opinion the Villages is very safe, but for added protection we have a 9 MM Sig Sauer with a laser sight as our security system.

South

I have lived one mile south of Lake Sumter in a village called Largo for 13 years. Honestly, I believe the Villages is a very safe place to live. I am not being critical, but some people feel insecure and need additional devices to make them feel safe.
The facts show are there is very little crime of any type in the neighborhoods where we live. We have a Community Watch vehicle that passes every house in our community three times in every 24 hours. There are some businesses that are affected by shoplifting and there are occasional domestic issues in homes.
The best way for me to describe the Villages is like going back and living in the 1950's again. Men and women can safely walk their dogs or jog at 5 am, it is very clean, there is no graffiti and it is just a beautiful place to live. I am so thankful a place such as this exists in 2020.

Very well said, and you echo my sentiments exactly.

We didn’t have a security system in Texas until our 3rd break-in. Also had two vehicles stolen from our driveway. After moving here we feel very safe. Community watch is great. Knocked our door to let us know our garage door was open at night.

When I was looking for homeowners’ insurance just before I moved here, I was told that if I had artwork worth over $20,000 I would need a security system. Fortunately, I don’t have a lot of artwork so I don’t need or have a security system.

Our experience:
 

Our security system was a knee-jerk result of a family issue, nothing out there in the community. We went with a DIY system by SimpliSafe, not only easy to self-install in 2-3 hours but also relatively inexpensive. Monitoring is non-mandatory and non-contract at $15/month. We leave our monitoring on all the time because the resulting discount we get in our homeowners insurance for having a security system covers a large portion of the cost of monitoring. Still, after all is said and done, a security system here is a personal preference, not a necessity.

Just the sign.

A lot of people come from places where they had a high crime area and they now feel more secure with a security system. Also, a lot of people are only in their homes 4 to 6 months thus leaving them vacant. Perhaps they feel better leaving them that long with a security system. Either way, it never hurts to always be vigilant. Criminals go where they can get their hands on valuables.