Mental "Reservations" About TV? If you had any, how'd they work out?
 

A small handful of years away from retirement (or one bad day at work!)... Curious for a perspective from newcomers, or actually any villager I suppose, how your pre-move mental reservations about life in TV lined up with what you've experienced after moving? Is it what you thought or hoped for? Were your mental "reservations" confirmed or proven otherwise?

"Our" perspective would be from a mid 50's couple... healthy, active, very social, love to travel the world. MY personal retirement FEAR is boredom, and not living a full, active life in retirement. We'd both like to keep busy and give back /volunteer where and when able. (No grands yet as our kids are only in their early 20's.)

We appreciate any insight anyone would care to share. Thanks...

Wish we had moved in 5 years earlier.
You will not be bored living in TV.

We have not moved there yet, but are in the processing of buying a pre-owned now and close in May. We have visited twice and are currently living in a 55+ community in TX and moving to TV from here because there is just SO much more to do there. I feel like a kid in a candy store when we are there. While where we live is nice, in the 10+ yrs we have been here the number of homes has overwhelmed the "clubhouse" and common facilities. That is one thing we LOVE about TV...LOTS of resources and they add as they continue to build. Will it be BIGGER than we might like at some point in time...perhaps. But I think at our ages and for what we have experienced, we have found OUR "happy place"! (p.s. neither of us has ever lived in FL, or even had the desire to...but we are that sold on the place!) ;)

The only way you could possibly be bored in the Villages is if you have a VERY narrow, limited scope of interests that generally keep you in seclusion.

There is a club for everything down here, in some cases several clubs. From kayaking to kite flying, mah jong, archery, softball teams, bowling, book clubs, custom tricked-out golf cart fans, architect buffs, japanophiles, people from Ohio (pretty sure there's a few of those clubs because EVERYONE here is from Ohio for crying out loud), the GOP, the DNC, movie buffs, oh yeah there's a few golfers too.

And if you aren't a "joiner" you'll have no problem just doing a lot of stuff on your own without being pressured to join (though everyone will suggest it).

You could sit by the poolside with your earbuds on and tan yourself into oblivion if that's what floats your boat but most people are WAY too busy for that.

You can also work - full time or part time. There are jobs all over the place, everyone's hiring.

What he/she said........ Don't over-think it would be what I'd add.

Did not have any reservations 16 years ago.
Still do not have any.
Yes TV is larger (by over 4X). Has only made it better.

And is going to get even bigger. But when it all fills in with all the restaurants, shopping, connections it will be better.

More traffic? Yes. But less than where we came from...even now.

Compare other retirement communities. They do not have the lifestyle we have. That does not mean they are lesser communities. It is all what you want....and how it fits with what you used to have.....with a much different perspective.....you are retired.

One is retired and loves it here. I have a different perspective, yes there are many things to do here. Yet after 5 or 6 weeks, I am climbing the walls. I miss my high energy, stressful job. I am an adrenaline junky.

I work 4 months, call is involved, so can work 50 to 60 hours a week. Then I take off a month to 6 weeks to decompress here. The slow pace here really take a toll on me toward the end. I have been known to take 5 or 6 hours of classes at the gym, every day. . Then I Travel back north to snow that I love, and my job.


It’s not about money, it’s the adrenaline rush I live for.

For me I really have the best of both worlds. Maybe in a few years I will outgrow the need for speed, but for now I am not ready to just stop being in what I call the adult world.

More than a dozen years ago when we first looked at The Villages, we were very skeptical. It was too good to be true, too polished, too well run, too nice, who was behind all this??? Something is wrong. Who is making money on all these people???

Well. There wasn't anything wrong, it is well run, it isn't too good to be true. I came on this forum and asked if anyone really KNEW the people who built this place, what was the catch??? No catch. Wonderful place. So very glad we decided to buy here and then sell and buy another house we liked even better, except for we had to leave the people who we really liked in that neighborhood. But here we are liking people in this neighborhood. I hear this so much. Be assured this is a wonderful place. P.S. I still haven't met the builder(s). AND I am not a realtor or an agent. I don't LIKE people who sell houses. You won't be pressured here and it IS all that and a bag of chips.

My wife & I are in our mid-50s and are somewhat a snowbird. No kids (that I know of). We can’t wait to permanently move down here to The Villages in a couple of years, OR sooner!! If your fear in retirement is boredom, then read the book called “The Joy Of Not Working” by Ernie J. Zelinksi. It’s a mind opening, Aha moment for me. Good luck.. -myk

You took the words right out of my mouth Graciegirl, our perfect Village ambassador.

New comer perspective
 

We moved here Oct 2018. We were wowed with all the amenities, but post move we realize we pay for everything (if you want to use the online golf reservation system, then you pay extra). The amenity fee keeps going up. Everything is crowded during SnowBird season and people are downright rude. I can go to any grocery store on any day and see an argument about parking spaces, places in line, well just about everything.

The restaurants are terrible and overpriced and it has been much harder to make friends here than I ever anticipated (everyone seems pretty cliquish). We have determined that we may be "too young" to be here. Maybe it is just the neighborhood, but we feel that we are still too young at 57 and 62 to really be here. And one of the things you need to know is that if you choose to move here while you are still working then your activities are really limited as everything happens during daylight hours.

We are still asking ourselves if we made a mistake by coming here, but we need to stay in the house about 3 years to really recoup what we put into it. While I am slowly getting into some activities, it is still difficult to ascertain if we made the correct decision.

With all that said, you have to decide what is important to you. Make a list of "must haves" and then decide.

My father moved to TV about 20 years ago and we have been visiting every year since. When people ask us about the lifestyle my answer is always: "If you're bored in TV, it is your own fault." It's completely up to you how active or how laid back you are.

We moved to TV almost nine years ago and quickly became involved in many activities. We have settled down now and are more involved with Church activities so don't go to the squares much or eat out. The Villages has grown to be a big city rather than a retirement community but with the exception of TV emergency dept.(very important but expect changes), there is so much here along with the beauty of driving on Buena Vista with the flowers, trees, etc. We now have all of the stores that we need and as we get older, that is important to have them close. For travel, TV vans are great--door-to-door service 24/7. $40 one way but you would pay so much more at the airport for parking and the convenience is great. Our house is very well built and all buildings are top quality. We love Polo and TV Polo Club has the best facilities almost anywhere. If you move here, try Polo. When I was concerned about the growth of TV, I changed my mind set from living in a retirement community to living in a medium-sized city. We moved here from the twin cities so the traffic doesn't really bother us. Besides, we are retired and have time to slow down or wait. Good luck--hope this helps.

There is a wonderful couple on YouTube called Jerry and Linda (The Newcomers). We are just snowbirds but I watched all of their videos before we came. They have been here a little over a year now. They are sooooo informative. I learned sooo much and they are delightful to listen to.

To Sharon17340, some people find it takes 2 years to "fit in". It's a matter of finding your niche. With multiple clubs of the same interest in different venues, it's trial an error. You may not feel comfortable in 1 place, but you might in another. It takes time to cultivate friendships. There are younger people but you have to be willing to do things with older folks, who I found are welcoming to newbies. You'll probably be more active (tennis, pickleball, etc) and so much more. I can't do a lot of that, but swimming is my "sport". Keep looking...