TV duplicated in other areas?
 

Just curious- has TV’s developers ever tried to duplicate the Villages’ success in other states? Seems like the concept would work in Texas, Arizona etc - why limit to Florida?

nope

TV is a family-owned operation. They're based in Florida, where they can maintain full control over every aspect of the community and the towns the properties are built in.

Bingo, plus they have been able to buy lots of undeveloped land in central Florida at very affordable prices.

Florida is the "warm weather destination" for the vast majority of the United States (east of the Mississippi). The population centers of the Northeast have an easy, economical commute to Florida. Thank you, Disney.

The model would probably work in other places, just not on the same scale as here in FL.

Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

Theres also something to within 60 minutes when kids/grandkids come down, they won’t visit OFTEN in AZ or TX.

Don’t underestimate the importance of the above quote, it hits the nail on the head regarding what separates the Villages from every other retirement community. It’s both good and not so good, but for the most part the good wins, until someday when it might not anymore?

There was a story about Gary Morse and Harrold Schwartz a few years ago which said that when they began to think about expanding across 441 from the Historic side, they visited Sun City in AZ to see what works and what didn't. They came back and incorporated those observations to make The Villages. So I guess you could say that The Villages was started FROM somewhere else.

"Youngtown, Arizona, opened in 1954 and was the first development community to have a minimum age requirement (then 65) and to ban underage children as permanent residents. Developer Del Webb unveiled Sun City six years later. Adjacent to Youngtown, it offered modest homes abutting a golf course. In the ensuing decades, active adult communities have proliferated, including Harold Schwartz’s "The Villages" in central Florida, today the nation’s single largest retirement community.

For nearly sixty years, the success of these and similar communities have changed the image of retirees from frail, impoverished old people to energetic, well-off adults enjoying a resort-like lifestyle. While some experts predicted these communities would fail or undermine the obligations between generations, they are now firmly embedded as one possible extension of the American dream.

Judith Ann Trolander has written the first book-length history of the "active adult" lifestyle. Examining the origins, development, failures, and challenges facing these communities as the baby boomer population continues to age, she offers a truly original defense of a sometimes controversial aspect of American life."

From: From Sun Cities to The Villages: A History of Active Adult, Age-Restricted Communities (Sunbelt Studies) Paperback – Illustrated, December 15, 2012
by Judith Ann Trolander (Author)

There are many other 55+ communities, including Del Webbs. Someone must be smart enough to duplicate The Villages.

I think what TV currently has is scale. They are big enough that they can keep offering a high level of amenities for a low cost. Starting from zero would be very difficult for a competitor. If someone wants what TV has, they could just move here.

There is another "Villages"
 

Yes, there is another Villages. It's the Villages at Coverley on the island of Barbados. It was started roughly ten years ago by Gary Morse. Due to high housing prices on the island, it consists of mostly villas and/or small homes built around one town square, with stores, shops and restaurants. Their website is vilagesatcoverley-dot-net. Very similar to what we have here but on a much smaller scale.

Interesting. I never knew that. Thanks for sharing.
A place for all of the complainers who think TV is getting too big.

Interesting that they have their own sort of TOTV full of complaints.

The concept of The Villages is somewhat being duplicated at Babcock Ranch, a gated community north of the Ft. Myers area. I have been there several times, so much like living here, a town square on a lake with entertainment, a few restaurants, food trucks, new school on site, Publix shopping center, golf and everything is golf cart accessible. So much like The Villages with construction everywhere. The big difference is they is no age restricted, it is more of a family community and my guess a tenth the size of here, but growing rapidly as here.

To many people to pay off in Arizona and Texas.