2nd visit next week
 

I am coming down to TV next week for the second time. My house in Indiana is sold. :MOJE_whot: Am living in apartment for a while. Plus, don't want to go through another winter like this past one. :cold:

Hope to make a decision about whether TV is right for me and do some house hunting while I am there.

Wish me luck.

good luck! enjoy. most either love the villages and buy here, or hate it and don't.

Congrats on the house sale. Let us know your thoughts when you get to TV for a look-see!

Bill :)

What good news...hope you enjoy your visit to TV...

If you are looking for an active lifestyle, or "porch percher" you'll love it. Many of us aren't there yet, but it isn't because we don't want to. . . selling the home here so we can move to TV.

Be sure to talk to as many people as you can and ask them how they like it there. Our second visit was to find out what's wrong with TVs as we certainly saw what was right on our first visit. One "frog" (permanent resident) said it was getting too big. But the way the individual villages are set up with their own recreation center, mail distribution center, etc. it keeps everyone dispersed very well.

Good luck and congratulations on getting your house in Indy sold. Don't forget TV has 9 championship courses and 30 executive courses that you are entitled to play. I know of no other community in the country with such amenities. When you add in the gazillion social groups, activities, and recreation. . .you won't go wrong choosing TV.

Just do it! Been here for nearly 13 years and have loved every minute of it! What's NOT to love?? Yes, it's a big place but, as in any large community or city, most folks find areas, businesses, etc. that they like to frequent. MY problem with living here is that I never know what area to frequent next since they are all so nice! If you don't want to live in a resort-like atmosphere you probably won't be happy here! Home prices are down and it's the perfect time to buy! Keep us posted!! :welcome:

Good luck!

TOTV is a great way to get information about the Villages that is not part of the 'sales pitch'. Don't hesitate to post any questions you have - you may get a variety of responses, but the truth is there is rarely one right answer and a TVers have a lot of different opinions - thank goodness!

I close in less than 2 weeks and I know I can count on TOTV to help me settle in and find my way around.

Welcome to the forum. Our Helene was born in Indianapolis and I loved the ten years we lived there.

Hope you find everything to your liking. I wish I could extend a personal invitation but we will be off campus when you visit.

If you didn't do these things on your first visit...

Take the trolley ride.
Visit the Lifelong Learning College.
Check out the new library on 466A.
Watch the sunset on the Sumter Bridge.
Have a frozen yogurt at Colony Plaza...(What is it's name...somebody?)
Talk to strangers.

Hope you love it and decide to stay. It is my favorite place.

Gracie

Schnauzer....Welcome to TOTV! Have a great time on your 2nd trip! We loved The Villages the first time we visited and each time we came back, we found something new to love! It is a great place and you will love getting out of the Indiana weather I'm sure! It was an awful winter up here in Purdue country but I think you Hoosier's got it worse than we did!
I will echo all of the wonderful advice folks have already given you...especially the part about talking to strangers! That is one of the things I love to do! Everyone has an interesting story on why they chose The Villages and those stories may help you with your decision.
Have a fantastic time and congrats on selling your house so quickly! :thumbup:

:welcome: to TOTV. Any questions, please ask.

I agree this last winter was brutal and I don't want to spend another one in the Northeast.

It' great news you sold your home and I wish you GOOD LUCK on deciding if TV is for you and happy house hunting.

I agree with Gracie and I'll add that you should relax and dance in the squares. I know I have a great time when I am visiting.

I am really most impressed by the friendliness of the people.

Best Wishes for future happiness.

Hi Schnauzer,
I'm excited for you that you sold your house.

There might be some things to not like about TV but honestly, I haven't found them yet. The people are friendly, the amenities are fabulous and TV is gorgeous.

Best wishes and please keep us posted.

Peachwave - one of the first places we're going to go to when we get to TV next month!!!! :MOJE_whot:

Bill

Thanks for all the responses. Will be there next Wednesday for five nights. Plan on looking at some houses and just soaking up TV.

Don't forget to bring your checkbook!! Ya just never know what you might find.

Bill :)

There might be some things to not like about TV but honestly, I haven't found them yet. The people are friendly, the amenities are fabulous and TV is gorgeous.
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It's comments like yours that make me excited about my future plans. Thank you!:thumbup:

If you want to experience the lifestyle of The Villages try renting for awhile. My wife and I have a couple of new villas for rent. Very reasonable, epsically during the summer months. If interested email at lanepple@yahoo.com.

Congrats on selling the house, and welcome

VillagesFlorida, Since you are a longtime resident of TV, I'm guessing you must have seen tremendous growth in TV over the past decade, and it's not done yet. How do you and other long time residents feel about the growth --love it, hate it, or something in between? Just wondering. Thank you in advance. The population of TV is now slightly higher than the suburb of Chicago that I live in and in about 5 years the population of TV will be probably more than 20,000 persons larger than the suburb I live in.

And let's remember one thing about our population - most towns have almost (maybe slightly more?) 50% children so the average people per house is maybe 4 or so. Down in TV the average household is probably just under 2. So in the real world TV would be a town of almost 200K residents.

Yes, Schaumburger, we moved to The Villages in 1998, There were 16,000 residents here and we thought this place was big then! It WAS large when we compared it to other retirement communities that we visited. The Spanish Springs area was still being developed and the theater there had just opened. There were a couple of fast food restaurants, and a few eateries on the square. Otherwise, we had a restaurant in each of the 3 country clubs, plus Chula Vista and Silver Lake (both restaurants gone) Darlene's (gone now) was the only place a woman could buy clothes. There were no shoe stores and men were out of luck if they needed a pair of socks! If Sweets Hardware didn't have something we needed we were faced with trips to Leesburg and Ocala, to Home Depot. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching the growth here. Just when we think we have seen it all the developer does something else jaw-dropping. Growth here is not a negative thing in my mind. I knew that this place was going to get much bigger when we purchased our home here. We just never imagined the scope of what was to come. There were 5 executive and 3 championship golf courses. It is wonderful to have so many choices now. Unlike areas I lived in back in Maine I don't have to travel 20 miles to buy a loaf of bread. I have 4 different grocery stores within 3-4 miles of my home. My husband can buy socks and I can buy shoes, all via our golf cart! How cool is that?!! I just can't find anything about The Villages to complain about. Even after so many years here I still feel as though I live in a resort. Sometimes I think about the wealthy folks who live in the big house on the ocean. They may have a big boat tied up to a dock and a fancy car in the garage but they don't have a fraction of the recreational amenities that we have here. Quite frankly, I would be bored as heck living in the mansion on the beach! I can not imagine living anywhere else at this time of my life. I plan to sit back and watch what the developer has up his sleeves for the finale here. Brownwood? An old Florida cattle town? Yee-Haw! If it is anything like what he has already done it should make us all proud to live here.

What a comfortable post. I want to sit on my lanai and listen to you tell more about your past 13 years. I too think it is so fascinating to see what new thing is being built. It is so neat to watch.

Hope I get to meet you in person as soon as we return!

VillagesFlorida,

Thanks for your input. TV does not seem too big for me, but then I have lived in the Chicago area for more than 30 years, so I'm used to a large metropolitan area with traffic and all that living in an area with 6 million people brings. I'm glad you are still happy with your decision. Maybe TV's marketing department should hire you for one of their internet ads. :)

I have been asked before if I am on the developer's payroll, since I have spent my years here "selling" this place! The Villages is like any city in one way: you can choose which areas and amenities to visit and use. You will have favorite restaurants that you will frequent regularly and certain stores and shops will meet your needs on a daily basis. The activities are here if you want them. Traffic IS worse in the winter months and we eat out at times when a lot of other folks don't. Instead of whining about so many people living and visiting here we have found our own niche, and we live our lives in ways that are comfortable and as stress-free as we can make them. The Villages is unlike any city in that you will not find a slum area anywhere. Of course there are always going to be those who find something to complain about or they are not happy. Perhaps if they were cancer survivors, like my husband and I both are, they might decide to pick their battles more carefully. As for me, I plan to keep on enjoying this beautiful place for as many years as I have left. Is it too big, too many people, golf carts, cars, too much traffic? Perhaps for some folks. I would rather spend my days worrying and stressing over stuff that REALLY matters. As a cancer survivor nothing matters that much! (Except maybe a relapse!)

Two excellent posts. :BigApplause: :BigApplause:

I agree with you about one health is the most thing in one's life.

Life is to short to be too little.

I think if you've previously lived in larger metropolitan areas, it is easier to deal with living in The Villages especially during the winter months. If you're used to quieter, more rural areas it can be a challenge to adapt.

I agree. My sister who has lived for 23 years outside of a Wisconsin town with a population of less than 3,000 cannot understand how I have lived in the Chicago area for 30+ years. I cannot understand how she can live in a rural area. Too each her own :).

Good luck... We moved here a month a go and we love it. We have the best neighbors and every day is a new adventure!

Awww, that is a nice compliment, Gracie! It has been worth the amenity fee just to watch the progress here! Talk about entertainment!

We wrote a while back about getting together so we could meet each other....I could sit on MY lanai and talk about this place for hours! Let's try to have a cup of coffee when you return. Afterall, isn't meeting new folks half of the fun of living here?