questions about Stonecrest
 

Does anyone know anything about Stonecrest. I understand that you can go to tv with your golf cart. Not sure about where to buy a home, Will be coming and checking out both places next month. I saw some bigger homes and bigger lots at Stonecrest. Please let me know what you think and know regarding the area's around t.v.

Thanks for your input.......

Stonecrest
 

Stonecrest is a very nice retirement community just north of The Villages. For now residents there CAN drive their golf carts to The Villages using a dirt path through back lots and fields. It's unclear how long that path will be available since it runs through very desirable commercial property that will probably be built on sooner or later. You CAN buy more home for your money at Stonecrest, just as you can in most other "typical" retirement communities in the area. What you will have are "typical" amenities such as a clubhouse, pool, shuffleboard & tennis courts, a restaurant, golf course, etc. Here is just a partial list of what is offered here in The Villages:

Number of Organized Clubs/Activities: 1,800

Number of Restaurants: 100

Town Squares: 2

Championship Courses: 9

Executive Courses: 29

Recreation Centers: 57

Recreation Swimming Pools: 65

When you purchase a home here you are buying a lifestyle unlike anything else in the world. You WILL pay a premium for that, up front. Go to Stonecrest first. You may fall in love with the "typical" amenities offered there. You can hope that the dirt path to The Villages will remain intact so that you can drive your golf cart over here to enjoy the shopping, restaurants and entertainment. Once you have seen what Stonecrest offers drive across the street to The Villages. Take a trolley tour, talk to those of us who can't imagine living anywhere else. You will see that this place is far from "typical" and that the lifestyle here is indescribable and unimaginable. I could go on and on but, even if I could I wouldn't be able to paint a beautiful-enough picture. Be sure to plan enough time to really get a feel for what is here. An hour or two will suffice at Stonecrest, to get the lay of the land, but it will take you several days to a week or more to see all that is here.

Fabulous answer, Villages!

Yes, excellent answer, Villages!
Babspadget, you need to understand that The Villages isn't really all about the house... it's about the lifestyle.

One thing you might want to do is visit all the neighboring communities that advertise "Near The Villages!" or "Like The Villages!" or (I can't believe this one) "Better than The Villages!" While you're visiting the other communities notice how many people you see -- or rather, the people you don't see.

One of HoneyBoy's golf groups plays off-campus during the winter. He said that he rarely sees any residents at the other communities. It's as if they stay shut up inside their (bigger) homes all the time. You can do that where you are now. You don't need a bigger house here in The Villages, because believe me, you're never home! There's too much to do here, and not enough hours in a day to do everything you want to do... BUT you can't participate in the activities and classes at the recreation centers if you're not a Villages resident.

Go to http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/a...es/recnews.pdf to see what activities are available and compare it with the other communities you'll visit. Then you can decide what's right for you.

I love the name for your SO, or at least I think that is who you are referring to. :thumbup::icon_wink:

Hahahaha! He likes it much better than Mr. Judy. :icon_wink:

Someone already pointed out that if you don't live in TV, you don't get a TV ID Card and can't use of Rec Centers, Pools, other facilities. FYI, for now the golf cart trails are pretty open to anyone who can get to them BUT they are not public roadways or trails. TV residents pay for, maintain, etc., those trails through our amenity fees. There have been rumblings in the past about closing off the trails to non-residents, registering golf carts so only ones with a TV registration can use the trails, etc. Nothing has come of these initiatives (yet) but it could happen. You may find you and your golf cart stuck in Stonecrest with no place to go someday. And yes, you do get a lot more "house" for your money in some other retirement communities. If house size is your main criteria, look around - if a lifestyle is your main criteria, look in TV.

Except for the hospital and the Championship golf, you must have a Villages ID to use the following.

Interesting facts about The Villages as of March 2011 - .
90 miles of golf cart paths (2 lanes).· 67 villages to date· 57 recreational centers and swimming pools* 9-27 hole Championshiip golf courses.* 2-18 hole Championship golf courses.* 32- 9 hole Executive Golf courses.* 1-27 hole Championship course about 3/4 completed for a combined total of 540 golf holes.Can you believe in the winter time we still need more golf holes. Summer time you can get on any time.* 160 bed hospital. golf cart accessable.· 213 softball teams· 100 tennis & pickleball courts· Over 1800 clubs and organizations· 93% of Villages High School grads last year went on to college! [huge applause for that stat]· 107 new leases signed for businesses· 543 new homes sold > Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2011· Sales of preowned homes up 10%, compared to same time last year

You'll have to check it out for yourself and make your own decision. Quite a few Stonecrest residents moved from TV. One resident, who I've never heard say a negative word about TV, simply said they preferred a retirement community rather than a retirement city.
Initially we had problems resolving the issue of the teeny, tiny TV lots. We looked at at least a gazillion lots and finally decided on one that works for us, pretty much.
We built in TV and are glad we did. Others say the same about Stonecrest.
Do what's best for you.

We spent a day in Stonecrest in April and were impressed with the design and size of the homes. We even were momentarily interested in buying something there. But...............
Why did the salesperson keep talking about how you could get to TV by golf cart if Stonecrest was so good? Why would you not want to stay right there?
Why was there almost no one out and about in their yard, on their carts, on the golf course, in the pools on an 85 degree sunny Florida Saturday afternoon?
Why did their rec center look like a small town YMCA compared to the luxurious beauty of the TV regional rec centers?
And the biggest question of all: Would we have driven 1300 miles to spend time in and enjoy the fabulous lifestyle of ...... Stoncrest? (the answer is HELL NO!)
Now I did talk to several people who lived in Stonecrest, Spruce Creek, and Del Webb, who said they liked their choice. (Most people tend to defend and rationalize major decisions like that IMO). However, I surmized that they were people who liked quiet and solitude, and weren't all that gregarious. One even said his wife told him she would move to anyplace in Florida BUT the Villages, because it was so busy.
I can see no reason to compromise on the fabulous lifestyle afforded by The Villages just to get a bigger house. I don't spend that much time at the house when I'm in TV anyway. If you like the amenities of TV and like to be around the kind of people that enjoy that kind of energetic lifestyle, don't make a big mistake - there is a home waiting within your budget in TV.

Well said. There are good reasons for buying in each community. It just depends on your needs and priorities which vary by individual.

Yes, you do get more house for the money in other places,
but how much more? It's not like you'll live in a castle.

The Villages has an ambiance like no other,
I'd rather have a smaller (relatively) home here, than live
anywhere else.

We looked and looked and looked,
Stonecrest, Del Webb, Lakeside Landings, the Pringle Communities, Arlington Ridge.

Answer always came back to The Villages.
Like our Del Webb guy said "The Villages is huge, they must be doing something right, people either love it or hate it".

you decide, best wishes

You pays your money and you takes your choice.


(the Ho Chi Minh Trail between TV and Stonecrest is used primarily by TV residents going and coming from Lowe's, Beall's, Aldi, Walmart, etc. If TV wanted to close it off all that is needed is to fix the existing automatic gate at the TV end - the 2 automatic cart gates into Stonecrest operate and keep the uninvited out.)

.

Now THAT'S funny!! :1rotfl:

Sandy and I always likened it to what riding through the bombed-out Beruit of old might have been like. It is a ROUGH ride!

Bill :)

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