Leaving the compound
 

Golfed with another couple this weekend and in conversations about eating out and such, this couple remarked that they never left TV. Other than one Dr. appointment, if they couldn't get there in a golf cart, they didn't go. I'm just curious how common this is? How long have folks gone without leaving TV?

Wow! I think that's actually weird and not showing much diversity. There's Disney, the beaches, Mt Dora, St Augustine...so much to see in the state, I think I'd lose my mind just staying in one zip code for the rest of my life. I work full time in Oxford. I leave TV every day!

The real world is a cruel place. Don't go out they're if you can help it.

I think you are on to something there.:bigbow:

I average 125 miles per month in my car. Almost 99% of my life is in my Favorite Hometown. I love it even after seven years.

I would look at it this way, based on our own experiences living in a totally self contained college town since 1970 to present..........if a town has all the services one needs including hospital, doctors, lawyers, colleges, museums, schools, shopping, theatres, etc..........and on and on...........there is no need to go elsewhere EXCEPT when one is going on vacation and needs to get to the airport which is in another state...........or to visit our grandchildren who live three hours away plus others halfway across the country..........or, when we set off on a road trip to see the other regions of the United States. But, for the most part, we never leave our town as there is no need to.

When we were younger and lived "off an exit of the Garden State Parkway" in New Jersey, we thought nothing of driving all over the state to go shopping or for recreation or to visit friends and family.

However, here in Vermont, we have everything we need in one town.
This town is surrounded by the Green Mountain forest and farmlands...and one has to cross the mountains to get to the other side of the state.

The Villages has everything within it's borders that anyone would ever need without venturing elsewhere............unless they wanted to go the beach or Disney or the airport, etc..........but perhaps they have "been there and done that" and are content to "stay put" in TV. I don't see anything strange about that.

My husband would joke that often we never left town but once or twice a year to drive to the airport. That was when our kids still lived at home.
Once they moved away to go to university and then later moved further away, that was a different story.......we'd travel to see them. However, for the most part, we still find everything we need in one town....but not via golf carts.

WE've seen Mount Dora and all the beaches plus Disney World, for years on end. I doubt if we'd venture out that much from TV if we moved there permanently. But, never say never.

I love exploring new areas. We have been here less than a month and have eaten in Leesburg (I think that's where it was, thanks Herv and Ruth!), Mt. Dora, Clearwater (twice)and Tampa. As much as I LOVE TV there is soooo much of Florida to explore.

Oh my! Hard to believe someone will not leave the TV hence forth. Sure lots of things to do here and most services are available, but there are so many nice places to explore just in Florida. We have been to St. Augustine, both coastal beaches and cities along the cost. Lots of festivals, arts, parks, and more than can be named. We still have lots more to see with day trips alone.
But... As I also believe, to each their own. If that makes them happy, good for them.

I hear you. I should have mentioned that we vacationed in Florida once or twice a year for most of the almost 50 years of our marriage.....so we did explore each coast from bottom to top..........all the barrier islands,etc. plus Disney World every spring during the kids' school vacation......so we have explored all of Florida. Florida is a huge state.


I can totally understand new people wanting to "see Florida" but for those of us who have "been there and done that" over and over again.....TV does have everything one needs right within its borders.........just as does our "self contained" home town in Vermont.

Almost everything a person needs is here, but Florida is a huge and beautiful state that has so much interesting history, too. There are so many areas we have yet to explore, and will do in time. We sometimes go for 2-3 weeks without leaving TV. We love the beaches on both the Gulf and the Atlantic....it's pretty cool to live 80-100 miles from either coast.

I think one of the reasons some people don't leave TV much is that it seems like a long-term vacation here. How cool is that??

............almost never leave "the bubble"........EXCEPT.....

.....1.....full moon shrimpin' in Sebastian, monthly.........

.....2.....Also, when a LOW pressure system approaches head down there again,
those big ones bite like crazy for 2 to 3 days before a storm approaches.

.....3.....The ten or so times a year my lady wishes to spend the weekend
watching sunsets on Anna Maria Island.

.....4.....oh yeah, forgot about the museums in Tampa, Sarasota, Orlando,Melbourne, Vero, etc. ( yup.... she also likes those ).

.....5....the six or more trips to Disney every year.

Holy CRAP...
...............I just realised she only keeps me for the chauffeur duties.........
..........................anybody know where I can get one of those chauffeur hats.?

Perhaps it depends on whether you're a full-time "frog" or in TV part time? Seasonal residents are estimated by some to be at least 40% of the TV population. Part-time residents may tend to stick close to TV if they only occupy their Villages home for a few months each year.

That's what I thought also. But these folks are fulltimers like us so I was a bit surprised. To each his own.....We have to venture out for ourselves. We don't eat out much, maybe once a week, but even with that we need a bigger range of eateries. Like I said, we all live differently.

Off the reservation
 

I go off often, there is a great life both in and out of the Villages.
:crap2:

Initially, I think people want to go outside to bubble to explore other restaurants and other places that interest them. I plan to visit my son and grand-daughter in Ft. Lauderdale periodically.

Eventually, as one ages, the need to go outside the bubble will lessen as people like the comfort of everything to be near and at their fingertips.

I sure hope that doesn't happen until I'm in my nineties. :D