Yearly income
 

Wondering if 1 person can afford to live in TV on $25,000 a year?

Is that before or after taxes? If after, and your house is paid for, and you are frugal, I believe you could. Much of what is available here is free, like pools and golf and clubs and pickle ball and...

sunshine, and fellowship, and dancing in the squares.......

You'd be pinching pennies but yes I believe you could do it. There are people here who manage on just Social Security. That's one of the lovely things about The Villages - no one cares or notices how much money you have or spend. You never need to dress up. Just about everything - utilities, taxes, even restaurants - is cheaper than wherever you came from. Make a budget and stick to it and you'll be fine.

I know a couple who do it on about 28K. And they own a large home so taxes are a bit of an issue. If you owned a small home, Patio Villa, small ranch or manufactured home so your taxes are really low and were frugal, I believe you could do it. Key is to own the home outright.

free pools and clubs?
 

nothing is free in the villages. monthly fees for amenities.

To the OP, I agree with most of what jblum said, except the part I put in bold above. I can tell you that taxes are higher here than in AZ, where WE came from. That is assuming the reference to taxes in the above post is in respect to property taxes. I do know that taxes in many states are much higher than here. Restaurants...well, that is subjective, as it is hard to compare unless you are talking about a chain restaraunt, then the prices will likely be the same. Gasoline is higher here than where WE came from...today at Sams Club in Lady Lake, regular is $3.37, in Tucson AZ at Sams Club it is $3.13. (per Gas Buddy). And utilities...I gather jblum is comparing it with the "Frozen North", not everyone comes here from an extreme climate. Food at the markets wasn't mentioned... I can also say that food seems to be more expensive here than where we came from. Just one example, a gallon of milk here is what, $3.69 at Publix? In AZ the regular price is $2.99, and it is very often on sale at $1.99/gallon or less. In the few months we have been here, we have yet to see milk "on sale" here. A head of iceburg lettuce seems to be regular priced here at $1.69, normal price in AZ is $1.29. Homeowners insurance is most definately higher here than in AZ as well.

I didn't mean to make my post so long, I just intended to make it clear that OP needs to do his/her own research and be sure they look at all of their potential expenses before making a decision to move here.

We are very happy here, but I can't say for fact that it is cheaper to live here than "wherever you came from"

Thanks, Towgo. I can only speak for where I came from which was NY state. The OP didn't say where they are coming from.

i guess it would depend on the person...as we get closer to retirement we cut down and bank the rest....try to cut down each year...goal is to live on $2500 a month...by the time we retire...no mortgage, no car payment, and eating out for us it has to be really great before i spend money in a resturant...so i have a plan...in the works five years out...it should be in place

Groceries are a bit high...but probably are all over the country these days. We watch the ads for specials (milk etc. can be bought at Aldi, Walgreens, CVS and others on sale for less). Publix and others will have bogo items so buy your items then and use coupons. I think you can do this as the other posters indicated.

yes you can if you want to.

If you own your house and have no payments and own your car and have no payments, it is doable. You won't be going out to restaurants a lot and most of your entertainment will be at rec centers and free clubs, but it is definitely doable.

Interesting to read...
 

My short answer for my wife and I is no. As I type that I need to emphasize that this question can only be answered by the person who wants to do it. I do know folks that live in MA on less than the number you mention.

For us, I have tracked every penny we spend in a spreadsheet for the last four years. I just track it, no budgeting or trying to cut back, no detailed analysis yet, but it is a document of exactly what we spend. I do not see how we could live on $25k.

As far as costs for the last four years for us?

My home in Norton, MA costs about the same per year as my home here (mortgage not included in comparison).
My credit cards which are used for everything are a wash between here and in MA, so groceries, gas, dining is about the same.
Of course location matters, cost of living in Norton, MA is quite a bit different that a condominium in NYC.

I am not trying to be discouraging and as you can see by other posts folks do this, but I caution that someone has to do the math for themselves and how they live.

One suggestion would be try to do it NOW no matter where you live for a period of time to see....

I hope things work out, it is another beautiful day in TV.

My mother owned her home and car and had free medical from UAW retirement and lived on $15,000/yr and usually saved around $3,000/yr.

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I think you have to make up a list of what you are currently spending. Then look at this site for cost estimates of living here - home upkeep, utilities etc. This could fit in 25,000 with health costs being an unknown. Better if you could find a roommate.