Originally Posted by BRN_RI_FL (Post 2126370)

We do Chinese take-out occasionally here in RI and there are 3-4 restaurants within a short drive. We find Koyame superior to the Chinese restaurants up here. I wish I could say there are other restaurants we prefer in The Villages over RI/MA/CT nearby restaurants but we haven’t found them yet.

Originally Posted by Michael 61 (Post 2125134)

I am moving to TV in a few months from Colorado, and can’t wait! I am the biggest cheerleader for TV here in Colorado, encouraging all my friends who are approaching retirement to book a lifestyle visit. There is one thing I’m going to miss when I move however. TV lacks the restaurant diversity I am used to. I eat out most meals (breakfast and dinner), and enjoy locally owned and ethnic restaurants. I completely stay away from fast food and any chain restaurants. I am an admitted “foodie” and also a pretty good cook myself. During my lifestyle visit, I checked out all the highest rated restaurants based on Yelp reviews. I thought Harvest/Blue Fin/Chop house were all “OK”, as well as Thai Ruby. The Mexican and Chinese places were awful. (We have excellent Mexican here in the West). For the TV being so large, where are the Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Greek, Cuban, Cajun, German restaurants? Where are the French bistros and Spanish tapas places? I was surprised how “meat and potatoes” and chain-restaurant heavy TV is. I guess I will need to drive to Orlando weekly for some restaurant diversity, or I will be cooking more at home myself. Please don’t think I am bashing the TV in anyway -I can’t want to move in a few months, but I will miss my restaurants.

Originally Posted by champion6 (Post 2126757)

Here's a list of places to dine in and near TV. Take it for what it's worth.

Originally Posted by Michael 61 (Post 2125134)

I am moving to TV in a few months from Colorado, and can’t wait! I am the biggest cheerleader for TV here in Colorado, encouraging all my friends who are approaching retirement to book a lifestyle visit. There is one thing I’m going to miss when I move however. TV lacks the restaurant diversity I am used to. I eat out most meals (breakfast and dinner), and enjoy locally owned and ethnic restaurants. I completely stay away from fast food and any chain restaurants. I am an admitted “foodie” and also a pretty good cook myself. During my lifestyle visit, I checked out all the highest rated restaurants based on Yelp reviews. I thought Harvest/Blue Fin/Chop house were all “OK”, as well as Thai Ruby. The Mexican and Chinese places were awful. (We have excellent Mexican here in the West). For the TV being so large, where are the Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Greek, Cuban, Cajun, German restaurants? Where are the French bistros and Spanish tapas places? I was surprised how “meat and potatoes” and chain-restaurant heavy TV is. I guess I will need to drive to Orlando weekly for some restaurant diversity, or I will be cooking more at home myself. Please don’t think I am bashing the TV in anyway -I can’t want to move in a few months, but I will miss my restaurants.

Originally Posted by Rainger99 (Post 2127412)

You don't say where you live in Colorado but if you have Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Greek, Cuban, Cajun, and German restaurants, I assume that you live in a fairly large metropolitan area. Most small towns do not have a lot of restaurant diversity. The population of Sumter County is only about 130,000. The Denver metro are is about 3,000,000. The Orlando metro area is about 2,500,000.

A lot of restaurant diversity is based on the local population. You get a lot of Cuban restaurants in Miami. Sumter County is about 84% white; 6% black; 6% hispanic; mixed 2%; and Asian and Pacific Islander are under 1%.

If you have a lot of ethnics living in your area, you will get more ethnic restaurants. I was in New York's Chinatown one time and the area was probably 90% Asian. Until we get a more diverse population (either in the Villages or the surrounding areas), I do not think we will get a lot of diverse restaurants.

Originally Posted by Michael 61 (Post 2125134)

I am moving to TV in a few months from Colorado, and can’t wait! I am the biggest cheerleader for TV here in Colorado, encouraging all my friends who are approaching retirement to book a lifestyle visit. There is one thing I’m going to miss when I move however. TV lacks the restaurant diversity I am used to. I eat out most meals (breakfast and dinner), and enjoy locally owned and ethnic restaurants. I completely stay away from fast food and any chain restaurants. I am an admitted “foodie” and also a pretty good cook myself. During my lifestyle visit, I checked out all the highest rated restaurants based on Yelp reviews. I thought Harvest/Blue Fin/Chop house were all “OK”, as well as Thai Ruby. The Mexican and Chinese places were awful. (We have excellent Mexican here in the West). For the TV being so large, where are the Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Greek, Cuban, Cajun, German restaurants? Where are the French bistros and Spanish tapas places? I was surprised how “meat and potatoes” and chain-restaurant heavy TV is. I guess I will need to drive to Orlando weekly for some restaurant diversity, or I will be cooking more at home myself. Please don’t think I am bashing the TV in anyway -I can’t want to move in a few months, but I will miss my restaurants.