[DruannB]

I've read the books, including Talk of the Villages ebook, but I would love everyone's honest opinion on what makes TV wonderful, and what are its flaws. I plan to move here shortly and I want to be as informed as possible. Thanks folks. I love this forum.

[2BNTV]

There aren't enough words to describe what makes TV so wonderful.

Have you ever visited? In a short while, you can see for yourself. OK, I'll give it a shot.
1. Friendly people who are always open to talking to a stranger.
2. Golf cart access to almost everything.
3. Golf.
4. How beautiful everything is kept.
5. Pools, rec centers, three squares where music is played every night.
6. The opportunity to be active, with over a thousand choices.
7. No winters of snow and ice.
8. A wanting to live attitude, as opposed to being in GOD's waiting room.
9. Good entertainment at the Savannah Center. The new performing arts building is soon to be completed.
10. No village is a bad village, to live in.

The negatives is during the snowbird season, one may have to wait to eat, some traffic congestion and you may run into a grumpy pants.

[DruannB]

We were just there and noted many of the things you mentioned. I told my husband it was DisneyWorld for adults. I particularly liked this from you:

A wanting to live attitude, as opposed to being in GOD's waiting room.

Before I visited, I envisioned people with walkers, sitting around, ignored, unloved. That is not what I saw. But those people must be somewhere in TV, right?

[tedquick]

Originally Posted by DruannB

We were just there and noted many of the things you mentioned. I told my husband it was DisneyWorld for adults. I particularly liked this from you:

A wanting to live attitude, as opposed to being in GOD's waiting room.

Before I visited, I envisioned people with walkers, sitting around, ignored, unloved. That is not what I saw. But those people must be somewhere in TV, right?

I am sure there are some of those people, but they are hidden away. I'm guessing that they pretty much keep to themselves. TV is by far the most active center of its kind that I've visited or frankly ever even heard about. I was planning on moving to Arizona until my second day of visiting TV. It suddenly became very clear where my wife and I were going to spend our golden years.

[Edjkoz]

We have had our house for 2 years and just m ed on full time two months ago. I can tell you from first hand experience that the good far out weights the bad. The people and activities are wonderful.

[NYGUY]

Originally Posted by tedquick

I am sure there are some of those people, but they are hidden away. I'm guessing that they pretty much keep to themselves. TV is by far the most active center of its kind that I've visited or frankly ever even heard about. I was planning on moving to Arizona until my second day of visiting TV. It suddenly became very clear where my wife and I were going to spend our golden years.

A very wise choice!!!

[kaydee]

Love almost everything about living in The Villages. Do not like the fact that there is no guarantee that you won't have a home in your neighborhood that happens to have a reverse mortgage on it and it becomes an eyesore. We have one next to us and The Villages so far 3 yrs now can do nothing to put pressure on whatever bank has it and that bank could care less about selling it.

[pbkmaine]

The multi-modal paths, particularly the ones separate from the roads. To bike on one in the coolness of an early sumner morning is pure pleasure. The one-level living in houses that are thoughtfully laid out. The well-kept and lovely campus. The warmth of the people.

[VT2TV]

Very much agree with all the above. A wonderful place, almost perfect, however no place is without problems. Some of my complaints: The drivers who cannot read signs and follow the rules of the roads. Having trouble getting tee times in the winter if you are a group of 4 or more-esp. if anyone in the group golfs more than 2x a week. Not having a person or group you can go and talk to if you have any kind of problems (ie unruly people on the square, problems at the pools, etc., who will actually do anything about it) As our community keeps getting bigger and bigger, I would love to see the Villages hire actual police officers. I have nothing against the local police, but we have more population than Ocala, and the bigger we get it only stands to reason that it would benefit our community

[tomwed]

I haven't lived here very long. We only rented a little while before we bought. I interviewed residents and researched what I could. I met one guy early on who said "I tried for two solid years to find the skeletons in the closet, if you know what I mean, before I gave up looking."

I was skeptical.

I suppose it’s because we have gone to many timeshare presentations in return for promotions. We know when someone tries to sell you a lifestyle you better be sure you can afford it. You need very little money for entertainment down here if you like joining clubs, playing executive golf courses and using the recreation facilities.

If you are social, you will never run out of friends down here either.

Of course every now and then you will run into someone who is bored and unfriendly.

[cattywampus]

The BIG plus , for me anyway, is the opportunity to
"PAY IT FORWARD".

There is an abundance of Villagers who belong to
well organized Clubs or Neighborhood Groups that
are more than willing to share their blessings.

There also are MANY who silently underwrite major contributions
to many causes, without a hint of recognition.

When I was a young'n times were very hard.

The Good Lord has blessed me with just a little bit extra.
Not much, but enough to make a little difference in some small
ways.

I find it refreshing to personally know so many Villagers who
realize how Blessed they are.

Sharing what they can, in time or money, has shown me
there are plenty of Villagers who silently make a difference.
You have truly made a BIG impression on me.

Thank You.

Many people, young and old, will never forget what you do to
make a difference in their lives

[DruannB]

Thank you all. Your input has been very helpful.

[Bizdoc]

Originally Posted by DruannB

A wanting to live attitude, as opposed to being in GOD's waiting room.

Before I visited, I envisioned people with walkers, sitting around, ignored, unloved. That is not what I saw. But those people must be somewhere in TV, right?

We visited TV in December 2012, partly to visit an old friend, partly to look at Freedom Pointe. We had been told that Betsy would never fully recover from a fall down a flight of stairs in June 2012 and that we should be somewhere (like a continuing care retirement community) which had easy access into assisted living. Since we had had a fairly active life style (Betsy hiked down into the Grand Canyon twice) as well as challenging professional careers.

The only CCRC that we liked was the Forrest at Duke (which was started by professors, doctors, and lawyers). Saw a lot of sad people at the rest we looked at.

Visiting TV, we saw happy, laughing people who were busy dancing, golfing, walking, and playing. We decided that we might was well live until we die. So we bought a house and moved here. Betsy went walking every day while I did the furniture, curtains, etc stuff. By the time we went back north to get the rest of our stuff, she had stopped using her walker.

There are people with walkers here and ones with wheelchairs. You may not notice many of them because they are busy, too. There are a number of assisted living facilities in and around TV. There are folks living at SumterPlace who golf everyday (it's inside TV). Some folks reach the point where they need skilled nursing or hospice. Their friends visit them and help with that final voyage. You may have noticed that the newer houses in TV are built to be barrier free, making it easier to safely get around. There's home health care if you want to stay in your home.

There are folks who are homebound for any number of reasons. You haven't met them yet and you may or may not meet them. There are folks who are unhappy here (you'll read about some of them on TV). Most of us are reasonably happy. We do as much (or as little) as we want. But mostly, we are determined to live until we die.

Welcome to TV. Prepare for your next adventure.

[billethkid]

Mostly only pluses.
One minus is the driving habits/capabilities of an aging population......as a whole not bad....BUT.......a very high percentage of rules of the road violators resulting in too many near misses and too many actual encounters.
Therefore drive defensively.

[redwitch]

Pluses have all been said. I will say the biggest plus is the generosity of spirit here. Strangers willing to go out of their way to help others. The abundance of volunteers here.

The biggest minus to me is the inability to hear as many political viewpoints as possible. If the speaker isn't Republican, the town squares are off limit. The smallest venue possible is offered to others -- usually whatever club is usually made available to the club inviting the speaker. I get the feeling that developer would ban these speakers if he could.