[senior citizen]

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[Russ_Boston]

It sounds to me like water is very important to you. So yes please give Mt. Dora a good looking over.

One thing to not dismiss would be TV's approximation to many of these lakes you mentioned where you could dock your boat. You couldn't walk to the dock from your house but...

Mt. Dora does remind me of lakeside/seaside NE town but personally I'd be bored real quick. But if you're the type of person that wants to be on your boat most of the time then perhaps it would appeal more to you. Personally I like the variety that TV has to offer.

Mt. Dora is about 25-30 miles away from most of TV. About 45-50 min drive http://maps.google.com/maps?q=mt+dor...N&hl=en&tab=wl

You might want to look into Harbor Hills just across from TV. It has nice homes and is right on Lake Griffin: http://www.harborhills.com/

[senior citizen]

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[2 Oldcrabs]

Top of the World in Ocala. Appx 20 mi away. Over 55 community, similar to TV but a lot less amenties and golf. Lots are bigger, houses are 20%-30% cheaper and the builder is more willing to do upgrades. More laid back. If it was up to me, TOW is where I would buy. But since my wife wants TV, we will be buying in TV when our house sells up north. ( Since the "debt" issue in DC has come to the fore front, people seem to be holding off making an large purchases.)

[Ohiogirl]

Mount Dora is a cute town, kind of "Old Florida." I've been there about 3 times. Takes about 45 min. from our house in Sabal Chase - might be a little closer from Hadley or Sanibel, but only by 5 or 10 minutes. You have to go thru Leesburg and Tavares, lots of traffic lights.

The website for Lakes of Mt. Dora says it is planning 4 phases with a total of 950 homes. That's probably about the size of some of the smaller villages in TV. Not necessarily bad, just different. No way it can offer all the amenities of TV, but it does have a nice lake and a nice town. Depends what you want. You should look at many places if you are unsure TV is for you. I would start early as I think you could look at various retirement options for years, in Florida alone.

Talk to many people in TV - just strike up a conversation at a bar or on the golf course or along the boardwalk at Lake Sumter. Ask where people have looked and what they thought, then look for yourself. Sometimes people will make a comment you might never have thought of yourself, and it might turn out to be very insightful. We have learned a lot this way. We have done this just about everywhere we've travelled, when possible.

You would be surprised how many retirees are in the 2nd (or even 3rd) retirement location, but it seems to me that we have met many Villagers who moved to TV from a previous retirement location than the other way around, although I am sure there are some. My impression is that those who retire to TV and then move away, are usually moving back "home" instead of to another retirement community.

Maybe I'm wrong about this, and I'm not sure how we would ever know, anyone have stories about this?

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[Ohiogirl]

I drive my (electric) cart 2-3 times a month up to Piedmont or to Mulberry Rec Center or to golf or to Walmart from Sabal Chase, which is the 2nd village south of Lake Sumter Landing.

Once I got to know my way around, it takes about 30 minutes to Mulberry, less to all the other stuff. I would definitely drive the cart, way more fun than driving a car, just allow about twice the amount of time as driving a car.

When you get confused, just pull over (not right by a curve or intersection, and someone will almost immediately stop and help. It is truly the way to experience the Villages. I think you might find that although the Villages IS big, it is planned so that you can live it big or small - some Villagers probably never leave their quadrant, just use the square/restaurants nearest them, and the closest pool and rec centers - and that's fine, but you don't have to.

I think it does attract joiners, and those who like the expanse of things to do - not for everyone, just like some people love living in a small town and others need to be in a city. There are pluses and minuses to both.

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[DonH57]

I know what you mean about boats. I have a small 12 footer and will have to check on storage unit prices and garage sizes when looking at houses. I hate the thought of having to sale it. We'll see.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

We were wondering if anyone could honestly answer whether or not they did any pre research exploration in other vicinities around The Villages prior to actually buying a home in The Villages?

Obviously, The Villages "sells itself", but has anyone looked at Mount Dora for instance. Some folks tell us it's only 12 miles away; others say 20 miles distance. Hubby would like to look at it.......simply for the sake of the boat launch areas and the marina........although he has said he has no problems at all with selling the boat if and when we do buy in THE VILLAGES, which as of now is our first choice, sight unseen.

We've been getting advertisements from The Lakes of Mount Dora which is another , yet smaller, 55+ community. The homes are walking distance to downtown Mount Dora which supposedly is reminiscent of a New England small town and one of the best places to retire (according to some retirement magazine). The homes are also walking distance to Mount Dora's harbor which looks lovely.

We'd appreciate some honest replies. No need to sell TV to us. We are coming down for a very extended lifestyle visit, but also want to see Mount Dora, Tavares, Eustis.......whatever is on the chain of lakes or Lake Harris Chain of Lakes.......again, he's quite willing to sell the boat and join the Deep Sea Fishing Club at TV.............but we both think that while we are down there, we should not miss out on Mount Dora. A realtor from M.D. sent us a ton of stuff from their Chamber of Commerce, including maps of the waterways, etc.

General opinion of the town of Mount Dora?
Many thanks in advance.

If you are going to be here for a month, you should be able to visit all the other sites you have mentioned.....probably even enough time to get a sales pitch from each. You are going to get differing opinions on the others, you must decide which is best for you.
Your site visits will be worth far more than any web sites, brochures or opinions of posters here. If you want us to make the decision for you.......buy in The Villages.

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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