[djm619]

Hi,

Here is an email that I sent to our salesman after coming down for the Life Style Visit.

Hi,

With the exception of having to drive over to a recreation center to answer emails, the trip was nice and informative. For some people the idea of not having access to the internet may not be a big problem. For many, many others it is unacceptable.


If we did not have a friend with us to we would have locked the doors and went to the Waterfront Hotel. Our friend and collogue, Dr. Damon lost total interest in buying a home. His thoughts were that if they can not provide something as simply as internet, what else would they skimp on.


Here was a man that could've taken out his checkbook and purchased a home on the spot.


Me and Brenda are still interested in the Villages, but think you might do one of three things.

First, offer free internet.

Second option, offer internet at an additional charge. Many large hotels do this.

The very lease make certain that people renting from you know upfront that if they need the interenet they must leave their home or Vila and drive to a different location.

[DougB]

He can afford to pay for a house on the spot, but can't afford email on his cell phone?
Oh, well.

[buggyone]

Wow, a buyer lost because he did not get Internet in the beautiful home while on the Lifestyle Preview? Was ready to whip out his checkbook for a house but does not have email capability on his phone?

I know the Villages Sales Offices all have Internet hotspots as well as Panera, Starbucks, McDonald's, all the recreation centers, and probably quite a few more.

It would be nice to log on just anywhere in The Villages like you can in some towns like Ocala but it has not happened yet. Surely, though, it is no reason to say you would not buy a house here - but each to their own.

[DandyGirl]

Wow, what an inconvenience for you (tongue firmly in cheek). The point of the LSV is to get out and learn about all the great things TV offers not sit in the house on the internet!

[janmcn]

Just curious, what was your saleperson's response?

[ilovetv]

I found this to be a bit of a problem, too, but surely not an insurmountable one. There is wifi available at Barnes & Noble right beside the preview villas, and it's available at Starbucks, TV Sales Office and other places right there.

What you really ought to consider is this: In our villa neighborhood like the one you stayed in, 100% of our 70 neighbor households are online, and from what I see with my own eyes every day, probably 70% of them have iPhones and iPads with which they have wireless internet access anywhere. You'd be surprised, I think, at how tech savvy TV residents really are. This ain't your father's "retirement" community.

It's not an excuse for TV not providing wifi, but the fact remains that a large percentage of people coming here to explore buying/moving here carry their wireless internet device with them.

By the way, it's quite likely that it's not that TV "cannot provide something as simple as internet", but that providing a nightly rate of $100 with no added hotel or other tourism taxes on a 3-bedroom 2-bath home that includes golf cart and bicycles has to be done cost effectively.

That rate is lower than one room at the Hampton Inn where you might have free wifi internet access, but you don't get a full sized, well-appointed, clean home from which you can walk or take a golf cart to see all the things that really matter in exploring a home purchase here.

[DianeM]

Pretty lame to complain about email capabilities.

[Serenoa]

We found the lack of Wi-Fi in the Creekside cabanas a very minor inconvenience. While the wife was getting ready every morning I made the short ride over to the Barnes & Noble parking lot to use theirs. And we also carried our laptops to Panera Bread & to Starbucks, where we enjoyed talking to other Villagers while we caught up on things online. I can't understand anyone being THAT inconvenienced.

[cgalloway6]

This was a lifestyle visit wasn't it? What it would be like when you/they are retired, living in TV? Did they only go to the rec center for e-mails or did they try any activities there? Did they really get into the lifestyle of TV or was it just a vacation without maid service, free breakfast or in room internet/HBO?
You'll find a lot of folks on TOTV that have complaints about TV, the developer, the trains, the wastewater treatment plant, kissing lanais, snowbirds, crowds, bugs(love or otherwise), IRS lawsuits and there are lots of folks that want more house for the money, more seclusion, bigger yards, less deed restrictions than you can get in TV. But I can't remember anyone deciding this place wasn't for them because of no internet during the LSV. Hope they find what makes them happy. I did.

[capecodbob]

Wow, my wife and I came down last May (2012) and also couldn't find the Internet right away. Had checkbook in hand ready to buy too. But, we "adjusted" and went downtown with our laptops, had a cup of coffee, and did our business on the internet.
No bid deal!!!

...and we wrote the check. This place is terrific!!!

Bob

[Patty55]

Yep, I know the feeling, I was really turned off not to have an 8-track player.

(And BTW, OP, You might be taken a bit more seriously if you ran spellcheck before posting.)

[Gator Fan]

something tells me we're a better place without the "doctor"

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by Patty55

(And BTW, OP, You might be taken a bit more seriously if you ran spellcheck before posting.)

OMG, I so wanted to write that, but did not have your nerve, I figured I would be viciously attacked .....................

This thread is truly ridiculous ...........................

[Virginians]

Originally Posted by DougB

He can afford to pay for a house on the spot, but can't afford email on his cell phone?
Oh, well.

I vote this to be one of the top ten replies of all times on TOTV

[ilovetv]

He can afford to pay for a house on the spot, but can't afford email on his cell phone? Oh, well.

Originally Posted by Virginians

I vote this to be one of the top ten replies of all times on TOTV

I vote this to be the #1 Reply of All Time on TOTV!! Love it!! And Patty's, too!