[katerogers]

Hi all,
When I move down in September I'm seriously thinking of sharing a home, instead of either buying or renting - A new experience for me. Three questions. Has anyone else ever taken this leap of faith and how did that work out for you? Second - Do women do better rooming with men or with other women? Would men rather room with a women or another guy and why? And third, I remember Chachacha mentioning that it was hard to date people outside of the villages because they could not get an ID badge. I was wondering if this same problem arises if you are rooming with someone but are neither the homeowner nor the original renter. Does anyone know whether there are a lot of roommate situations out there? Would that be question 4?

Katie

[asianthree]

there is a home on thevillages4rent home to share..other than that i got nothin

[manaboutown]

If you rent/room make sure you get a Villages ID as part of the deal. It cost my landlord $50 when I rented for the month of October 2011. After all, as a long term tenant you will be a resident. As such you are rightfully entitled to an ID. Personally, I would not rent long term (a month or longer) from an owner not offering his tenant(s) a Villages ID.

Lack of a resident ID to attend certain functions may become an issue when a single Villages resident wants to take a nonresident date to a Villages function or venue open only to residents. So if you date someone living outside The Villages you may not be able to take him to such functions and venues.

[Ohiogirl]

The landlord can provide (by turning in their id's for that property) resident renter's id's for up to 2 people, so I believe that if you were the original renter with an id, and then got a roommate, the landlord could add that person to the id list, but check with the renter/id office, which is in Spanish Springs in the back of the sales office there. Don't know the phone #.

I would think that this practice would be more and more common (non-relatives/partners sharing a home) just because it is a cost savings. We keep reading about the baby-boomer generation having to delay retirement because of various reasons.

If you do sign an original rental agreement by yourself, with the intention of finding a roommate, be sure to get that permission in your lease. Personally, I think I would do a tryout period of 30 days, with lots of emails first, and checking the person out as much as possible online. Become Facebook friends if they are doing that. It's not foolproof, but go with your gut feeling.

Somewhere online there have to be questionaires available that might help with roommate compatibility. Being upfront with definite "deal-breakers" might help. I would think that it might even be better if one were a "morning person" and one a "night owl" if both were respectful of noise - that would give you some alone time that might be a plus.

That's just my 2 cents - I've never had a roommate, except for 1 yr in college, that wasn't a sibling or a spouse. But honestly, though I'm close to my sisters, I think it would be easier to live with someone else.

[kittygilchrist]

the grapevine has it that rooming with a female would be considered appropriate, and rooming with a male would cause aspersians to be cast...I was a bit surprised by that tidbit in this day, but guarding the reputation could be important in a fishbowl.

[katerogers]

Kitty,

WOW! Is that really true? It never dawned on me that anyone in this century and especially at our age would assume you can't have a platonic relationship with your roommate, if they're of the opposite sex. Granted, I've never lived with either but I would have to think that sleeping with your roommate would be the stupidest thing you could ever do. I just thought a man would be easier for a woman to live with. We don't compete for the same things. Jealousy wouldn't be a factor. Even decorating the homestead would not be an issue, for most men anyway. I was hoping someone reading this thread might actually be rooming with the same or opposite sex and might be able to provide some insight into the reality of sharing a home with a relative stranger. Now, I hope someone might be able to chime in on whether they found that they are being gossiped about at the local gathering hole. Frankly, I don't think I'd care, unless openly and socially shunned. Have you actually witnessed this kind of puritanical thinking?

Katie

Originally Posted by katerogers

Kitty,

WOW! Is that really true? It never dawned on me that anyone in this century and especially at our age would assume you can't have a platonic relationship with your roommate, if they're of the opposite sex. Granted, I've never lived with either but I would have to think that sleeping with your roommate would be the stupidest thing you could ever do. I just thought a man would be easier for a woman to live with. We don't compete for the same things. Jealousy wouldn't be a factor. Even decorating the homestead would not be an issue, for most men anyway. I was hoping someone reading this thread might actually be rooming with the same or opposite sex and might be able to provide some insight into the reality of sharing a home with a relative stranger. Now, I hope someone might be able to chime in on whether they found that they are being gossiped about at the local gathering hole. Frankly, I don't think I'd care, unless openly and socially shunned. Have you actually witnessed this kind of puritanical thinking?

Katie

I saw this yesterday, and was going to reply, and then said no, but here I am typing. Kitty, I am going to respectfully disagree, and I mean very respectfully, because I have read through your posts and you seem very nice. I actually live in the neighborhood next to you and we have the whole gamut of people living here, it is so diverse and they are from every part of the Country. Some of my neighbors are old enough to be my parents, some closer to my age and all of them would LOVE to see a man move into my home. Platonic or not. This discussion has actually been held, and not at my request. But, I am at an age where there will be no more children and I have concerns about marrying again, unless of course George Clooney moved here and someone forgot to tell me.

With that said, for me having a roommate, unless they are a blood relative...I don't think I could handle it, personally. There are so many challenges and potential problems that could arise and I keep my life simple. I have built my castle and I am the Queen. Not sure I can change that. But, I will say, if the day ever comes and I extend the invitation to a wonderful man to share my home with me...he would be welcomed by my community.

Katie, personally, you might want to rent here first by yourself, test the waters and if you find someone to be roommates with go for it! The Golden Girls scenario could be fun...so could the Golden Boys!

Katie

[asianthree]

I don't think the sex of a roommate matters...I just want them to pick up their mess..and a good cook would be nice

[kittygilchrist]

Katie, I am new here and don't really know the culture that well, so maybe others will chime in. In any small and exclusive community gossip and rumor go like wildfire. Folks seem conservative and sexually traditional, so any other behavior might be considered outside the norm. I'm on a limb here, but I think it might be easy for a liberal thinker to become "not one of us" and never know why.

[katerogers]

Well, I guess I might have to do some thinking and not just about the 'guy roommate' thing. Katie (KatieDidNot) has brought up another issue and that is the idea of living with anyone else. The thing is I'm a single woman who owns a home with a mortgage in New Hampshire, one that I could never sell or be forced to rent and miss out on the beautiful summers on the lake - and forget my kids...who have their eyes on it. They'd go ballistic on me if I dared to sell it - So, buying another place to support would be a major strain. Renting a place by myself is actually more expensive than buying one. I figured my choices were limited, therefore, if I want to escape the miserably cold and snow covered winters here, I think a roommate is the only viable option. Maybe it's in the choosing that I can find a good fit. I think I'll look on line for the questions I should be asking potential roommates. I would think there must be some sort of science to it.

In the meantime, I'm hoping Villages who have actually taken this leap of faith and still have their reputation in tact, will come across this thread and offer their advice.

Katie

[SusanOfWoodbury]

Hi Katie,
I am also from New Hampshire, sold my house and moved to The Villages at the end of August, 2012. I found a long term rental, but, it took me awhile to find something I could afford.

According to your notes, it appears you want to rent just in the winter. My suggestion would be 1. Check craigslist, Ocala fl and look for share rentals in the Villages 2. Put an ad on Craigslist. 3. Look for homes4rentthe villages.com or homes to rent by owner. I have found the longer you rent the cheaper it could be. There is also a club called the Sumter Singles, you may be able to find someone who would rent to you..
Good luck
Sue

[manaboutown]

Although I have a house and have overnight visitors of both sexes I have not had a long term (platonic) roommate of either sex for 45 years. I don't know if I could readily adjust to having one. I suppose I could give it a try for three months or so if the layout of the house allowed us each privacy.

A "Three's Company" situation might be appealing to me as long as I was not Mr. Furly.

[mainlander]

katierogers: I did notice a couple of owners renting rooms etc. in their homes on homes4rentthe villages.com, as a suggestion, why not contact these people and ask them to relate their experiences with this kind of arrangement. Who best to know? Luck.

[jblum315]

katierogers, I would be very careful of Craig's List if you use it. Some people have got into very nasty situations with it.

[kittygilchrist]

Kate, if I were in your situation as I understand it, I would try to buy a turnkey villa for 150K or so, and rent it to someone fulltime, with the understanding that you may come whenever you like and stay as long as you want. I would not worry about whether it was a male or female.
If I were single and intending to be fulltime in the community, I would then consider how I wanted to be perceived by friends, neighbors, potential partners.
Kitty