Any hints on amenities not found in the south?
You make a great point, just talking to the local residents.

Thanks again!

Quietest and nicest community in the Northern area has been the village of Santiago, off of El Camino. Have to catch a deal real fast when the homes become available because they seem to sell as soon as they are listed. Probably because folks really like it there and it is a quiet and friendly neighborhood. And it is located in Sumter county, close to shopping, hospital and village center of Spanish Springs. I originally had a smaller home and we decided to upgrade to a Designer model. We were looking South of Rt466 but ended up setting for the Santiago village and we are really glad we did. Just my opinion, but if there are so very few homes for sale in an area, it seems like it is most likely due to it being a choice area.

Avoid the southern areas. Ridiculous bond fees, houses with bare landscaping, little or no med services, little or no shopping, scarce golf courses, etc.

You must not have been “south” in awhile. Our area south of 44 is now 6 years old, landscaping is beautiful and not overgrown and old looking. There are plenty of medical facilities including the emergency room at 44, all the facilities at Brownwood, as well as many independent offices constantly opening. We have 3 new golf courses opening shortly in addition to what we already have, as well as all the new businesses that will be at Eastport. Are there bonds, yes. Some have been paid off but most have not. But you are getting new/newer homes with updated floor plans, new roofs, new heating and cooling, etc. There are many benefits to the more southern areas.

North of 466 the golf carts in a hurry drive on Morse, so the multimodal paths are safe and pleasant. Plus, there are more cut-throughs between neighborhoods, so plenty of walking options. We have near a dozen different 3 mile loops to alternate between. We are extremely happy in the North, but I'm reasonably sure we would have been happy in the South too. The Villages is the place to be!

First there is no Lake Sumpter. You are probably referring to Lake Sumter.

The biggest advantage of being up north is you you are close to everything and far from being south of 44.

There have been at least 6 sinkholes between 466 and 466A. There have been 2 that I know of in the Calumet Grove area - both homes were abutted to a retention pond. Marion and Lake counties are both higher property taxes than Sumter county. About $300/year more per $100,000 of house.

The main advantage of the far north is being able to find a house with full height shade trees in the yard so that you can actually go outdoors in the summer months.

But really what you need to do is look through the list of which sports, clubs, and activities are held at which recreation centers and plot your favorites on a map and then figure out which area makes sense. Most activities have both a north and south option but not all. The more "active" stuff is going to skew south also.

More in the South
 

The south end is amenity rich! Golf is everywhere and there are additional pitch n putts too! There is Brownwood, but now the much larger square under construction, Eastport. Last I checked the north end doesn’t have dragon boat racing? There really isn’t a comparable Sawgrass or Edna’s up North? Further, retail is exploding in the south: Super Target, Outback, Walmart, Hooters…you name it. I’m not sure what the OP is saying. The south is also nice because MCO is 45 minutes or so. We love the southern end.

Good luck in your search. My wife and I are in the northern part of the Villages, Woodbury. We have found that being closer to (outside the bubble) shopping works for us works better. We like being able go to major retailers within 10 to 15 minutes along Rt 27. Yes there is traffic. It comes with the territory. We just shop when it's not as busy. Our neighborhood very neighbor friendly. We both are part of Breakfast groups that meet regularly. There are both Men's, Woman's and couples Golf groups if you like to play Golf. Easy Golf Cart ride to Public's, Mulberry Rec Center, less than 30 minute cart ride to Spanish Springs & Brownwood. We have a neighborhood Christmas party. We enjoy the Squares but not every night. Generally once a week or less. Like most Neighborhoods we have an active AED group that maintains the AED stations within the Neighborhood. As we age this is an attractive aspect. The Bonds on the homes tend to be paid off. Our home is 20+ years old. Newer Roof and Air Conditioning system. Something to consider. It makes a difference when you are shopping for Insurance. Our home is a nice size home and the lot is a little larger than down south. Some of the homes on the market have been updated some have not. Ours was not updated. That gives us the ability to customize the way we want to with out ripping out renovations you don't like. Good Luck in your search.

Please, educate me so I don't write off an area from lack of knowledge. Your pros and cons are appreciated![/QUOTE]

We bought a couple years ago and are up in mulberry Grove. We love riding in our carts with a nice breeze. 20 minutes to SS, 30 minutes to Sumter and 45 to brownwood. We even head down to fenney grill on occasion for a nice lunch. When we go to first responders to play putt putt I often notice nobody is using the pickleball courts, which is not what I hear from posters in the south. In the north I feel young (58/55) and in the south I feel old. We are only part timers, and when/if I ever get to retire full time I probably will change to a bigger house but don't see moving below Sumter. Lots of shopping and dining up in the north, and a lot less traffic.

Not quite an answer
 

Before we bought further South, we rented in the 'historic section' where we made friends very quickly. It took rather longer where we bought. I think the difference lay in the carports in the historic section. From time to time when entering or leaving home, I would see a neighbor struggling with groceries, and help. Soon we were friends. Here, if our neighbors struggle, they have already electronically shut their garage door, cutting themselves off from help.

Just a thought.

No input on living there, because we don't yet

However, we did do a 7-day Lifestyle visit in December with plans to do another week in a rental (which we had to cut out for family reasons)

We saw a lot in those 7 days, but it just wasn't enough. We plan to come back down, probably for a month, maybe more, to really get a feel for the place. Spend as much time as you're able to - it'll be worth it

If, for any reason, you don't like the agent they assign you; don't have any qualms about switching off to another one. We met one at an open house we attended and really hit it off - we ended up switching. Initially we felt bad, but were told not to - it happens all the time
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Also look at what you folks like to do
 

My advice is to determine what you like to do (hobbies, sports, rec, etc) and look for those activities as you try out different areas. Bicyclist? There are several organized groups that ride from specific locations on a regular schedule. Dancer? There are several different communities of dance (ballroom, country, WCS, swing, line dance, freestyle, etc) and their dances are usually at specific rec centers on a regular rotation. Pickleball? Card players? Golfers? Parrotheads? etc, etc, etc. There's a LOT of activities, and many groups are focused at specific and multiple locations; some are weekly, some monthly. If you have preferences, look at the rec news (weekly publication, available online - there's a link to the current one at Recreation - The Villages Community Development Districts

We rented in 4 different parts of TV, and found the best concentration of the specific activities that we like was in the areas between 466 & 466A. We do go to events in the far north (Mulberry, etc) and south (Ezell and Everglades) and have explored a lot (aka joyriding in the golf cart), but actually living for several months at a time in different areas helped us assess and decide where we concentrated on when it came time to buy.

Except the fact you have to drive around it.

That is not true. Golf carts are not allowed on Morse.

Eight years ago we walked a short distance on a multi-modal path and thought it was unsafe. Now we drive south of 44 to enjoy our walks.