If I were in your place, I would ask what my expectations were. Before you make life changing decisions you must have criteria and goals.

My main regret is that the summers are too hot. This began about 10 years ago. The increased heat also makes the Gulf and ocean water hotter. So, a greater chance of a hurricane.

Agree that the lakes are polluted with pesticide and fertilizer runoff. That could improve if more people had stone yards instead of grass.

# 3 I think summers are getting hotter and they are. Scientists have measured world temperatures getting hotter for the last 10 years. And the heat is increasing each year.

Regrets
 

You have been gone for 2 years so I suggest you take a good look at the changes. Especially the traffic. I have been here for 22 yrs. The traffic is a huge deterrent for me. Quality medical care is hard to find. Good restaurants are few.

No regrets
 

Been here 14 years through all the growth.
You can be as private as you want or as social as you want.
Great life

Okay, here it is: They closed down two or our three movie theaters, Country Club restaurants pre-covid had full breakfast buffets on weekdays (gone!), and Katie Belle's (one of the best night spots in The Villages) was closed to be converted into apartments. Each generation of the Morse family is greedier than the one before. Other than that,The Villages is a great place.

No regrets for me, however we originally were completely set on buying a specific home in a different Village. If we had bought that home, I feel like we would have had some regrets.

Pay very close attention on the distance between the home you buy and the amenities that are important to you. The home that we almost bought was very far from the closest adult pool. We go to the adult pool in our village almost everyday when it's nice outside.

Also pay attention to negative things that could affect your enjoyment like being close to a larger body of water which can mean big mosquito issues, or close to a big or noisy roadway. I have some acquaintances that back onto a very busy golf cart path that leads to Brownwood. They hear golf carts buzzing by their lanai around every 30-60 seconds between 7am-9pm everyday.

And the only theater still open, has rarely had a movie sold out. Even playing old movies, trying to attract more business. You can still go to breakfast buffet, with only a small worry about sneezing contaminated food:clap2:

The age old..Why did KBs close, in “07” it’s heyday people spent money, therefore profit. Then the custom of ordering water, and sitting for hours at a time, was the downfall of KB’s. So blame residents who were toooooo cheap to buy food and drink. Residents failed to keep KBs

Everyone knows taking a loss on business either on Theaters or KB’s will always cause a closure. As far as family they could always sell out, and TV could just dry up and blow away. I doubt that’s ever going to happen. Maybe one of your family could marry into developer family, bet you would have a different thought process

Movie theaters are a dying industry.
I would like weekend breakfast buffets, but if the operators of the CC restaurants thought they could make money from the buffets, they would return.
Katie Belle’s was a loss leader. Closing KB hasn’t hurt TV growth.
Aren’t we only at the second generation of Morse family? The first generation were billionaires too.

Summers have always been hot and Hurricanes have always hit Florida.

We moved from middle Tennessee 20 years ago and love it here. I would move back if I found it necessary, but only to East Tennessee. Nashville area is not conducive to retirement living.

For those of you that have lived or are living in the Knoxville area: How does that area compare to TV (Ocala-Orlando) as far as medical and culture offerings? I think cost of living is lower in TN (property taxes and insurance) and I know TN has the Smokies, 4 seasons and occasional snow. Thanks.

Agree 100% rent for 3 months if you can, maybe overlapping into summer to get a feel for the heat and humidity April-June . The rent will be less too at those times.