My guess is they built Brownwood down on State route 44 to take advantage of the commercial possibilities. What Village to buy in? To me it all depends on what your interests and hobbies are. For example, if you are a golfer and golf 3 or 4 times a week you want to consider locating accordingly. If you like the activities offered at the Regional Centers, closer to a Regional Center makes sense. If dancing and eating along with shopping---then close to a Square might appeal to you. Well, you get my point.

Overall, as I look at The Villages, there is "something" for everyone and a home "priced" for just about everyone that can afford to retire. Bottom line---you can get to any of the activities offered in The Villages by golf cart---just might take you a bit longer from one property location than another.

I think they put Brownwood where they did to draw more locals.

We are south of 466A, off Pinellas. When we go up to Lopez or Spanish Springs we take the car.

BINGO!
Bought right in the middle, with shade and mature landscaping everywhere...you can keep the desert. Preowned...preloved!

my wife and I decided anything north of 466 along buena vista was too far. Very few swimming pools, a handful of executive courses and long cart drives to any of the town centers. That was just our opinion however. Many folks love those areas.

We are south of 466a (Dunedin) and love it. Brownwood is a short cart ride away and Lake Sumter is about 20 minutes away via cart (if we go to SS we go by car). We have pools out of the ying yang, two regional (soon to be three) centers + multiple village centers a few within minutes drive, we are very close to 15 executive courses with 4 more on the way, and there are four championship courses within 10 minutes. Being in a new neighborhood has benefits too. Because we are new we have a very active social group since most folks are looking to make connections.

We live in Gilchrist just south of 466A.
We take the car when we go to SS or 441 for the
Stores.
Going to LSL isn't that far and we are 3 miles from Brownwood.
You will find most people in this section have gas golf carts.
What was more important to us was getting a certain model
and that house only existed where we bought.

A anywhere you decide to live in T.V. will be good.

We live south of 466A, less than 10 minutes from Brownwood. We use our electric carts to go everywhere. I have a morning tee time at Lopez on Wednesday and the ride in the cart will be about an hour. As a previous poster stated, it is a matter of personal preference. We prefer carts because we get to enjoy the ponds, plants, people and other sights and sounds that you miss when using a car. There are a lot of people here that are always in a hurry so they take cars when the ride is outside their local area. I don't think you will ever know how far is too far until you jump in the cart and go find out.

Now that I've been here for about 2 years I had to rethink things.

I live close to Brownwood but rarely go to any of the squares. [I was warned this would happen.]
I bought here for resale value being close to a square.
I rented a golf cart for 2 months and did not like driving it any more than 15 minutes. I don't own a cart. I bike.
I love my smart car and walk all the execs. My car is cool in the summer and warm in the winter and I'll drive anywhere to play the execs but not the turnpikes.

All the cool places are up north. The woodshop, archery, bowling, air guns, croquet, aldi's, fresh market, softball [ i don't play, polo i don't watch, shows and plays i don't attend] and some more I can't think of.

There is hardly any traffic this far south. That's good.
Biking is great down here too.

I wonder what will happen when the newest area is built out. All those homes and not many more golf courses.

One aspect to consider is what activities you will be participating in. I play softball and participate in track and field. Both activities are near the high school. I have friends in both sports who live south of 466a and wish they didn't because they end up taking the car. When you have to be at there early in the morning, it's a pain to leave before daylight for a 45 minute ride.

We are not ready to make the move to TV but I am a consummate planner, so with my interests being the swim team, life long learning courses, and being able to easily attend frequent services at the RC Church, and hubby enjoys woodworking what villages would allow not too long cart rides to these activities ? Also, after looking at a gazillion floor plans I pretty much have my heart set on the older model Anna Maria villa with the kitchen breakfast nook so I guess most are located further north than south ?

Thanks in advance for your input.

We like to take our car most places. We live in Sanibel. Just our preference. Our friends use their golf cart to go everywhere.

Hope you have a small truck, my F150 wouldn't fit unless I turned it crossways.

Lynnhaven is perfect. 4 minute cart ride to family pools Pimlico and Churchill Downs. 2 minute cart ride to adult pools Belvedere and lynnhaven and ashland. 6 minutes by cart to lake Sumter Landing and 14 minutes to Spanish springs. 4 minute cart ride to Publix. 7 minutes to Walmart or steak and shake. Perfect location for me!

I would do research on the village based on it being friendly ~ I think it's easy to get around in a golf cart...even if it takes 45 minutes. The places that are 45 min away aren't places we would go to on a daily routine & if we did we're not in a hurry!

How would you do research on the village based on it being friendly?

A mid-Villages location - convenient to everything! :pepper2: