Congratulations Kelsie52. My husband and I did a little comparing also when we were down in Florida. We know taxes are lower just what you said. Long Island taxes are the worse. I agree with you, everything is cheaper, food is about the same, but it depends on what supermarket you are shopping in. Just like NY. I think King Kullen is more expensive than Path Mark is some items in NY. Where I think Publix might be cheaper than Sweet Bay.

I hope you enjoy your life in the Villages!!! Right now I still have to rush around and work and have other people rush me around.

Long Island
 

Amen to the big bank account for LI. All of our friends and relatives that have visited TV love it here and can't wait to retire to be here. With or without them its beautiful and paradise.:pepper2:

We visited the Villages 3 years ago and were suppose to come down again this past January..But, my husband hurt his back shoveling snow with that horrible blizzard we had right after Xmas!Anyway i really want to move there from NJ ..Only thing is we have 3 grown kids with 5 grandchildren and they all live near us...
What is your opinion??

Rent for a couple of months and invite them down to visit. That should convince them this is the place for you. Good Luck.

Being discouraged
 

I don't know how active this thread is now but for what its worth I wish I had rented here first before buying. This is a very different place:oops:

Discouraged
 

The thread is active, this is my favorite topic, tell us what discourages you, from a wanabee...
too much golf? Not enough friends, too many friends, you had a bad experince in a restaurant? You must like TOTV! :D

and for what's it's worth, I for one would like to know what you meant by your comment??

Lee and Richard in Tampa, for now.

Rubicon!

Are you unhappy? :22yikes:

I hope not:cryin2:

a lot of people bad mouth TV, and they mostly don't live here.
A sales rep from another development, when I asked him about TV,
said - you either love it or hate it. some hate it.

visit and make your own judgment calls.

if you want really quiet, peaceful and low key, another place might be better for value. but here it's safe, clean, affordable, and geared towards us.

Hi Rubicon,
Here's another inquiring mind who wants to know. I do sincerely hope you are not unhappy here.

You are kidding , right???
I've been here eight years and have met only one person with a complaint .........He wishes he had more room in the garage and less in the kitchen , They never use the kitchen......and she wants her own car as she's on the go all the time and so is he.... some people are never happy..

fumar..:plane:

Rubicon's post
 

Rubicon's post from a few days ago might answer some of the questions to this more recent post.

Luckily most of the crime is W of I-4 ie Pine Hills, Parramore etc.
Think Detroit.
Unfortunately it gets reported as Orlando which is actually nice and one of the cleanest areas in the country.
Its kinda like saying the Villages is all old people.
One size doesn't fit all.
I did have my memory stolen once.

Make sure you understand exactly what you are buyinginto, dot the i's and crss the t's Nothing is Perfect

I have noticed in my short time in TV that the unhappy people fall into two groups but yet share one common trait. There are those that feel that TV is not strict enough and want a rigid type of community with nothing allowed that they do not like. The other kind are those that value their right to do as they please. What they both have in common is that they are ego centric and are not well suited to any type of living arrangement where likes and dislikes of the group are catered to rather than the individual.

This is not the place for the rugged individual or intolerant of things not to their liking. It is not like TV hides the fact that you are buying into a lifestyle. Just listen to their ads. They are very upfront about it and even call their visits a lifestyle visit. Don't buy a horse and then complain that you can't milk it or like the smell of its manure. :)

I agree leaving in the villages is like being on vacation everyday...I never thought I would be playing golf I love it...I am down to 1/2 B/P bill and my doctor took me off my sugar pill so leaving in the villages have changed my way of living....

Vinny...That was exceptionally....deep

And very well said!:BigApplause::thumbup::highfive:

Being discouraged............
 

I reread all of the poss pertaining to this thread and what struck me are the many people who equate concern with being critical, never can please some poeple, unhappiness, etc. Let me begin by saying to you that I met and fell in love with my wife on my first day as a high school freshman and we have been together these long years. So no matter where I have lived I was happy because she was at my side. Secondly from a philosophical perspective I have always subscribe to the " You can embrace reality and have it work for you or ignore it and have it work against you theory." Having side that we cannot ignore this wonderful lifestyle. However, I also have never been able to ignore hypocrisy. People who live in places of incorporation, cities, towns, villages ,countires, states ,etc wouldn't hestitate to complain when government officials do not respond to their liking. Yet if someone in TV raises an issue they are naysayers, negative, never can please some people types. Never are they thought of as people who are speaking up for the benefit of villages residents.

Essentially my focus is on our form of government because it is so different but mostly because all governments realistically go awry in their planning and/or execution of plans. I thought it was called being a concerned citizen?
As that old commercial stated so well "its that simple and that complicated".

Well said and from the heart Rubicon.

I think I am to blame for being tooooo positive, but it is hard not to be, and we can't vote anyone in....or out.

Excellent points, Rubicon. Thanks for clarifying. When you stated earlier that you wished you had rented first before buying, I was concerned-- for you-- that you regretted the decision.

I was just wondering how expensive is it to live in the villages? If I could afford to completely pay off my home and just have living expensives, what could I expect to pay, approx per month? We visited a few months ago, and we really loved it. I have about 2 years to retirement, and I am already thinking in terms of fixing up my current house and getting ready to move. I am just hesitant because I don't know what to expect for living expenses.

Hi Sharon - Welcome to TOTV!!!

Here is a good thread (one of 3 zcaveman put together) that gives you a ballpark idea of what living expenses would be. See "Financial Information" then "Living Costs" below that:

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...ad.php?t=17717

Hope that helps! Again, welcome!!

Bill :)

Welcome Sharon10.
There are all kinds of homes here and I know you can afford to live here. Send for The Villages pkg and it will have a sheet in there on costs. Also Nuts and Bolts at the bottom of this board has much great info. Plus use the search at the top of this page.
If you buy a small pre-owned villa with rock landscaping on the historic side it is very cheap living. Plus, you have all the same amenities as anyone. Go bigger and newer and you pay more.
Many people have jobs in here too. So don't worry about money.
There will be someone on here to give you more specific numbers.
Again welcome.

Bill & Larry,
Thanks for responding and giving me some encouragement. I am 2 years and counting down...I am going to visit again in Feb or March, really can't wait. This is just the place to be.

newbee
 

Don't worry about anyones opinion except yours.This is my first post. My wife and I have traveled the country extensively the last 15 years keeping in mind where we wanted to retire. We retired early 3 years ago at 57, still not knowing where we wanted to live. We both wanted a place where we could live life to the fullest and not just a place to wait to die. We spent last winter in the Islands and South Fl. Friends of ours had been bugging us to visit the villages for awhile. We were planning on going to Savanna and Myrtle beach for a few weeks before returning home to NJ. We decided to take a detour and stop at TV late in Feb. It was the best thing we could have done. We Instantly fell in love with it! We came back in July for 9 days, picked out a lot and a house plan. We will be back 9/7 to meet with the design center. Our home for the rest of our lives should be completed in November. We can't wait! Note, when our friend found out what we did they bought a lot sight unseen 2 lots from us. See you all soon!!!!!

Good for you GTTPF!! Congrats!!

Bill :)

Settle 8/26 on our house here in Md. Be in our CYV on 8/31 fot "the duration"

Some just don't get it!
 

I starter a thread on this same topic several weeks ago.

Thanks to all that lifted my spirts after getting bashed on moving to the Villages.

I think many of us have run into one or two that " Just don't get it

Herv

One of my dearest friends was a TV basher. In June, I invited her to come with me while I met with the designer about my home choices. She did imbibe in a Kool refreshing drink or two. She excitedly returned with me a couple weeks ago while I strengthened the Florida economy buying furniture, golf cart, etc. She called me last nite informing me that she and her husband would love to come visit in a few months. She's got the bug!

You have to experience to appreciate!

Welcome
 

Welcome to TOTV and soon to TV. May all your dreams come true in the next 50+ years here.
:pepper2::welcome::welcome:

This place is just too good to be true.

I just love it here.

And I just love the villagers.






but have you noticed all the old people?:1rotfl::ohdear:

Great story. It made me very happy. :BigApplause:

May all your dreams come true. :)

Well....I am moving down to the villages with my partner on the 28th of June....I cant wait to leave this cold country of Wisconsin for some heat.

Who cares just as long as "your friend" doesn't move here.

I am a former Long Islander who moved here two weeks ago. I too he a crummy neighborhood not too far away (Hempstead) and no one ever bothered me. The Villages us pretty and active and the people are pleasant. Follow your own dream.

As the saying goes:

"Misery loves company."

And people choose to believe what they want to believe about another place to live.

They choose to not be swayed by factual accounts by their friends/relatives whose word can be taken to the bank. It's their loss.

untill they visit its hard to wrap your head around how life is in the villages

We have stopped trying to explain it to people. When they hear we are moving to Florida to a development they ask if there is a pool and a place to play cards. They also ask if we are going to find a part time job so we don't get bored. :shocked:

....Yeah.. Like it's not boring in the Great Lakes region when you have to dig 3 ft of wet packed snow away from your garage door to be able to drive out to play cards at the town senior center that offers card playing once a week, and if you don't slide off the roadway coming home on glare ice, you come home to the driveway having been plowed shut by the city or Township snow plows, and so you get your shovel out of the trunk to try to chip away at the 1-ton pile to try to drive up to your house, but you can't do it by hand....and you can't park in the street because of the snow plows coming again, and the neighbors' driveways are plowed shut too.

Yup. It's only boring for 9 months of the year there...and who likes sunshine, anyway?

Quite frankly - WHO CARES what they think?

I live in So. Fla. in a "senior community."
No disrespect but most people here hardly ever go out except to dinner once in a while and then home and to bed. B O R I N G! (to me at least).

People here are asking why am I moving. I tell them there is nothing here and they say oh what do you expect to do - you're not a kid!
Obviously they don't know me very well! LOL (mentally I am about 10 - maybe 12????).

Just bought in TV and CAN NOT WAIT to get up there. Watch out people - Mr. & Mrs. UGOTME are coming up !!!!

:boxing2: