A cranky woman from Stonecrest (just north of and bordering on TV), said to me one day, "Oh.....I'd never live in The Villages.....it's nothing more than a PLAYGROUND!!!"

I didn't see anything wrong with that concept.

A friend of mine upon learning I was moving to Florida said, " The bugs are so big down there. If they fly into you they'll knock you down!" :-)

What's really funny is they don't seem to mind the MILLIONS of people,
horrible traffic and taxes and lousy weather where they live!

People are AFRAID of CHANGE and you're daring to move on to something new!
How dare you? :clap2:

Mr. UGOTME, Congratulations on your upcoming move to The Villages. And what village will you and Mrs. UGOTME be rocking and rolling in?

Me either. After 40 hours of being around my coworkers, I am ready for a playground. Let the good times roll!

And sometimes the snowdrifts are so big in Chicago that I am afraid I will get lost in one. :).

Always enjoyed 'visiting' (own home) The Villages.
Upon 'Full time', I must consistently remind myself to focus on the positive. 'It's a beautiful day...'.

It is beautiful.

Friendly? Hmmmm.... (depends on one's definition).

Safe?
Well..... (depends on one's definition and experiences)
Golf Carts: How many times has one had a golf cart pull in front of a moving car?
Rules of the road when losing one's lane, "MERGE" also includes "YIELD" ...does one pull out in front of a Semi as one is MERGING into an Interstate Highway? ...similarity is Semi vs Car & Car vs Golf Cart....WHICH is going to 'lose'? I have seen golf carts pull out without YIELDING so many times it is just past ridiculous. I have seen a golf cart HIT a pedestrian in a cross walk due to the golf cart not coming to a stop at a STOP sign with a pedestrian cross walk (how many pedestrian cross walks are there?..not many!). The pedestrian placed a hand out and JUMPED as the golf cart hit...therefore pedestrian was pushed forward in the air and landing on feet. Pedestrian yelled at driver and then walked away...no 'report').
I have also experienced a Golf Cart driver running a stop sign & pulling in front of my car (after I applied the breaks with much force so as not to hit said golf cart). The Golf Cart driver's response to this experience was a 'Friendly' one finger wave (as one might imagine, the golf cart driver was using the middle finger).
Bicycles - riders must have a 'suicide wish'. Why in the world would one ride on a busy road with 'narrow' lanes combined with Senior drivers? Seriously!!

It is Beautiful.

With a name like tomcat, you might be single.
Whether so or not, you'll find it easy to make friends and find plenty of companions male and female for most any activity. I got away from a community too small, too few retired, too little to do, the feeling that life was stale and a rut.
TV is a breath of fresh air, childlike wonder, and a float on the clouds.
Kitty

No matter where you live, there are always people that look at the grass is greener on the other side, but i have lived here for 11 years, and yes the developer passed away, and the children have focused on selling real estate, and took away many amenities, but i have lived in a few places, and none have compared to where I live in the Villages, if you find me a better place to live, and i will go...but doubt i'll find one.

We bought this past December and haven't quite settled in yet, however, three of our four children have been down to visit and check out the parents new digs. The youngest (23) was the funniest. After a golf cart ride all around she announced, "I want to live here, this is like Disney World for grown ups" we all died laughing!!!!

Or how about the WIND being so powerful in Chicago that you cannot walk against it......and then there's the ICE....!!!

Think positively about all the negatives: If you move here with lots of negative expectations, you will never be disapointed. Instead you will continually be surprised at how good things are. :jester:

We will close on 7/17 on our home in Hillsborough. The southern point of TV - about 5 -10 minutes to Paddock square.

So we will take longer to get to LSL or SS - who cares?


:pepper2:

Gosh this thread continues to thrive supporting the obsession many of us have with this place call The Villages. My wife and I never gave Florida as a retirement place until we visited The Villages. My wife is animated, very personable and social always smiling. On the other hand I am more serious more guarded. Material things were acquired not for me but to rove myself a good provider for my family and their future needs. I keep both feet on the ground attempting to remove as much emotion as I can in order to make logical decisions. This approach cuts as much as it kicks because in a quest for sound decision I sometimes lose the joy and excitement in say a purchase of a house, etc.

so this is me opening up. I loved the guys I meet on the courses each morning and can say that there were only two guys in seven years that I had a needed to feint patient and polite.

The Villages is a place of beauty and serenity for most. People are upbeat polite and courteous and have a great amount of energy.

I do thank God for giving me this opportunity to live out the rest of my days.

One more thing. I have a fondness for most of the members on TOTV. Thank you for listening to me. for providing valuable information and for scolding me when I was wrong. No I am not saying all of this because I had a hole in one.;)

If TV was the Garden of Eden we wouid still have the boo birds. Dictatorial government, Overgrown plantings, snakes----- on and on

Florida
 

Gracie - Why don't you like Florida?

It does sound like a paradise for singles....indeed.

What about for old married soul mates who have been married for 50 years?

I'd like to hear from some of them..........

After visiting florida several times and in several locations,I came to the conclusion that Florida was not for me. In 2005 we were asked to come to the villages for a visit. After seeing the villages, there was never any question or doubt where we would retire. We love every aspect of The Villages and the majority of the people. I can think of hundreds of places throughout the US that I would rather be located; however, not without the lifestyle that can only be found in The Villages.

:spoken:

"Oh, we can get so much more house outside The Villages."

"Oh, there are just too many people in The Villages."

"Oh, The Villages is too far north for the really warm Florida weather."

"Oh, The Villages is above the frost line."

"Oh, one of these days when The Villages is on its own and the developer is gone it will suffer from poor governance."

"Oh, those planned communities are stiffling with all the rules and regulations."

"Oh, I mean you can only play so much golf."

"Oh, The Villages is a politically conservative nightmare for those who have progressive ideas. "

"Oh, you know The Villages is rampant with STDs."

.....and on and on and on.

I've heard all of these, usually delivered with smug smiles and condescending tones, and yet we still built a house in The Villages that we love. But more than the home we love the active lifestyle.

I conclude that it is human nature to criticize those things that we want, but do not have. I probably do it to. "Man, those Corvettes sure do cost a lot of money," he said as he watched it cruise by, and never took his eyes off it until it was out of sight.

more odd comments.....
 

or how about this one from my sister in law....the whole villages is going to swallowed up by a giant sinkhole hahahhaha...she has never been there

Married 52 years! Have lived here 6 years. Best decision we ever made!

I don't even play golf!

When my husband and I finally do move to the Villages, and we have our house and settled, I think I will tell my friends and family that I finally moved. I do not want to hear those negative comments from anyone while I am in the process of moving. I also do not tell anyone that I am visiting the Villages anymore either when I come down and see. Thank you for all your encouraging words!

We are currently renting while looking for a house. I was dead set against moving here except temporarily to indulge my husband (who wants to live here). Well-we have lived here about a little more than a week and I love it. I cannot believe how friendly everyone is and the amount of activities there are. Everyone is so welcoming. Our only dilemma is figuring out where we want to live! Right now we are in Santiago and love it.

People who have never visited The Villages do not have a clue!!! You can hear about TV from others, read about TV, watch about it on television or watch the TV video, but until you come here and live it, you can not fully wrap your mind around what a wonderful, clean, beautiful place The Villages is. Not only that, 95 percent of the population are just as wonderful.

i don't care what others think...where i move...unless they are buying me a home

Completely agree with this statement. We came, we saw, we bought !

What this thread provides, old posts as well as the recent ones, is absolute proof that people who have no idea what they are talking about will give unwanted advice based strictly on opinion, prejudice........

a practice not exclusive to this topic! :D

btk

Agree with you on that! I have told a few people that my hope is to eventually move to TV, maybe starting as a snowflake. I have heard the range of feedback from "Let me know when you buy, I will come to visit you" to "Are you out of your mind, Florida has hurricanes."

But unless someone else starts footing my bills, the decision will be mine!

TOMCAT, I hope you are able to find the home of your dreams someday in The Villages. :wave:

We are the few I guess that are actually leaving TV. We are heading to southern TN within the next 6 months. We miss kids, seasons and find we can buy a bigger house for much less money up there. We aren't fond of the oppressive heat here in the summer and we find it WAY too crowded in the winter.

No, cubs, I think there are a lot more than anyone realizes or admits. We did, eight months ago, and on the street of 24 homes where I lived there are four homes where the original owners moved out of The Villages and out of Florida.

Wow... rubiconI enjoyed reading your post. I'm happy that you're happy.
We're having fun, now about that hole in one, when and where. :highfive:

I am moving to the villages as a snowbird in October. We have visited only 2x. However each time we felt the "senior energy", the "gusto for life", the live life to its fullest" and "this is the atmosphere to do it in" everywhere we went. As we age, we want to feel life again not sitting in the recliner watching it pass us by. It is our journey, not our children nor anyone else. It may not be for some but we will embrace it.

That's very interesting! I know of another couple who moved down here 8 years ago. They stayed 2, moved back north, moved BACK down here and now are getting out for good. I guess it's an acquired taste down here that we haven't acquired.

gocubsgo, Here's hoping for the best for you when you move to Tennessee. Someone I used to sing with in choir moved to Fairfield Glade, an active adult community near Crossville, TN about 3 years ago. She loves it down there. Her kids still live in the Chicago area, so it was a good move for her and her husband.

Yep, good fit for some, but not for everyone.

Every time I read the threads here I want to visit. Today I do not want to face another New England winter. I am seriously considering renting for a year. I have a feeling I will buy very shortly after I arrive. Thank you for your posts and thank you Talk of the Villages for this site

I have lived in Tampa 16 years now having been a corporate transfer from
N.Y.

I will NEVER like Summer in Florida.

That being said, we cannot wait to sell our house in Tampa and
Move into our new house in Gilchrist.

Florida is not for everyone. The best thing you can do before buying
Is to live here in the Summer and see if you can do it.

I moved to TV about four years ago with a lot of negative comments from friends and even my doctor ringing in my head. It was difficult leaving everyone in Long Island NY since its the only home I have ever known, and being single was scary since I knew no one in TV.

Then something happened to make me realize this is the place for me -- one day I was leaving Savannah Center and saw a lady having some difficulty with her golf cart. As I got closer I saw she was trying to attach her walker to the cart with bungee cords. I offered help and it took a moment to attach everything. She commented that she must be getting old because she's never had trouble before with the bungee cords. She told me as she drove away, she was 92! I realized right there and then that it's the way I want to approach 92 -- tying my walker onto my golf cart!!! Talk about a great place to live healthy and enjoy life - unbelievable!

Feel this hug. The folks senior to me are my heros and heroines. Been young and loved it. Now old-er and loving it too. It is so nice to be among friends who understand me at this stage of my life. Peers are great.:BigApplause: