[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by biker1

Wrong. The marriage penalty kicks in when two earners have close to the same income and are in the middle and upper marginal tax brackets. A married couple will pay more in taxes, combined, than if they were single. Married filing single results in an even larger marriage penalty. It pays to be married if you have one earner or there is a large difference in earnings and you are in the lower marginal tax brackets. Those are the facts and singles do not subsidize married people.

What you have in effect said is that there are rare exceptions to the disadvantage of being single. You make my point by calling it a marriage penalty in the rare event that someone coupled should ever pay a higher percentage than someone single.

Is scoffing and disdain as in your other posts really necessary to the discussion?

[biker1]

Go back and reread your own posts before accusing me of anything. Your disdain of married people is most obvious and I don't whine about being done wrong by single people.

One more time, a married couple will pay more in combined taxes if they have similar incomes and are in the higher tax brackets than if they were single. This applies to a lot of people in this country and is hardly a rare event. What part of that are you having trouble with?

Originally Posted by kittygilchrist

What you have in effect said is that there are rare exceptions to the disadvantage of being single. You make my point by calling it a marriage penalty in the rare event that someone coupled should ever pay a higher percentage than someone single.

Is scoffing and disdain as in your other posts really necessary to the discussion?

[Bonny]

Originally Posted by janmcn

This rule about excluding people who live in Lake, Marian, or Sumter Counties was not in place when I moved to TV in 2000. It was added about a decade ago, as I recall, because of residents with friends or family in the area.

To people who say that you knew the rules when you moved here, I say that is not necessarily true since those rules can and are changed periodically by the developer.

A good example of this was during the 'for sale sign' debacle in 2012 when residents, who previously were allowed signs were now banned from having signs in their yards, even though their deed restriction (some signed years ago) said that signs are permitted.

Bottom line is the developer, who writes the deed restrictions, can and does change them.

I have also lived here since 2000 and I knew then that the tri county area, Lake , Sumter & Marion, were excluded to being able to get a pass. My daughter lives in Marion and that is how I know that.

[VT2TV]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

Interesting that you don't see the single villager as being 'greedy' [your word - not mine] for wanting something they knew that the 'rules/covenants/restrictions' do not allow for.

Are amenities not charged to a property and passes issued to resident[s] of that property?

Originally Posted by CFrance

You can't go to the pools; you can't go to the rec centers; you can't join any of the clubs (because you can't get into the rec centers to go to the meetings); you can't take any of the classes; you have to pay an outsiders' fee for Lifelong Learning College classes. You can't get a gate pass or drive on any of the multi-modal paths. Oh wait... I guess you can if you're from Stonecrest.

Of course you can't------They DON"T live here.



Actually I think it is past time for this thread to end. People are making snarky comments to and about others. We especially don't need comments from people (who don't live here) criticizing Villagers when they have no idea how the system works and the agreements everyone makes to live here. If they are planning to move to the Villagers, let this be a lesson to them to ask questions, and see things in writing before they sign on the contract.


First of allwhen the OP was talking about married people getting 2 permanent ID's--that is not true. I get 1 ID and my husband gets 1 ID-just like all the singles. I cannot use my husbands ID to get anybody into anything, so what advantage is that. Neither one of us can invite local people to join us in the pools, or on the gold course, or dances in the rec center, etc. Maybe I misunderstood the comment originally, but that was what started this whole thing. So what advantages concerning that do married people have??

As far as paying the same or different costs per person for the amenities, that is a battle you do not even want to get into. I do not have children, but my whole life, I have had to help pay for schools, buses, school supplies, etc. for the greater good of the community. I certainly had no choice. I am equally sure that there ane numerous people who have also had to pay for things they did not want or need.

I have only been here for 4 years, but it has been an issue ever since I have been here where people who live outside the area, close by, have wanted, and at times saw that they were told that they would have access to everything in the villages. People who live close-by, but not in the Villages have been in our swimming pools, our rec. centers, on our golf courses, pickleball and tennis courts, etc. Some people of course deny it, but I know most of it to be true. Any I don't think any of that will ever go away. So, I think it is only reasonable that many people (married or single) want to hold on tight to only allowing acces to these activities to those who are actual home owners. Otherwise, why would ANYONE pay the extra money to buy in the Villages if just anyone living in the area can use the facilities.

Also as far as the amenities go , if the single people, or the snow birds , or anyone feels the fees for the amenities are un-fair, maybe people would rather pay for the usage individually. The only ammenity my husband and I use is golf, so why should we pay to keep up everything else. Some of the snow birds are only here for 3 or 4 months, so why should they pay the same as people who are here 12 months? Isn't that what this thread is about...being fair.....
BTW, the rest of what I am going to say, is being said with tongue in cheek, so before anyone things I want this to happen---I don't!!
But to be fair, and show that the Villagers are not mean, snobby people like some have said, this is about the fairest way to make things work. Since a lot of people don't use a lot of the amenities, or have 1 or 2 people in a house hold, and maybe they don't have any visitors like some who have 20 a year, do this:::::Again, this is a farce. Just open up the Villages to everyone regardless where they live. That way singles can have all the dates they want. Anyone can do anything. Take away the monthly amenity fees, and charge people for each activity they use, and for the number of people whogo with them. If I use the pool, charge me for that. If I bring 10 grandkids, then I pay the fee for each one for eah time they use that facility or activity. That way, you will only be charged for what you are actually using, and a single is not paying for grandma to bring all of her grandkids to the pool. If I invite 5 friends to play gold then I will be charged for each of my friends. That way, it will be fair to everyone, right? If Joe wants to bring 2 women with him to a dance, then he pays for 3 people, if I don't have any visitors during the year, then I don't have to pay for the wear and tear that your visitors who are using them. Do you get my drift?? Etc, etc, etc... See, that makes it fair for everyone.

Now, I know my comments may have stirred up some people, but that was not my intention-just hopefully pointing out that the Developers made the best rules that they knew how to do with a huge crowd as we have in The Villages. If people go trying to change things to suit themselves, or even to be fair to everyone like I tried too above, then their well thought system does not work. Best thing is to just realize that you may not be happy with everything we have here, but most of us love it here, and it will just ruin our lifestyle if people try to change any part of it. If you don't like something, live with it, or as many people have said, enjoy the things you can do here, and then utilize all of the other opportunities outside the Villages. I can think and list several things I personally would like to see changed also, but our rules here have been made to be fair as much as possible.

[villagerjack]

The Morse Famiily are near geniuses in creating without question the most successful model for senior or any other development for that matter, in the world. The major reason for that are the well thought out regulations that every single person signing a contract is made aware of before they purchase. Key to that is maintaining control over the amenities and not turning it over to the residents and their own self interests. If bringing dates to an event is so important, there are likely many senior developments right in our area that may accommodate this desire. The good news is that those homes are a lot less expensive and you probably will have a nice profit on your sale.