[Cisco Kid]

Monticello Il
That's near Champaign

[cahweh1975]

In nearly all our time together (38 years in April!), my DH insisted he was moving to Florida when he retired. I, on the other hand, considered Florida to be a place where old people go while they were waiting to die. I liked Florida for the theme parks and cruise ports. It was a great place to visit, but I certainly did not want to live there! I humored him with my standard answer, "We'll see. We have lots of time to decide."

Years ago, he saw a television ad for "The Villages." He sent away for the information and decided right then and there that was where he wanted to live. He'd never seen the place, but he was convinced. At that time we weren't old enough, so it fell by the wayside.

Time went on, and last year he started talking about retiring in three years. I knew I had put it off long enough, so I scheduled our Lifestyle Visit. I was sure that once he saw the place he'd change his mind.

We drove down last September. I admit I was not impressed with the area surrounding The Villages. I was feeling rather smug, thinking there was no way he was going to want to live there.

Well, I pulled into The Villages and within five minutes I was telling him, "Oh, yeah. This is where we should retire." We hadn't even seen anything! It was so beautiful, though. I remember saying, "This would be like living in a park!" He was the one who kept telling me, "Let's give it a couple of days to see what it's really like before we decide." Who was he kidding? I'd already decided! LOL!

We came home with a change in our plans. Now, we're hoping to sell the house here and want be moved into a home in The Villages by October. We're both looking forward to the move. I check the homes for sale every day and can't wait to start seriously looking. I've seen some very nice homes come available and sell almost immediately. I worry that all the "good" homes will be gone by the time we get there! LOL! My husband assures me the perfect home for us will be there when we're ready to buy. I hope he's right.

That's my story about how we decided to move to The Villages. I can't wait to get there to really start living!

[Cantwaittoarrive]

My spouse did not want to move to TV but agreed to the 365 plan, after 1 year if she didn't like it we would move back. 6 months later she doesn't know why she was so against moving and is having the time of her life. I wanted to move to TV since I saw the commercial in the early 90's on TV and I was 33 years old. We came on 3 LSV before we bought. i always wanted to live somewhere that was warm and everyone you saw could be on vacation, TV is better! It's warm and everyone you see is living their dream!

[gomoho]

Originally Posted by gocubsgo

My husband retired 3 years ago and wanted to move down here from Chicago to play golf. I am 10 years younger than him, don't play golf or have much interest in doing anything else because I am finding it hard to locate people my age here. I am still homesick and wishing I could move back. I have a full time job down here and my horse to keep me busy until that time comes.
I know most of you are just thrilled with TV and all it has to offer and I'm sure there will be some who will lecture me and ridicule me for not being one of the ones who love it here but I can guarantee there are more like me out there who just don't "fit in".

Okay so now I know you are 51 (which is a little young for TV), but I am curious now as to what it is you would like to be doing that you can't find people here that are also interested in doing as well. I know there are several people involved in horses and rescue - have you met any of them?

My husband retired at 55 (I was 52) and we sold everything and started traveling in a motorhome. Most of the folks on the road were much older, but we had this sense of adventure and wanderlust that bonded us. So I learned very early on, it's not the age of the folks you associate with, but their common interests. We also appreciated their experience and wisdom and their lust for life even into their 90's. We went off-roading in Jeeps with a fella that was 90+ and he had the most tech savy Jeep of all of us.

Maybe if you give yourself a chance, you might just find it's not so bad here after all. Wishing you the best.

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by cahweh1975

In nearly all our time together (38 years in April!), my DH insisted he was moving to Florida when he retired. I, on the other hand, considered Florida to be a place where old people go while they were waiting to die. I liked Florida for the theme parks and cruise ports. It was a great place to visit, but I certainly did not want to live there! I humored him with my standard answer, "We'll see. We have lots of time to decide."

Years ago, he saw a television ad for "The Villages." He sent away for the information and decided right then and there that was where he wanted to live. He'd never seen the place, but he was convinced. At that time we weren't old enough, so it fell by the wayside.

Time went on, and last year he started talking about retiring in three years. I knew I had put it off long enough, so I scheduled our Lifestyle Visit. I was sure that once he saw the place he'd change his mind.

We drove down last September. I admit I was not impressed with the area surrounding The Villages. I was feeling rather smug, thinking there was no way he was going to want to live there.

Well, I pulled into The Villages and within five minutes I was telling him, "Oh, yeah. This is where we should retire." We hadn't even seen anything! It was so beautiful, though. I remember saying, "This would be like living in a park!" He was the one who kept telling me, "Let's give it a couple of days to see what it's really like before we decide." Who was he kidding? I'd already decided! LOL!

We came home with a change in our plans. Now, we're hoping to sell the house here and want be moved into a home in The Villages by October. We're both looking forward to the move. I check the homes for sale every day and can't wait to start seriously looking. I've seen some very nice homes come available and sell almost immediately. I worry that all the "good" homes will be gone by the time we get there! LOL! My husband assures me the perfect home for us will be there when we're ready to buy. I hope he's right.

That's my story about how we decided to move to The Villages. I can't wait to get there to really start living!

Loved your story.

[Jhooman]

My Dad and his wife moved to The Villages seven years ago. Several months after their arrival my Dad required open heart surgery in Leesburg. I traveled from California to visit and be of help.

I called my husband to tell him my Dad was doing well, but let me tell you about THE VILLAGES!!!!! I went on and on about how dynamic this community was, he listened and said, sure.

Six months later I returned with the husband for a visit. 45 minutes after arriving, he said, I could live here. We looked at property and arranged for a Lifestyle visit the next year. We gave our kid six year notice that we would be moving out of state, we wanted her to be prepared.

Fast forward, here we are in The Villages. My Dad's wife passed away two years ago, but my Dad is still thriving. It's been wonderful being near my Dad and living in a lovely place. We have made grand friends too, we feel we are part of a layered community.

Our kid visited last year and realized why we had moved here, she was finally pleased for us. We miss her and the grandchildren but we love our life here in The Villages.

[LvmyPug2]

Like everyone else, the beauty of this place blew us away but for us the deciding factor was the people. We knew when we retired we would most likely move to a place where we knew no one. We visited TV 5 or 6 times and each time we were struck by the friendlines of people. Strangers would strike up a conversation with us at a drop of a hat (something that never happened in the city where we lived). One trip, we rented a golf cart and were completely lost. We were pulled over to the side and were looking at the map. A man stopped, asked where we were trying to get to and then just turned his cart around and told us to follow him....a good 20 min out of his way.

We moved here 18 months ago and I can say we couldn't be happier. People are very outgoing and we have found that even folks who have been here a while are willing to invite new neighbors into their circle of friends. Before moving here, we were busy with work and tended to be a bit shy and sort of homebodies but now, we too chat with strangers, help visitors find their way and throw impromptu get togethers for friends and neighbors.

[Lbmb24101]

Originally Posted by 2BNTV

I was wondering what was some of the thoughts behind moving to TV?

What finally made you decide this was the place to move to?

I am especially interested if your spouse initially thought, "no way", and what changed their mind?

Did anyone move with their spouse being reluctant to move?

Did you buy on your first trip to TV?

Yes, we bought in our first visit.
The main attraction for us was the accessibility by golf carts of businesses, that was THE thing for us
One can find pools, golf, tennis etc in other places
We never thought we would retire in FL
But being able to go places by carts did us in!!

[mjdollard]

We had been looking at various 55 communities for many years, her parents had been in FL for a long time and we were sold that it is what we wanted to do. If you had a choice of NY or FL is it really that hard of a choice?
We had really liked a place on Tampa Bay and decided to visit her parents and then go over there and make a deal.
I had heard of TV but had never seen an ad, she was dead set against it but humored me and we came down 2 days early and stayed in the Hampton Inn to look, leave and never come back. After a day and a half we took off to see her parents before leaving for Apollo Beach. On the drive over there she was talking about the course we should play golf on that Saturday and I reminded her we had to be down in Apollo Beach that day.
She said that TV was the best place and that was her decision (mine to) to buy there. I am serious , I skidded off Rt 301 into the grass.
We have sold our home, banked the cash, downsized, decided what will not make the move and probably use an ABF (all TOTV information) if we can get a small one. Be there in March to chose (a Begonia), move in the fall.
So, to answer your questions, TV had all the things we were looking for. Being able to get around by golf cart is critical, especially when you get older and driving is a challenge, you keep you freedom. The lck of mobility is what ended her parents lifestyle.
We decided on our first trip, the second was just shopping and the third is buying.

I was surprised when she changed her mind so fast. When I offered to move first and she could come when she retired I was surprised that she knew those words.

[stuckinparadise]

We visited our friends who live in a CYV shortly after they moved to TV. That was 5 years ago, I was only 52, and I fell in love with the place. My husband also loved it and we decided the Villages was the place to spend the rest of our lives together. Being retired military, we moved quite often and now we want to stay put and have fun. We will both retire (for the second time) in June and will move into our house in Tamarind Grove on the fifteenth. What I love the most is the uplifting atmosphere and the neat and clean appearance of TV. I'm just now learning to play golf but I also love the dancing in the squares and all the activity that goes on daily. Our children love the place and can't wait to visit once we get there for good.