[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

IMO there is only ONE MAIN reason to NOT like the Villages and it is NOT even the Village's Fault. The problem has to do with Scientists' predictions for the continuous warming of Fl. , the US, and the whole globe for the next 30 years. I won't beat up this subject more than it has already been beaten up in the recent past. But, personally, I have difficulty being outdoors and doing any activity (except maybe swimming) in the afternoon SUMMER sun. Some other people say that they love the HEAT and HUMIDITY. So, for me, that is about 6 months out of the year and about 8 hours of EACH summer day that I am RELAGATED to the indoors.
......Apparently, people that are snowbirds or full-year residents that LOVE heat and humidity - tend to disagree with me?

Heat and humidity will always beat the freezing cold, ice and snow for me. You take your life in your hands to travel in that mess. Heat and humidity does not threaten your life to go to the grocery store. But, that's just me.

[PersonOfInterest]

After my third time of acquiring an STD here in the Villages I've calmed down and now enjoy more of the other activities the Villages has to offer.

Of course I'm kidding! But there are some things about the Villages that one could perceive as negatives, but for the most part its a great place to live IF you want to be active and involved in sports, games and hobbies. Most residents of TV are here for FUN and are very active in sports, games, hobbies and clubs. I believe relationships take a back seat to all the activities. Most have lots of 'friends' they engage with, but few close relationships. There seems to be little time put into relationships compared to activities. The commonalities are different here also. There's less chance that you have family here or a friend you went to school with. Ties with family are remote as are close friends of many years. The Villages is a usually short term place of residence in the passage of life. I doubt there are many who have been here 20+ years. And most of that is about the Year-Round residents, with even less association for those who are Seasonal residents. Is the Villages your HOME or is it your playground? For most it is not home, but just a place to have FUN. Even many full time residents spend a good deal of time going back HOME to visit with family. TV residents are burdened with high costs for much of what's available along with poor service and workmanship in many cases. Its hard to find someone to paint your house, groom your dog, install a pool, Enclose your Lanai and on and on. Most businesses and contractors in the area have too much business already and don't necessarily need yours. The activities are plentiful, but often times too crowded to enjoy. There are 'unfair' practices that you will have to accept from a community that is run by the Family. They are in full control of virtually everything and as a resident you are at their mercy. Try to get more pickleball courts in your area or remove the unfair tee time advantage of large groups (over 32), or get free access to recreation gyms and exercise equipment as other retirement communities have, and you'll quickly find that it is not going to happen even if you amassed hundreds of followers in agreement. There is no petitioning or voting to change what you may not like.

I feel that its still one of the best places to live in retirement, but you need to be accepting of its downsides. Most don't even notice the downsides or even care because they're just here to have some fun. I'm a full time resident and I like and Enjoy TV, but I do recognize its not Utopia, and I'm OK with that.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Fastskiguy

I love your response to the std comments...gonna have to try that. You hear that comment all of the time, just a wild rumor that won't die. It's crazy!

As for TV..
Does everybody wish it was a little less hot and humid in the summer? Does everybody wish there was less traffic? I mean, no place is perfect but this place is pretty darn good. Easily the best place we've ever seen. If we knew of a better place we'd move there, right?

Joe

Traffic? Did you say traffic? We just drove from south Florida from a cruise. Now THAT'S TRAFFIC. What we have here is not traffic..........at all.

[geobar]

Sorry to inform you that "The Villages" does have a bad reputation going back 20 or more years.
.
Seems when doing your homework you were using the wrong books or media.
.
Do you read the "Daily (we will print only what we want you to know) Sun"? Never anything negative is published about TV as it's printed to be another sales tool.
.
In time you will learn many negatives if happen to talk to people who have lived there for many years.
.
If you live South of CR-44 that perhaps was your first mistake as you do not have decent Shopping and many Restaurants. You need to drive north. Too bad the new Morse generation is only concerned about making even more money than they need.
.
Presently they are more concerned with building "Charter Schools" (which happens to be good for students) and low-cost housing so people will work in The Villages and can send their children to the Charter Schools. This is not a bad idea for their well-being if you think about this as it's their solution to survive. To line their pockets they need workers to survive building homes in TV and if they ever decide to build shopping and restaurants for your convenience.
.
How many "Publix" food stores are open South of CR-44 in The Villages? Just how many people live on the south side? I will now call it the "South Side" from now on in my comments. Believe it or not, Recently I messaged my last Village salesperson for an answer. No reply at all seems this as well also on the do not tell list.
.
When we built in "Amelia" in 2009 we were told by the cloned salespeople they would never build South of CR-466A. Then in 2018, we moved to "Pine Hills" and again were told that the Morses have no desire to build South of CR-44. Little did we know they had purchased these properties many years before by using other companies they own.
.
Sorry to make your day.

Originally Posted by Michael 61

I’m still a fairly new Villages resident. I took my first vacation since moving here (two week Caribbean cruise). While on the cruise, I proudly told people I had just moved to Florida, and The Villages in particular. Gushed enthusiastically, as I talked about my beautiful new retirement home. Over and over, was met with people questioning my decision, asking if I had done my “homework” ahead of time, and stating that my “honeymoon”will soon wear off. I asked these folks if they had ever visited the Villages - none of them had, but all seemed to have a very strong opinion, mostly negative about The Villages. It became tiresome, having to dispute the false rumors and erroneous stats that they spewed out. It became evident that these strangers did not want me to be happy with my new community and decision I had made. I was frankly taken back that so many people wanted me to feel bad. I guess this is something I will have to get to used to. After awhile, I just told people I was from Central Florida near Orlando, and left it at that. Has anyone else experience this when traveling outside of ‘The Bubble”?

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

Summer heat and humidity.

That's what A/C is for. There are so many activities that can be done indoors when the heat and humitidy is oppressive. Personally, I love indoor stuff to do. I also love working outdoors in the yard but do it in the morning in summer months. Up north, there is no good time to work in the yard in winter because everything is frozen. LOL.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Garywt

Up north we stay inside during the winter, in Florida you stay inside during the summer.

Back in Minnesota we embraced all the seasons. Winter was a challenge but we were outside quite a lot doing winter gardening.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by MidWestIA

Let em prattle on - there is NO PLACE with more to do than here. And golf carts mean even when you are old and can't drive a car you can still get by on a golf cart. I have to admit seeing a bunch of old people in one place kinda shocks me sometimes - it's like oh yeah I'm old

In a nutshell!

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

It's about population per square mile. And when IS too much, too much. I have been in Alaska in the summer. You can have a wonderful time anywhere around Anchorage. They had multi-use paths 20 years ago. Bikes and rollerblades in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. I don't remember any Golf Carts there, but it has been about 15 years ago for me. Saw plenty of bears, moose, wild goats, and wild sheep. Lot's of insects in low areas and no snakes or gators. Also, the fishing was good, and Arctic Grayling taste better than trout. And it is possible to find GOLD still today.
......My point is that increased human density does NOT equate to increase "quality of life". And Alaska has great secondary schools for children. In many ways, Alaska is more like Europe than the lower 48.

Agreed, and good points, especially the one about density per square mile. I've only been to Alaska once (went there by accident) but the points made, make sense.

However The Villages isn't about population density. The name says it all. Villages. Our Village is maybe four blocks off El Camino Real, which can be a real traffic bear, but in our Village it is all about peace, quiet, and neighbors interacting. The most traffic noise we ever hear back here is the garbage truck twice a week, and the occasional landscaping crew.

It is that way, living space - wise, all over The Villages. The Villages grow OUT, not UP. Most of us come from cities where stacking the people on top of one another can lead (not necessarily all the time, of course) to housing developments where the negatives predominate. Here, in our Village, the new villages south of 466 might as well be on the moon.

The one exception to the above, is that infrastructure here doesn't seem to keep up with development--though, realistically, it is probably that way in just about every area in America experiencing explosive growth. Example, that road construction zone up near Sam's Club on 441 (and I use the term "construction" very loosely, as there seems to be precious little constructing actually going on there) is a traffic nightmare and has been for years, particularly in high snowbird season, though that is a political, not a social issue. But infrastructure catches up in time. There is no reason to think that it won't here in The Villages, as well.

[jrandall]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Of course. But consider the source. Of course people whose only experience about The Villages comes from reading or watching media are going to have a negative opinion, for a very obvious reason: negativity, sensationalism and (perhaps most of all) sleaze sell publications and generate hits, both of which make money for the author and the medium involved. You will never read articles, other than an occasional local blurb, about a certain church, through "Operation Christmas Child", filling over one hundred THOUSAND shoe boxes filled with hygiene items, school supplies and "fun things" that are then distributed to needy children in many third-world countries. You won't read about the regular donations many area churches make to the food shelves of the surrounding community. You won't read about neighborhoods organizing to help one another with tasks such as pet-sitting, helping with various tasks, arranging and/or offering rides to fellow community members for necessities such as shopping, medical supplies, etc. That is merely the very small tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to all the positive things that happen here on a regular basis.

So--keep on gushing the positives. I do, at every opportunity.

That is absolutely true. Thanks for sharing. I have lived here 11 years and I very grateful to do so.

[Bay Kid]

People are just jealous. All my family always want to come to The Villages.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

People are just jealous. All my family always want to come to The Villages.

Indeed!

Want to know just how much the negativity (media, word-of-mouth), is slowing development in TV? Well, we have some friends up north who want to come down for a week on the Lifestyle program. I recall when we did that, maybe seven years ago now. We called at the end of January and had no problem arranging a place in early March. Now? We called on Thursday last and got our answer.

May! And the person who makes those arrangements for The Villages indicated that "they fill up FAST".

There are and will always be those whose greatest joy in life is casting aspersions. But The Villages isn't the largest retirement community on the planet and growing explosively, because of the negatives.

[DonnaNi4os]

Originally Posted by Kenswing

I just tell people that we live in Wildwood. Most have no clue where that is. lol

If I told people I know back home that I live in Wildwood they would think I was living at the Jersey shore! 🤣

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

Heat and humidity will always beat the freezing cold, ice and snow for me. You take your life in your hands to travel in that mess. Heat and humidity does not threaten your life to go to the grocery store. But, that's just me.

Yup! Many, many more die from cold weather than do from hot weather...

I'll take my chances in the heat...

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by geobar

Sorry to inform you that "The Villages" does have a bad reputation going back 20 or more years.
.
Seems when doing your homework you were using the wrong books or media.
.
Do you read the "Daily (we will print only what we want you to know) Sun"? Never anything negative is published about TV as it's printed to be another sales tool.
.
In time you will learn many negatives if happen to talk to people who have lived there for many years.
.
If you live South of CR-44 that perhaps was your first mistake as you do not have decent Shopping and many Restaurants. You need to drive north. Too bad the new Morse generation is only concerned about making even more money than they need.
.
Presently they are more concerned with building "Charter Schools" (which happens to be good for students) and low-cost housing so people will work in The Villages and can send their children to the Charter Schools. This is not a bad idea for their well-being if you think about this as it's their solution to survive. To line their pockets they need workers to survive building homes in TV and if they ever decide to build shopping and restaurants for your convenience.
.
How many "Publix" food stores are open South of CR-44 in The Villages? Just how many people live on the south side? I will now call it the "South Side" from now on in my comments. Believe it or not, Recently I messaged my last Village salesperson for an answer. No reply at all seems this as well also on the do not tell list.
.
When we built in "Amelia" in 2009 we were told by the cloned salespeople they would never build South of CR-466A. Then in 2018, we moved to "Pine Hills" and again were told that the Morses have no desire to build South of CR-44. Little did we know they had purchased these properties many years before by using other companies they own.
.
Sorry to make your day.

Yawn... Same old, same old...

[Bilyclub]

We used to cruise 3 or 4 times a year during the winter and met many people from TV onboard. In fact, before we actually drove to TV, most of our info was from cruisers and those free golf for life commercials. We should have listened to those people way back then and built a second house in TV instead of Rome WI, but we were young and dumb. We did meet a small amount of people that bailed out of TV and went to OTOW because they felt TV was too busy activity wise.