Some responses. Of course we have funerals. St. Tim's had 209 last year. AND we have funeral homes.


Children aren't allowed to LIVE here but that doesn't mean most of us don't like...LOVE children.


Most of us are NOT party animals and enjoy our homes. And enjoying entertaining people in our homes, particularly family.


Doctors and dentists live among us too. Except they are now retired.


I think six years of thinking about a move is a long time. I think you have finally come to a conclusion that will put your heart and mind at rest.


BUT....I have the opinion that you have missed a wonderful opportunity for a lot of joy.....and a decent investment too... AND I am not selling anything. All of those homes that will be built in the new area of Fruitland Park will have people LINED up to buy them. Our home purchased in September of 2011 is now valued on Zillow and Trulia at about 30% above what we paid for it. Folks who have sold in our new village have sold for much more than they paid. BUT THAT is not the point at all.


The real reason I have answered is that I am glad I am here enjoying my life and you will be there enjoying your life. Most of us have read your posts over the last six years with interest, enjoyed your recipes and patiently or impatiently answered your questions. The Villages isn't for everyone, but it is making a lot of people very happy. It is our home, our town and our place of happiness.


Wishing you happiness Senior. I think you would have liked us if you met us who post a lot on this forum. The printed word is not how humans were made to communicate. Sometimes just looking into someone's eyes makes their words more sincere, more palatable, and more understandable. And a genuine, heartfelt hug can cure many a misunderstanding.

I'm pasting this post on my fridge. Every point is spot-on for us, and it is absolutely the best response on this topic--and could be our exact history, down to and including opening the place up back north, finding $2000 worth of repairs to be done, and wishing we were back in TV. When we were there, we'd miss here, and vice-versa. Finally, when we were here one summer, we didn't miss there anymore. Selling was the right idea for us.

Traveling in the summer is the answer to the heat, and we have many plans.

Last night I spent two hours on the phone with our son, watching a Pirates game, talking hockey and old Mustangs, sending each other web site links. He rarely could give me two hours when we were in Michigan. Now I get to interact with him more than ever. And when they visit us or we them, we get them 24/7.

Warmth, travel, TV's offerings...This is the best ever for us.

:BigApplause: Nice post CFrance - says it all!

Six years? Did not retire until 3 years ago
 

Six years? Did not retire and close our business until three years ago. It was yet a while after that when we visited The Villages.

WE had learned of it from some people who came into our store raving about it. In the long run, none of them ever moved there. However, they did enjoy their visits......just as we did. Just as others do. Sometimes the ties that bind are stronger than strangers.

WE have vacationed in Florida every one of our almost fifty years of marriage. It was research that came of familiarity with the state.

I assure you we will enjoy our lives, having the best of both worlds, while retaining our Vermont home.

We are looking forward to wintering in Florida and also enjoying summer getaways to coastal Maine.......but keeping our house.
Right now we are thoroughly enjoying our three season screened sun porch and expansive deck. Perfect weather. I just told my husband he should have a big hot tub installed off the Trex deck.

Our son is flying east to visit us next week.........the following week our daughter is visiting us once school is out. Looking forward to seeing the grand children.

Our lives are all full. We have wonderful neighbors and have seen each other through births, deaths, graduations, weddings, baptisms, etc. That is life. In the long run, winter is short.
The older one gets, the faster it passes.

The kids have assured us that no matter where we are, they will come and visit. Still having great memories of our two weeks at the Maine seacoast during our big family reunion last August.

I doubt if we will have regrets. Moving is expensive. Easier to just take vacations to different areas of our beautiful country than to sell everything and start over again. Again, our roots run deep here.

Plus I know for a fact he will complain about the summer heat.
That is a major consideration. Not to mention the skin problem; an auto immune disease. Today it is 80 degrees but we haven't turned on our air conditioning yet as the humidity is low.....but if you sit in the sunshine it is hot. We have lots of huge shade trees plus the three season porch with an octagon roof over it and paddle fans on ceiling.....which makes it ten degrees or even 15 degrees cooler in the shade (so hubby thinks).......plus mornings are cool, evenings are cool....it doesn't stay oppressively hot day and night. After much serious consideration, we have made the right decision........and will just enjoy our winter getaways to Florida beaches..........not hurricane season then.

Senior... It's time to give it up. As our son loves to say, Acknowledge and move on!

Hi Senior Citizen:

If you read what you just stated you'll have your answer.. Kinda of looks like a list of "why nots" far outnumber the positives. I'm in your age range and not full time cause I have to pay for the house I just purchased. Working harder now that I have my Villages home.

I absolutely love it there and everything about it. I can't find any negatives because I know nothing's perfect and new life...when I can get to it has everything I want.

YEP, what she said. (Another insightful and to the point post by CFRANCE).

I've always said this joint isn't for everyone.

Man, I can't type. Acknowledge and move on.

Thank you. I do believe we've done that.
 

Thank you for your astute remarks. I have taken everything to heart, believe me.

Although THE VILLAGES will remain a definite option for winter home rentals as escape from the snow/ice.......we plan to split the "snowbird destination" by choosing a different place each winter; The Villages rentals, alternate Florida beachfront locations or Arizona desert location each winter.........as an "escape from the cold and snow" yet always have "home" to return to. At the moment, thinking "after Christmas holidays" would be a good time to leave the frozen north. Something to look forward to; we've already been searching the rentals in Fl. and AZ.

Thanks to all the snowbirds who have also "helped" form our ultimate opinion/decision..... over the years.

When in Florida, we might do one month in THE VILLAGES followed by one month at a rental condo on the Gulf of Mexico.......anyway, that's the plan for now......returning to our "home" in the north via a few side trips to visit family along the way.........which I'm sure many other "Villagers" do. As a matter of fact, I know they do.

Not everyone can take the constant heat........just as we have grown weary of the snow and cold. We figure we will start out with two months away; then add more as we see fit. It'll work for us (without giving up our home , our neighbors and our longtime friends and community).

The solution was there all along........both Florida and Arizona are beautiful in the winter time/hot in the summer time.

If that were not true, there wouldn't be so many snowbirds who have already left THE VILLAGES for return trip north to spend summers......autumns.......then back to the beautiful Villages.

The most fortunate ones have many locales to rest in......such as THE VILLAGES in the winter time.......the northern mountains in the summertime/the Maine seacoast, ditto; the Jersey shore, ditto.

They truly have "the best of all worlds"........change is good once you are retired. THE VILLAGES has some great rental options, as always. Plus close enough to Disney World for when the grandchildren all fly in.

Ditto: Vero Beach condo rentals, which are close to The DISNEY BEACH RESORT.....another great spot for visiting grandbabies......plus beautiful Sanibel Island, Florida on Gulf of Mexico; empty beaches; great seashells..........it's actually cheaper to rent in numerous places each winter than to RELOCATE and buy all new furniture, etc.

Personally, I do feel a huge burden has been lifted, after all of this contemplating. Guess we've grown accustomed to the familiarity of our huge home....which accommodates our entire family and then some, most comfortably. It would be difficult to duplicate. All of this "purging" and "downsizing" , painting, recarpeting, etc. truly did not go to waste.

We simply realized we don't want to "give our home away" for peanuts.

Once more, thank you. You've been a huge help in coming to our decision. All of you.

Wow
 

We simply realized we don't want to "give our home away" for peanuts.

And Wow Again.....
 

.
(From post #40 on this thread)

Yes that is correct
 

Yes, that is indeed correct at the moment.

Unlike other parts of the country where real estate might be seeing an increase in property values, it doesn't seem to be the case up here. Sale prices, encouraged by the realtors, seem to be extremely low. In other words, like selling the home for peanuts. Based on all of the high end remodeling we've done, it would seem like literally giving our home away.........."snowbird" renting seasonally while retaining the house, seems like the most feasible way to proceed.

Just a handful of the personal notes I've received from our "northern and southern" relatives/friends. Others have expressed similar thoughts to us.

""Sounds like a great idea and you can change it up each winter and pick a new spot or spots to see and explore. ""


""Enjoy it while you can. You have a beautiful house in Vermont. You will have the best of all worlds.
God Bless,""

""Glad to hear you've made the decision to stay and keep your home. ""

""Really does seem to make the most sense when looked at from all aspects. ""

Everyone has to live with their decisions, and if you feel you are right, then nothing else matters. There is a peace that one feels after wrestling with a tough decision, and it becomes clear to "what is right for you". It's what lets you go to sleep at night, with no worries.

Bloom where you are planted!!!!

TV is not for everyone!!! Best wishes going forward to your future health.

Thank you kindly sir
 

Thank you kindly sir.

You are correct, in that there is a peace in realizing that one can indeed have the "best of both worlds" without giving up one's family home to enjoy the blessings that Florida's climate can offer healthwise or any other way, seasonally.

Hubby cannot even take the 80 degrees up here, never mind the 90's in Florida with humidity nor the 100's in Arizona. Winter months, obviously, are totally different.

Our son in law has always said that he couldn't see leaving Vermont during the spring, summer and autumn. The weather is beautiful then..........and if one doesn't like it.....just wait a day and it changes. So, it isn't day after day of oppressive heat. Plus, the scenery is gorgeous in this low population state.....

We can manage the winter getaways quite easily without losing our home in the process. So, something to look forward to; we've already been researching 2015 winter rentals in both Arizona and all over Florida....including T.V. which certainly does get its share of "snowbirds" although sometimes maligned by the full timers.

T.V. has wonderful winter rentals........enjoyed by many.

Vermont has ski folks who just come to their ski condos for the winter months or even just for the weekends. More power to them. We don't disparage them as they bring revenue into the community........just as snowbirds bring revenue into Florida.

While winter is lovely in both states of Florida and Arizona, the summers can be brutal for those used to cooler weather.

The solution was there all along.........as a young niece said, "Change it up" meaning try out various winter spots to vacation for a few months each year. Maybe then, once we are really "older than dirt" we can pick a "forever" spot (before Green Lawn Cemetery)

We already are familiar with Florida, having vacationed there for 50 years each APRIL. Sometimes May, but usually April. A few times in the autumn. Winters will be fairly new for us. We also hope to winter in Arizona for a spell.....with the drier desert climate. Could never take that summer heat either.

It will be nothing LOST if we decide we do not care for the rental location. We will have our primary home to return to.

We just don't want to move, only to move back again.

Our adult kids have assured us they will support us and visit us no matter where we decide to "winter". T.V. isn't totally out of the picture as far as "renting a home seasonally".........in the winter months. There are plenty of pool homes for rent. Either coast of Fl. also has great beachfront condos for rent by the month. Beaches are fun for the grandkids and very peaceful and serene for us.
Nothing like getting up each morning, leaving the condo and walking across the dunes to the beach right in front, on either the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. We know plenty of quiet beaches.


Again, thank you. Our decision is not a hard one to live with at all.
Just a "practical one". This home has lots of bedrooms and bathrooms and areas to spread out when the family and six grandchildren visit us. Plus all of our neighbors have lots of grandbabies as well..........and are all very family oriented; sharing a long long history with us.

Joe, you have definitely bloomed where you were planted, so enjoy. Best wishes always.