[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Kitria

I have always said that The Villages provides everything; even things to complain about..if you so choose. I choose not to find things to complain about. Life in The Villages is like no other place in the world. You can describe it to friends, and until they come and see it for themselves, they just don't have a clue what it is like. The opportunities here are endless. And hey guys, there are some young 'uns in the hills of the hysterical..err oldest side. Just because the trees are old doesn't mean we are all old. *grins* Have a great, safe holiday week.

There are young'uns everywhere in The Villages. We reverse the process when we move here.

[su2009]

In general, I love The Villages, but here is what I miss from living in a big city:
1. In The Villages, there's no big malls with big upper-end chain retailers like Macys, Nordstrom, Sports Authority. Ocala has a tiny Macys and a small Dick's Sporting Goods, but you really have to go to Atlanta or Miami if you want to find the big upper-end retailers with good sales.
2. No Trader Joes
3. There are good doctors, but no Kaiser. I loved Kaiser and really miss it.
4. No high-end prosthodontic practices. If you are a working professional and want perfect teeth built with perfect, lifelike zironia crowns with zirconia gum, you have to go to Atlanta or the Miami area. Here, there are decent dentists, but only a few prosthodontists, and no one with an in-office lab making zirconia crowns & bridges with zirconia gum. (There are, however, some dentists offering in-office denture labs, but that is not the same thing.)
5. For dealer service on a car like a Toyota or Nissan, you have to go to Leesburg. However, there are good general maintenance and body shops, and they are much more affordable than their counterparts in a big city.
6. No international airport; you have to go to Orlando or Tampa to fly out on most airlines.
----
I should note that most of what I miss is just stuff that is available only in a very large city. On the other hand, and a central reason I wanted to move here, the stores & services you use frequently are much, much, easier to get to - you can take a golf cart or drive uncrowded surface streets and go everywhere easily. There is no rush hour. The people are much nicer; if you leave an umbrella in a theater, you will likely get it back here. You also don't need an expensive security system with 24-hour monitoring, like you do in a big city; thefts and burglaries are rare in The Villages. I would never voluntarily move away from The Villages; I just wish some of the big-city conveniences would come here!

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by su2009

In general, I love The Villages, but here is what I miss from living in a big city:
1. In The Villages, there's no big malls with big upper-end chain retailers like Macys, Nordstrom, Sports Authority. Ocala has a tiny Macys and a small Dick's Sporting Goods, but you really have to go to Atlanta or Miami if you want to find the big upper-end retailers with good sales.
2. No Trader Joes
3. There are good doctors, but no Kaiser. I loved Kaiser and really miss it.
4. No high-end prosthodontic practices. If you are a working professional and want perfect teeth built with perfect, lifelike zironia crowns with zirconia gum, you have to go to Atlanta or the Miami area. Here, there are decent dentists, but only a few prosthodontists, and no one with an in-office lab making zirconia crowns & bridges with zirconia gum. (There are, however, some dentists offering in-office denture labs, but that is not the same thing.)
5. For dealer service on a car like a Toyota or Nissan, you have to go to Leesburg. However, there are good general maintenance and body shops, and they are much more affordable than their counterparts in a big city.
6. No international airport; you have to go to Orlando or Tampa to fly out on most airlines.
----
I should note that most of what I miss is just stuff that is available only in a very large city. On the other hand, and a central reason I wanted to move here, the stores & services you use frequently are much, much, easier to get to - you can take a golf cart or drive uncrowded surface streets and go everywhere easily. There is no rush hour. The people are much nicer; if you leave an umbrella in a theater, you will likely get it back here. You also don't need an expensive security system with 24-hour monitoring, like you do in a big city; thefts and burglaries are rare in The Villages. I would never voluntarily move away from The Villages; I just wish some of the big-city conveniences would come here!

I shop at Macy's all the time ONLINE.....Nordstrom's and Bloomingdales as well.

They all gift wrap and ship gifts to those living "away".

Unless you actually miss that mall experience of walking from store to store.........online shopping is the way to go.........L.L. BEAN in Maine, etc. amazon.com.........many high end stores and bargain type stores as well. Of course, you can't get the teeth online.......

Your last paragraph says it well and is the reason we moved from congested NEW JERSEY and all its malls to tiny rural Vermont 42 years ago. We learned to do without all the big city and suburban type shopping experiences and managed quite well with our small town auto dealers, etc. Do you remember trying to get out of a mall, or into it for that matter, at HOLIDAY TIME??? That's when we decided to relocate.
The traffic and congestion just got to us. Have never looked back.

Later, we'd have new neighbors who would lament that they couldn't get Philadelphia Cream Cheese at the small A&P supermarket in town.
Imagine? Now we have two huge chains, Price Chopper and Hannaford.

The Villages has much more than we do up here........so no problem for us and there is always online shopping at Macy's. They even will give you your discounts online.

[Schaumburger]

From a female TV wannabee's perspective...I live near Woodfield Mall which for those of you on TOTV who are familiar with Chicago is a very large mall -- Sears, Penneys, Nordstroms, Macys, plus about 190 smaller stores. For as close as I live to Woodfield Mall, I probably only shop there 3 or 4 times a year, and never from mid-November to Dec. 24 -- too darn crowded and parking is a nightmare. For example, this is early August, and the last time I shopped in Woodfield was in early April right before Easter. So if I had to drive 15-20 miles to the nearest mall in Ocala it would not be a serious inconvenience for me. Love the online shopping and shopping via HSN and QVC. If/When I do move to TV, I would miss having an Apple store and IKEA close by.

During my visits to TV, I have found the shopping situation to be quite adequate. As far as outlet shopping goes, I think Orlando has better (more convenient) outlet shopping than Chicago does. Just my 2 cents.

[Russ_Boston]

Really wouldn't call Sport's authority an upper end chain store (I see no difference between Dicks and Sport's). But there is one on route 200 in Ocala almost next to Dick's.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I wouldn't say I hate, but I don't like the golf cart bridge. It's a nice landmark and advertisement for TV, but it's too narrow and too steep. The tunnels that are around the rest of the Tv are a much better idea.
I live in Silver Lake and I'd also like to see another way to cross over 441/27 in my golf cart. I live almost across the street from the CVS but I have to go almost a mile out of my way to go there. A tunnel would be nice, but I don't understand why we can't cross at the lights like bicycles and pedestrians do.
I'd also like to be able to take my golf cart to the Lowe's / Sam's Club area and across 441/27 to the Best Buy Plaza.

But these are small things. I really love it here and don't "hate" any part of it.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I wouldn't say I hate, but I don't like the golf cart bridge. It's a nice landmark and advertisement for TV, but it's too narrow and too steep. The tunnels that are around the rest of the Tv are a much better idea.
I live in Silver Lake and I'd also like to see another way to cross over 441/27 in my golf cart. I live almost across the street from the CVS but I have to go almost a mile out of my way to go there. A tunnel would be nice, but I don't understand why we can't cross at the lights like bicycles and pedestrians do.
I'd also like to be able to take my golf cart to the Lowe's / Sam's Club area and across 441/27 to the Best Buy Plaza.

But these are small things. I really love it here and don't "hate" any part of it.

They do need to widen that golf cart bridge. You kind of take your life in your hands if you decide to walk across it while there are a lot of golf carts using it. Seems to have some blind spots to when you are coming up it.

[janmcn]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I wouldn't say I hate, but I don't like the golf cart bridge. It's a nice landmark and advertisement for TV, but it's too narrow and too steep. The tunnels that are around the rest of the Tv are a much better idea.
I live in Silver Lake and I'd also like to see another way to cross over 441/27 in my golf cart. I live almost across the street from the CVS but I have to go almost a mile out of my way to go there. A tunnel would be nice, but I don't understand why we can't cross at the lights like bicycles and pedestrians do.
I'd also like to be able to take my golf cart to the Lowe's / Sam's Club area and across 441/27 to the Best Buy Plaza.

But these are small things. I really love it here and don't "hate" any part of it.

I agree. There should be a tunnel under 441/27 in addition to the bridge, and how about golf cart paths on Morse Blvd north of 466 and Rio Grande with some tunnels?

[GatorFan]

At the recent VHA golf cart safety meeting, the Marion County Deputy Sheriff said that as of January 1, 2013, golf carts can cross a State highway at lighted intersection. That means carts can cross 441 at lighted intersections. Please remember that this only applies to State Highways and not County Roads.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by su2009

In general, I love The Villages, but here is what I miss from living in a big city:
1. In The Villages, there's no big malls with big upper-end chain retailers like Macys, Nordstrom, Sports Authority. Ocala has a tiny Macys and a small Dick's Sporting Goods, but you really have to go to Atlanta or Miami if you want to find the big upper-end retailers with good sales.
2. No Trader Joes
3. There are good doctors, but no Kaiser. I loved Kaiser and really miss it.
4. No high-end prosthodontic practices. If you are a working professional and want perfect teeth built with perfect, lifelike zironia crowns with zirconia gum, you have to go to Atlanta or the Miami area. Here, there are decent dentists, but only a few prosthodontists, and no one with an in-office lab making zirconia crowns & bridges with zirconia gum. (There are, however, some dentists offering in-office denture labs, but that is not the same thing.)
5. For dealer service on a car like a Toyota or Nissan, you have to go to Leesburg. However, there are good general maintenance and body shops, and they are much more affordable than their counterparts in a big city.
6. No international airport; you have to go to Orlando or Tampa to fly out on most airlines.
----
I should note that most of what I miss is just stuff that is available only in a very large city. On the other hand, and a central reason I wanted to move here, the stores & services you use frequently are much, much, easier to get to - you can take a golf cart or drive uncrowded surface streets and go everywhere easily. There is no rush hour. The people are much nicer; if you leave an umbrella in a theater, you will likely get it back here. You also don't need an expensive security system with 24-hour monitoring, like you do in a big city; thefts and burglaries are rare in The Villages. I would never voluntarily move away from The Villages; I just wish some of the big-city conveniences would come here!

Ditto I much of what you have said. I moved down from Minneapolis area and miss the great malls there, the quality medical care, the events in downtown Minneapolis the professional sports ( several of the Vikings lived in our subdivision) the great restaurants and frankly big city living

[Wi11iam]

Originally Posted by mejahu

I am wondering if anyone will answer this one since it's probably considered a "negative" and politically incorrect. If anyone really hated something, they' have likely left. Several people to post with a "tell it like it is attitude" and I think that's important. Those considering purchase need to make an informed decision.

Leaving to go back to the place I want to leave...

[travelguy]

1. narrow political opinions in the daily sun.
2. dog owners who think that everyone else's lawn is a giant dog toilet.
3. unsafe golf cart drivers (really, do you have to hold your dog/grandchild on your lap?)
4. smokers in the town squares; they should be relegated to across the street areas. not within the squares themselves.
5. cigar smoking.......totally prohibited...everywhere!
6. lack of interesting non-chain restaurants.
7. minimal public parks within the villages.
8. exercise trails....only one in the villages....really!
9. more control over ugly lawn ornaments, and hideous oranments attached to the house....have you seen the eagle on nash loop in hemingway?
and that's it for today.

[Whalen]

Originally Posted by travelguy

1. narrow political opinions in the daily sun.
2. dog owners who think that everyone else's lawn is a giant dog toilet.
3. unsafe golf cart drivers (really, do you have to hold your dog/grandchild on your lap?)
4. smokers in the town squares; they should be relegated to across the street areas. not within the squares themselves.
5. cigar smoking.......totally prohibited...everywhere!
6. lack of interesting non-chain restaurants.
7. minimal public parks within the villages.
8. exercise trails....only one in the villages....really!
9. more control over ugly lawn ornaments, and hideous oranments attached to the house....have you seen the eagle on nash loop in hemingway?
and that's it for today.

LOLOLOL

You speak heresy! Feathers & tar are in your future...

[Patty55]

Originally Posted by travelguy

1. narrow political opinions in the daily sun.
2. dog owners who think that everyone else's lawn is a giant dog toilet.
3. unsafe golf cart drivers (really, do you have to hold your dog/grandchild on your lap?)
4. smokers in the town squares; they should be relegated to across the street areas. not within the squares themselves.
5. cigar smoking.......totally prohibited...everywhere!
6. lack of interesting non-chain restaurants.
7. minimal public parks within the villages.
8. exercise trails....only one in the villages....really!
9. more control over ugly lawn ornaments, and hideous oranments attached to the house....have you seen the eagle on nash loop in hemingway?
and that's it for today.

Whoa, can't wait till tomorrow.

[army one]

Why is there so many people (some who actually live here) that can find the time to nitpick but can't find the time for a fix for their complaints. I would think finding the time to enjoy the lifestyle here in the Villages should be a higher priority than finding fault with every little thing they don't agree with.