Originally Posted by florlrl (Post 222463)

OK, I'm a bit bitter because I bought during the worst time when The Villages developer, real estate agents and Citizens Bank assessors were in cohoots to force buyers to make decisions on home purchases with no input within 3 hrs all in the name of greed. I used to think it was a friendly village, but now recognize greed. It caused a lot of stress for a lot of people and left me personally feeling duped. That being said, I am disappointed that the quality of the food in the recreation centers and some restaurants in the Villages confines have really declined since 2002, when we initially were positive about The Villages. I also have concerns that the continual development undermines existing property values. Also, I notice that various golf cart paths and facilities in the older sections are not getting the attention that they warrant. I would love to see more updated recreation centers with clean, carpet free, wallpaper free, chandelier free designs. I see a lot of future renovations because they are being built with the past, not future in mind. My new motto...rent, rent, rent!!! That way you can enjoy and make a great decision whether to purchase or where to purchase.

Originally Posted by chelsea24 (Post 222470)

OK, I have to defend my hometown now. We've lived here two years, so I guess I've earned the right to call it my hometown.

First, you can't be duped by The Villages, the real estate agents, Citizen's Bank or anyone else... unless you allow yourself to be. Maybe you didn't ask enough questions, or the right questions. I will agree with you that Citizen's Bank was pushy and quite frankly didn't offer the best deal, so we got our mortgage somewhere else. But, in my opinion, The Villages offers a lot of bang for the buck!

And... I disagree with almost everything else you've said. The Villages is not perfect. But, it's pretty darn close. The food at most all of the Country Clubs is excellent and most of the other restaurants around TV also. I'm not saying "all" but I am saying "most."

When you think of the extent, the vastness of The Villages, it always amazes me on how well kept up it is. I still drive through and am in awe of it's beauty. As far as the decor for the Rec centers, it appears you be a minimalist and maybe it wouldn't hurt to have one of those. But, I do think most people do not like a sterile atmosphere. My decorator friend from Chicago walked around with her mouth open, amazed at how beautifully most Rec Centers are decorated. So much attention to detail.

All of that said, I'm not even mentioning the literally thousands of clubs and activities. I just said to a friend, that originally bought in Arizona, then sold to come here after a visit, "I can't imagine anyone NOT wanting to retire here." And our experience with the people, neighbors, club members, couldn't be more joyful. I've always had a firm belief that you get out of life what you put into it.

Well, perhaps you should "rent" elsewhere and see how that works out. I simply can't imagine any other retirement community offering more.

And as our friend Fumar says "The bridge goes both ways." ;)

Originally Posted by diskman (Post 82108)

We keep hearing from the village lovers(people who are happy with their choice. Other than Jan and the people dealing with the train noise (Chatham) Are there any other villages we should stay away from and why? :dontknow:
Larry & Bev!

Originally Posted by carmen (Post 224339)

I agree with most of the posts about living in TV, but I have had 2 on going issues since moving here in 2006.

First,
We are ballroom dancers and have to leave TV to hear a live band. The music available at TV ballroom dances is a slight cut above karaoke. The couple that organizes the dances says that live bands are too expensive. What? The location we have found is in a "manufactured home" park(we've also seen this same couple at this location.) TV claims to have so much class. Why can't TV pay a live band for ballroom dances on campus?

Second,
As naive home buyers, we neglected to request a survey of our property. We have a major drainage problem. None of the run off in the backyard or side swales, flows to the street. TV confirms that it is a problem (our yard is a mud puddle at times). Yes, they recognized the problem and sent 3 landscapers here with $850-$3800 estimates that are our responsibility.):

Carmen