We are actually putting in a firepit in the very near future when we finish our landscaping and these comments are interesting. We hadn't decided about wood versus gas as of yet. How do/would some of you react to someone with a firplace in the home with smoke coming from the chimney? I know several folks that have these and personally love the smell. I see chimineas(sp?) all over the place also.

Love the smell of burning fireplace wood.

Have a gas pit from Lowes 200 dollars love it great alternative to watching television and agreed no mess cook marshmallows on it and hot dogs its fun

jbdlfan, and anyone else considering and using a fire pit in The Villages; I think fire pits are very nice but please consider the idea that Villages Kahuna and several others have suggested. You will be able to enjoy the ambiance of that fire and eliminate the hazards of ashes and smoke blowing about a very populated area. You would also avoid the problems wood smoke would cause to neighbors who might enjoy a window or two open in their home on a cool evening. Thoughtfulness for our neighbors is so important and these are also great solutions that have been presented.

When we lived on our 20 acres in Wisconsin, we had a beautiful Vermont, sand-colored enamel wood stove with which we heated our home all winter long. We were approximately 1/2 mile from the closest neighbor. During the winter in Wisconsin, windows are closed so no one was directly effected by wood smoke.

The only problem that arose from this situation is that now I have a wood/leaf smoke allergy that makes me miserable when I encounter this type of smoke. I am unable to breathe through my nose at all and my chest feels constricted and inhaling air feels difficult if I inhale this smoke. I grew up in the country and, of course, ran into smoke here and there all my life. I never thought I'd develop this later in life allergy but it's the pits!

What we didn't realize either while burning our beautiful wood stove was the amount of fine particulates and air pollution being created, something else to help you make your decision.

Our still unsold house in MD had wood burning fireplace as did most all. Loved smell of the wood burning. Many trees give off fragrant smells.

For me this is the way to go

We have always used Duraflame logs in our wood-burning fireplace here in Tampa.
But I'm with most posters - would be worried about a firepit
being closer to our neighbors here.

Please save the outdoor fires for special vacation memories. I can't imagine how awful it would be here with our closely spaced houses and older lungs. Why start trouble when there are so many other interesting things to do. It's bad enough that the gaudy outdoor "lawn decorations" are getting out of hand in some areas. Before you know it, there will be more restrictions, quickly followed by formal complaints about the violations, etc. --- Use some common sense, please.