[Annabelle]

My husband and I are seriously considering moving to TV when we retire in 2013. We cannot decide whether it is best to purchase a home for residing there during the late Fall to early Spring (which I'm leaning towards) or buying a home to live there year round (which is what my husband prefers).

We have already visited TV a few times, but never stayed longer than a week at a time and the times we were there it was in the early Spring and quite hot. Is the heat an issue for seniors during the summer? Do many people leave during the hottest months?]

I have been told that the full time residents of TV comprise roughly 70% of the Village population. However, I have noticed that there are a lot of homes for rent in TV on a monthly basis.

I wonder if it presents a problem to full time residents of TV to live next to homes whereby there are renters moving in and out each month?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Annabelle

[mike barkley]

im about to purchase a home this month. but i must say i was a 'renter' in a house on chula vista ave in jan and feb and never had a neighbor speak to me. so i assume people who rent in the so called very friendly villages are not welcome visitors! perhaps the villages further south are more friendly.

[Annabelle]

Mike,

Thank you for the information. I am planning to rent for at least a few months each year before I buy.
I want to buy in a community where most of my neighbors live there all year, so that I can actually get to know my neighbors.

The Villages has so much to offer retirees in terms of activities, but I don't want to buy in a neighborhood that is deserted during several months of the year. Well good luck to you in your new home!

Annabelle

[Donna2]

Originally Posted by mike barkley

im about to purchase a home this month. but i must say i was a 'renter' in a house on chula vista ave in jan and feb and never had a neighbor speak to me. so i assume people who rent in the so called very friendly villages are not welcome visitors! perhaps the villages further south are more friendly.

Very interesting as we will be down there late next month and will be renting for a month or two while house hunting.
Maybe they had a particular problem with the people who rented before you? This should be an interesting thread.

[tpop1]

There are several categories of Villagers that I know of:

Frogs – Full timers here til they croak,

Snowbirds – (Often known as Grandparents) – Part timers who spend some Fall, most of Winter and some Spring months in T.V,

Finances and / or family circumstances often dictate a Frog vs. Snowbird decision.

Snowflakes – People who drop in from time to time. Often those still working; sometimes those who rent out their homes to Snowbirds and who use it when they can,

Renters – Snowbirds who rent for a month or more.

Did I miss any, gang?

Much of the social activity that we take part in (we’re Snowbirds / Grandparents) revolves around the neighborhood social groups of which. in reality, renters don’t seem to be a part.

That said, we have socialized with renters that we have met at the neighborhood pool (a great place to socialize – never been there without some new friend to be striking up a conversation) or met in their driveway over a wave and a hello.

Sometimes you just have to get out there and yell, “Hello!”

Also a lot of socialization revolves around activities; golf groups, pickleball groups, dance groups, etc. So the more you do the more there is to do!

Good luck on you decision what you decide, you will enjoy it.

[BobKat1]

We've rented in TV four or five times and the neighbors of the two different homes that we rented never overly friendly. The only time a neighbor came to the door of one house, was to ask me to call the owner and tell him to run the irrigation more often.

But that's OK with us. We still enjoyed the experience each time.

PS: As tpop said we always meet new people at the town squares, pools, waiting at a restaurant etc. vs. around the neighborhood.

[Boomer]

I am really interested in this thread, too.

We know going in that whatever we would buy would be a second home for us, but we do not want to be landlords. We just want to have it there when we want to show up which, as I understand it, can get to be more and more often until you finally decide to just get rid of the 3BR storage bin up north.

I want to be in a neighborhood with lots of fulltime neighbors, but we would not be there all the time.

This has been one of my main issues. I will keep watching this thread.

Boomer

[campy]

Originally Posted by mike barkley

im about to purchase a home this month. but i must say i was a 'renter' in a house on chula vista ave in jan and feb and never had a neighbor speak to me. so i assume people who rent in the so called very friendly villages are not welcome visitors! perhaps the villages further south are more friendly.

We rented for one week in St. Charles (last week). The one neighbor next door made us feel VERY welcomed. We spoke each time we saw one another. When we left we said good bye and felt that we were leaving real friends behind. During another visit we stayed for five days in Summerhill. Multiple neighbors came by during our visit hoping to hear we were moving in. During another one week visit in Springdale, the next door neighbor offered a very friendly good morning the first day she saw us. We’ve always found that if people are around, they are very friendly and we’ve never stayed more than a week during any of our visits. We’ve always found the residence of each village we’ve stayed in to be friendly and we look forward to calling The Villages our year round home town as soon as we retire.

[redwitch]

I think are a lot of factors of whether a renter is accepted -- the type of home rented (CYVs are pretty enclosed and neighbors are less inclined to get to know you; patios have lots of renters and, thus, are pretty much ignored by the residents); how long you are staying (the longer you plan to rent, the more likely the neighbors will talk to you); how friendly you are.

I know of one instance where the renters were extremely unfriendly -- even saying hello seemed to be an effort for them. The neighbors couldn't wait for them to leave. The next couple that rented not only said hello, but held a small Christmas party, helped neighbors as needed, always smiled and were friendly. They're coming back next year and the neighbors can't wait for their return.

It really does seem that what you get from TV is up to you. If you choose to just stay in your house, do your own thing and rarely mingle with the neighbors, you'll be excluded whether you're a renter, a snowbird or a frog. If you smile, say hello, offer to help your neighbor as appropriate, the odds are you will be included and accepted.

[Annabelle]

Thanks to each of you for your inputs. There is a lot to consider before moving to TV. There seem to be so many pluses for moving to TV and whenever we are there and talk with some of the residents, I never hear anything negative about TV.

I am just concerned about investing a lot of money in a home and then find out that most of my neighbors only live here a few months out of the year....if at all.

Annabelle

[Pturner]

Hi Annabelle,

We are snowflakes. We rent our home to snowbirds and we come to TV as often as we can. We plan to live in TV full-time when hubby retires.

As you noted, central Florida is quite hot in the summer and late spring. If you are concerned about your toleration for the heat, you might want to rent for a few weeks or a month July or August before you decide whether to sell your house and move to TV full-time. We live in Atlanta, so we are quite use to hot, muggy summers. You might be less tolerant.

I've been told that the Villas probably have a higher percentage of snowbirds than other neighborhoods. But truthfully, snowbirds are a fact of life in central/ south Florida.

You are likely to find a mix of full-timers and snowbirds in any TV neighborhood. That said, our neighborhood in Springdale, an older community on the North side, seems to have more full-time residents than snowbirds. That might tend to be the case in the older neighborhoods, as many of the residents might have started out as snowbirds and later became FT, although that is just speculation on my part. BTW, I thought it was interesting that you might want to be a snowbird, but you don't want to live in a neighborhood with many snowbirds.

A couple of posters said that as renters, they did not find their neighbors all that friendly. Although we are just snowflakes for now, our experience has been just the opposite. Our neighbors are very friendly and nice to us. We love our neighbors! I think anytime you are the "new kid on the block," you need to be the one to make the effort. If you reach out to your neighbors, don't be surprised if they embrace you! Ours did.

TV is a wonderful, magical place. I think you will love to call TV home whether it's FT or as snowbirds. If you have the time, you might want to rent in different areas of TV, talk to the neighbors, find out about their residency and assess how you think you would fit in.

I wish you all the very best in deciding what is right for you!

[redwitch]

Annabelle, I know some will disagree with me but I really don't think it matters all that much if your neighbors live there full-time or not. Most of your friends will come from your activities, not your neighborhood. Some neighborhoods have weekly get-togethers, some monthly, some seasonly, some never. You'll only find that out by talking to people in the neighborhood before you buy.

Newer developments will bond more because they are new and discovering TV together. Established neighborhoods are a little harder to get "into" but it is done all the time.

Personally, I really don't want to be friends with my neighbors. I want to be able to say hi to them; know that if I need something I can call on them and vice versa. However, I don't want them dropping by and I certainly don't want to just feel free to barge into their homes. Just not my style. I prefer to have my friends have similar interests.

[Annabelle]

Pturner,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I think I may have not been clear about my concerns in making a decision about buying in TV.

When I mentioned that I have concerns about buying in a neighborhood with a lot of renters, what I meant was that if I live there "full time," I would prefer to be in a neighborhood where most of my neighbors on the street are also full time residents, so that hubby and I would feel a stronger sense of community.

I have no problem with someone being a renter, and I myself will be one until I find a home to buy. But if you have a lot of renters that only stay a few weeks or a month at a time, it is hard to get to know your neighbors.

I guess this is why some of the posts mentioned that there doesn't seem to be a lot of "interaction" between those who stay briefly and those who stay for longer periods. Not enough time to develop friendships, so both parties may not make the effort.

I personally think though, that the "established neighbors" should make more of an effort to "roll out the welcome mat" to those who are newbies than vice versa.

The very hot summers is the biggest concern for me, in regards to living full time in TV. I have enough problems with the 2 or 3 hots months we get in my mid-Atlantic state, but this is something you just have to deal with if you want to live year round in Florida.

Thanks again to everyone who replied,
Annabelle

[Annabelle]

Red,
I know exactly what you are saying. Even in my current neighborhood, which we built our home almost 25 years ago, most of my closest friends (are not my neighbors), but rather they are friends from work, church, social clubs, etc.

However as for the renting issue in TV.....I would not want to be a full time resident on a street whereby many homes could be vacant during the off season.

It might be a little scary at night....especially if hubby had to take a trip somewhere and I am "home" alone!!!

Thanks for your reply,
Annabelle
PS. They do have alligators in TV don't they?!

[K9-Lovers]

I was told that the Courtyard Villas (CYV) are the type homes that are rented the most. So, if you want more full-time residents, then don't opt for a CYV.

Although we've just moved here as full-time residents only 3 weeks ago, and into a CYV, it has been during the time that most of the snowbirds fly back north, so we are able to see how many houses are now vacant, and which continue to be occupied. In our little villa neighborhood, there are 82 homes and about 25 are still occupied. So that is a large percentage of vacant homes which probably won't be rented over the summer.

But even though the population has decreased, I don't think it will be difficult to make friends in the neighborhood. While there may be several empty houses in a row, and only an occupied home here and there, the neighborhood still feels full of people because the houses are spaced so closely.

Everyone is friendly in our neighborhood, we've met some new friends at the pool, and everyday offers new opportunities for new friendships. We LOVE it here.