[Trayderjoe]

Originally Posted by 2BNTV

There aren't enough words to describe what makes TV so wonderful.
8. A wanting to live attitude, as opposed to being in GOD's waiting room.

The negatives is during the snowbird season, one may have to wait to eat, some traffic congestion and you may run into a grumpy pants.

A friend of mine was kidding me about buying a home in a retirement community, picturing old people sitting around a table waiting for "their call" as another poster had pointed out. My friend came down to visit and we took him to Katie Belles to show him around. A band was playing and a woman, whom we found out was in her early 90's, got up to dance. My friend was highly impressed that it didn't matter how old you were, people were not here to wait, they were here to live until called. Since then he has rented a couple of times, with a third rental coming this winter. The golf opportunities have grabbed him and he may purchase (his wife is 10 years from retirement).

The poster I quoted did an excellent job with all of his points. My only other negative is that the quality of construction of the homes could be better. Don't get me wrong, they meet building codes, but until I purchased a home here, I had not seen so many plastic valves (the main water shutoff to the home, all of the sinks and commodes) which can be hard to turn (consider if you want to fix a leak). They are also mounted on thin PVC piping that feels like it may snap or come out of the wall when you try to turn the valves. The trade-off is the opportunity to LIVE during the my retirement and have as much or as little fun as I want to have.

[nitehawk]

If you like to play golf on courses in good condition - be prepared to play outside TV

[MikeV]

My one and only complaint is the size of TV. It is getting so big that even in summer everything is crowded. We really need a fourth Town Square.

[George Bieniaszek]

A good friend of mine had the misconceptions of living in a retirement community and always asked me why we bought. I kept telling him about The Villages and said that he and his wife have to come down and see for themselves. Well, this past February, he called and asked to stop by for a visit. We rented an extra golf cart for them so that they can toddle around and explore with us and by themselves too. We played lots of golf, went to some open houses, toured some of the pools, Rec Centers, danced in the Squares and after 4 days, they were ready to buy.

My friend thought that The Villages was full of old people shuffling around with walkers, elbowing and shoving their way to be first at the buffet line (His quote, not mine) and now his retirement plans have changed completely. They came away with a wonderful experience of the Villages and it is top on their list when he retires.

They are planning on coming back and either staying with us again as a back up plan, but first on the list is renting for a month and making final decisions after that.

[asianthree]

I don't think you will find a place filled with people that truly care like TV

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by nitehawk

If you like to play golf on courses in good condition - be prepared to play outside TV

Come and SEE for yourself about the golf courses.

32 count 'em ....32 executive courses and the price is your trail fee..four bucks. You drive your own golf cart. Over a dozen championship courses, I lost track, more building, that are cheaper to play than back home for us.

This place is so wonderful. And it is so well run. The overwhelming majority of people who live here are to the right politically as Redwitch says. The developers family began and grew this place risking and reinvesting their own money time and time again. It is a monument to free enterprise. They are also large contributors to the party that is not in office at this time. (The moddies won't let us say the name of either party.)

I love the miles and miles and miles of beautiful landscaping that looks like it has been here forever, the cleanliness and the beauty of homes who are owned by people who grew up taking care of their stuff. The fact that lawn cutting on most homes is available for around fifty bucks a month. The three town squares each with their own theme, each lovely fantasy places and rented to businesses and restaurants. I love all of the rec centers, each with their own separate theme and decorated with beautiful and expensive furniture and accessories. I love the way this place is run. Period. and exclamation point. I love that the amenity fee is about $140 a month. Affordable for most people.

I love the people who are living life to the fullest every minute of it.. I love that we are such a mixture and from all walks in life. You can sit at the square next to a Joe Blow and Joe Gotrocks. It doesn't matter what you used to do or how big or small your home is. We are all in this to have fun and enjoy friendship and new experiences. People are doing art that didn't have the time and people are bicycling and running, and working out, and playing tennis and pickleball and bocce, and doing pottery and glass cutting and enjoying some social drinks. (The glass cutting and the drinking SHOULD be done at different times)

We are big in life experience, we have not come here untouched by sadness. You don't live for five decades or more without some huge awful thing occurring, and that usually just makes us more compassionate to others and more open minded about all things and all differences.

We have all had to work hard and to plan to get here and we so much appreciate the time for fun and fellowship and what we have.

Hurry down. I think this place is so wonderful and I am so vocal about it that some people think I work for the developer. Never met him or any of the family, but I would love to shake their hands.

They lived, worked and created the American dream.

And we are livin' the dream.

[patfla06]

The energy and zest for life makes T.V. an amazing place.

[waynet]

I do wish the golf courses (championship ) were kept in better condition. The rest of the place is awesome,why not the golf?

[cc1246]

We have a eyesore in our neighborhood and it's not a reverse mortgage, there just pigs.
Community standards does nothing.

[DigitalGranny]

My Dad lives in another retirement community to the south of here. It's nice. For years I visited him there and thought it would be nice to retire to a place like that. Then I found TV! It blows every other place off the list -for me! When we bought our house here this spring, invited my Dad and Stepmom up here to visit. Took them to Eisenhower Rec Center. We were all floored by the opulence -and the reverence for those, like my dad, who served in the military. He just kept saying "I didn't know there was a place like this!" Our only trade off is we are not on the beach, but my beautiful neighborhood pool, two blocks away, makes up for that!

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by redwitch

Pluses have all been said. I will say the biggest plus is the generosity of spirit here. Strangers willing to go out of their way to help others. The abundance of volunteers here.

The biggest minus to me is the inability to hear as many political viewpoints as possible. If the speaker isn't Republican, the town squares are off limit. The smallest venue possible is offered to others -- usually whatever club is usually made available to the club inviting the speaker. I get the feeling that developer would ban these speakers if he could.

I have to agree with this statement. I don't care what anyone thinks about the different parties, but don't push your preference down my throat!

However, having said that, there are so many other things which make living in TV excellent. We dine out at one of the Country Clubs and there are a couple of regulars who have had strokes and are in need of help. Every time they come in to dinner people go out of their way to help them to their table, everyone from the wait staff to the other diners. This caring attitude impresses me immensely and seems to be prevalent throughout TV.

[Wandatime]

I asked my husband what he liked best and he said all the opportunities for recreation that await you right outside your front door.

I asked him what he liked least and he said not being there.

I concur on both parts!

[mgcsooner]

The good, too many to count-really! The bad-- I won;t say bead, but what could make it better is more competition on Pizza---it's not so good here, which means room for more entrepreneurs!! Also Mexican food, very limited, particularly TexMex.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

There is too much positive to list in one post and there have been many posts here extolling the virtues of The Villages. I agree with every one of them.

As to the negatives, some people complain about traffic during the snowbird season. If you've ever lived anywhere with real traffic you'll see that this is a joke. Traffic here at it's worst is minimal. Waits at restaurants seems to be another consistent complaint. Yes, you might have more of a wait during the snowbird season, but more and more retail including restaurants and country clubs are being built all the time. Again, if you've ever lived in a big city, this is pretty much the norm.

Two things that I don't like is that we are far away from a major highway. It takes me 35-40 minutes to get to either the Florida Turnpike or Rte 75. So going any where is a bit difficult.

If I had my preference, The Villages would be located closet to a nice beach. We're about two hours away from Clearwater Beach which is the best in the area.

Other than that, I couldn't be happier here.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by cc1246

We have a eyesore in our neighborhood and it's not a reverse mortgage, there just pigs.
Community standards does nothing.

Community Standards only responds to complaints. I, myself find this absurd. Their trucks pass by every home in The Villages at least three times a day. You would think that the drivers could make notes of poorly kept properties and report them, but they are not allowed to. If you have a property in your neighborhood that is not being kept up to proper standards, call and complain. I've seen them send a crew out to take care of these properties and then bill the owners.