[Serenoa]

Until I found out about & visited The Villages I had NEVER considered retiring before I reached age 65. But ever since our wonderful LSV last December I'm not sure I can wait that long anymore. I have a great career here in Birmingham & have worked with a lot of the same great people for the past 15 years or so. We have a beautiful home with a pool, and I'm even able to grow a few palm trees way, way up here in Alabama.

But I've definitely caught TV fever.....BIG time. Extremely anxious to get down there & enjoy all that TV has to offer. And can hardly stand that I'm missing out on all of it right now.

So....did finding out about this nice little community change your retirement timeline, from what you had always previously planned?

Thanks for your comments!

[DandyGirl]

No, but breast cancer did. We visited TV for mini vacations from GA for several years and knew we would be here eventually. I retired end of 2009 and we Bought May 2010 as soon as our house in Senoia, GA sold. No regrets at all!

[2BNTV]

It didn't change my retirement age but it did give me an overwhelming urge to move to TV immediately. Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards for me.

I needed health insurance and I was 62 when I first came to TV to visit a friend. If I had knew about TOTV and it's smart members, maybe, I could have been advised how to accomplish moving sooner. I looked into finding a job that had health benefits but I guess I didn't pursue it hard enough. I was affected by my very health concious friend who had an episode concerning his heart and wound up having two surgeries to correct his condition. I decided I needed health coverage as I am not much of a gambler of fate.

Oh well. Maybe this year.

BTW - Thanks for thinking of a great question.

[ewstanley]

Yes, visiting The Villages was wonderful the first time. We continued to search for a retirement home and found that The Villages was the place for us. I wasn't ready to retire so soon then my sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and lost her battle. Before she passed away she told me that I have always worked so hard. I had heard so many people tell me that. I am still in my 50s and hope to reach 60 - something that my sister was never able to do. I am very thankful that I have been able to move here sooner than I thought. I have no regrets because you never know what tomorrow might bring.

[billethkid]

No....we're already retired.

btk

[stuckinparadise]

My husband and I are both retired military and yes we did decide to retire (from our present jobs) early after visiting friends who live in TV. My husband is 60 and I just turned 57. We've both worked or served in the Army right after college and I think it's time for us to enjoy the rest of our time together in our beautiful home in TV.

[cgalloway6]

It certainly changed my outlook. I figured 65-66, no hurry but I really had no plan of what to do afterward. One visit to TV and I can't wait to get down there. We bought one house as a vacation home but decided if we would be there full time we wanted something larger with a 2 car garage, golf cart garage and better view. Sold the first home and built THE one. We are renting the house while continuing to put money away for retirement. Will definitely move up the retirement date. My wife is ready to go any time.

[rjn5656]

Yes it did. We bought a place with idea of using for vacation for several years. But after coming down several times, the calling was there. We retired as soon as we could, and don't regret it all.

[njbchbum]

nope! always planned on retiring the day after I figured out I could afford it!

I watched a friend die of a stroke, george carlin pass away and tim russert drop dead - each of whom was a contemporary in age - so when the state offered an early retirement incentive, I thought about it for both seconds and signed the paperwork! was gone in a couple of months and have never looked back. life is too short to miss out on retirement! no regrets!

[buggyone]

Being a Federal government employee, I was able to retire at age 55 and my wife, also a Federal government employee, got her job abolished and retired at age 52. After a few years of active retirement in the Washington DC area, we decided to move and The Villages was #3 on our list of places to move. We came on our second Lifestyle Preview, saw what we wanted, and bought. The house in Maryland was sold in 8 days after it was put on the market.

The Villages is the best place to live for us.

[cahweh1975]

We originally planned to retire when DH reached age 65. We visited last year and loved the place. He's decided to retire as soon as we can sell the house. We're hoping that will be later this year. He'll be 62. I'm self employed and can work anywhere, on my own schedule. If we don't sell, I may just head down to TV for a month or so next winter.

[leenie24]

Yes, it sure did! I was self employed doing work that was very satisfying. I thought I would work until......... well, until I could not work due to declining health or mental issues. Retirement did not look very attractive to me. What would I do, how would I fill my days???? After visiting family here in TV over a 3 year period, it finally occurred to me that indeed there was life after retirement. Once I realized that this place was ideal for me, it was only a matter of months before (in this order): I bought a home in TV, sold my home up north and closed down my business. I have never been happier. Life here i soooo good. I only wish that I had been able to do this earlier than 67. Good luck with your decision.

[rjm1cc]

I think we all live in our own world. I note when I go on vacation that I see people doing and working in a lot of ways I do not normally think of. Thus coming to a retirement community can give you whole new prospective on life. Just make sure your decision is well though out and not based on emotions.

[keithwand]

No.
I retired at 48 and moved here last year at 58.
48 would have been to soon to move here plus we did not even consider The Villages when we moved from MI to Orlando in 2004.
All I can say is TIME FLYS!
Do it as early as you can since you only go around once.

[BettyCrocked]

Serenoa, it's great to see another future villager here in the 'ham!
We fell in love and are buying to rent out until we can move. I feel quite sure that knowing our retirement home is down there waiting will speed the process up! Especialy if I have to deal with any more rude clients this week!