[NotGolfer]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

The the few whiners and busy-bodies are in a state of discontent because they spend their entire day on-line feeding on and believing all the negativity others of their kind keep spitting out in an every widening and vicious circle.
The rest of us are out having a good time and too busy to worry about such nonsense as we enjoy life here in The Villages. 4000-5000 homes sold here every year would not be happening if it was as bad as the on-line trolls make it out to be. Some people just aren't happy unless they are making someone else miserable.
Come back, stay a while, learn the truth for yourself, you'll not regret the decision to give The Villages a chance.
My wife and I grew up in military families and I did 20 years in the Navy, we moved every few years, after I retired from the Navy we moved two more times before moving to The Villages, this has been the BEST place we both have ever lived.

I second this (except for the military part as we weren't a part of that). I belong to a couple of social media sites from up north (former towns) and those folks aren't of the Over 55 variety and you'll get the whiners and negatives there too so think they "live" behind screens all over!!! We love it here---been here 9 yrs and it's all flown by so quickly. Do try the "Life-styles" and get a truer feel of what it's like here (though even that is too short). You must be intrigued, otherwise you'd not have posted. I'd bet you will come and love it here as well.

[billethkid]

Going from top of the list to the bottom of the list? Really?

You have concluded these few whiners and complainers are representative of the over 100,000 residents here in TV.

It is your prerogative to do so. However, please be aware it is an incorrect conclusion.

How can anyone possibly extrapolate isolated incidents to such a magnitude?

Knowing there are many more good reasons and good residents here in TV, your same logic should have you extrapolate from them as well. The difference? Instead of isolated incidents there will be thousands and thousands of positive exchanges.

Good luck!!

[VillageIdiots]

Find a place, anywhere in this country, or maybe even on the globe, where 100,000+ people live in relative close proximity to each other and there aren't whiners and complainers among them. When you find it, come share it here and then move there. Don't let the few sour your own views and opinions. Most importantly, spend some more time here and decide for yourself. I hear story after story of people that came here for a few days and sometimes even a few hours and they decide to buy property. If that works for some, good for them. But TV offers the Lifestyle program where you can spend at least a week, relatively cheap, and live like a regular villager, under no sales pressure, and decide for yourself. Also, there are many rental properties that are inexpensive and easy to find, outside of "snowbird season" and you can literally spend months here, uncommitted, and decide if it's right for you. I've been here quite a few times over the past 6 or 7 years visiting my parents who live here. I fell in love with it on the first trip, even at my relatively young age. Last summer, I spent a month here before making a final decision to sell my home and relocate here. I choose to tune the whiners out. If I'm happy, I don't really care if they are not. Many have found that whining and complaining gets them attention and sometimes even gets them things for free, so it just makes them whine louder.

As for Skip's videos, I watch them regularly and enjoy them. He tells it like it is but there is entertainment value among the truth. My impression is that he likes it here and takes any complaints in stride. The idiots and morons he refers to are people who make the news for doing idiotic and moronic things, not literally every other person who lives here. But if you didn't read about it in the news or from his videos, 99% of us would never even know it happened and it would have no impact on our enjoyment of The Villages. Many of the stories he comes across are rooted in sorry, lazy adult children who cannot find their own way in life and they move here to freeload off of their elderly parents and still manage to continue the mischief that probably put them in the situation to wind up living with their parents again to start with. They aren't on every corner or even every street. TV is a big area with many homes and many people - there will always be bad apples just based on the law of averages.

Nobody should talk you into or out of moving here, or anywhere else for that matter. Invest the time to decide for yourself.

[Nucky]

There are people who are downers in every community. If down the road you do land in a better place then The Villages let me know where it is. If you concentrate on the negative here then you probably won't reap the benefits of living here.

I am a follower of Mr. Skip and think he is a very interesting and well-intentioned man and very informative. It can't be easy to come up with something so involved every day. He provides a commentary based on his experience here and has gone as far as mentioning his news station during his show. Don't get me wrong I still apreciate his effort but don't agree with every view.

Rent in The Villages for a little while and then make your decision. This is a wonderful way of life beyond our expectation's. Good Luck hope you make the best decision for you. I notice some people suffer from analysis paralysis. Jump in time is wasting.

[Ingenuity]

I came to The Villages for a Lifestyle visit almost a year ago. I went around the area with my sales agent and picked out a few villages, including Fenney (just dirt at that time) that interested me. The next day I went to look at Spanish Springs on my own. I was in a clothing store standing in line at the cashier talking with others waiting saying I may move to The Villages.

People were giving me their opinions (mostly good) and a lady came up to me asking where I was looking. I stated the decision now was between three and she informed me she was in one of them. She proceeded to grill me about keeping the lawns up, and how she would make sure I would not fall behind on the upkeep because she would report me...she just kept on and on. I looked at her and said she had made my job a lot easier and her neighborhood was off my list.

The cashier loved the response and told me she had never worked in an area with so many mean people. Then I went to a restaurant and sat by a table with a group of people. They did not impress me and I will not go into the subject matter.

Why am I going through this? Because I did not listen to others. I looked at our needs and The Villages fit the bill. Fenney was the neighborhood chosen and I cannot imaging better neighbors and friendlier people. They are so supportive of my fiancé and his medical issues. I LOVE The Villages. Everywhere I go most people are smiling and happy to be here. They are inclusive to us and not exclusive. Did I say I love it here? Thank goodness I did not let a few alter my decision. Look at your needs, your personality. Don't let a few make a decision for you.

[Taltarzac725]

You will come across a few haters of anything good just about anywhere. We have lived in the Villages since June 2005 and find it quite enjoyable. We have great neighbors for the most part and the only problems are the traffic in the on season, heat in the summer, and a few other things that come with living in Florida's largest retirement community.

The neighborhood you chose is probably one of your most important decisions.

[Tweety Bird]

Originally Posted by Ingenuity

I came to The Villages for a Lifestyle visit almost a year ago. I went around the area with my sales agent and picked out a few villages, including Fenney (just dirt at that time) that interested me. The next day I went to look at Spanish Springs on my own. I was in a clothing store standing in line at the cashier talking with others waiting saying I may move to The Villages.

People were giving me their opinions (mostly good) and a lady came up to me asking where I was looking. I stated the decision now was between three and she informed me she was in one of them. She proceeded to grill me about keeping the lawns up, and how she would make sure I would not fall behind on the upkeep because she would report me...she just kept on and on. I looked at her and said she had made my job a lot easier and her neighborhood was off my list.

The cashier loved the response and told me she had never worked in an area with so many mean people. Then I went to a restaurant and sat by a table with a group of people. They did not impress me and I will not go into the subject matter.

Why am I going through this? Because I did not listen to others. I looked at our needs and The Villages fit the bill. Fenney was the neighborhood chosen and I cannot imaging better neighbors and friendlier people. They are so supportive of my fiancé and his medical issues. I LOVE The Villages. Everywhere I go most people are smiling and happy to be here. They are inclusive to us and not exclusive. Did I say I love it here? Thank goodness I did not let a few alter my decision. Look at your needs, your personality. Don't let a few make a decision for you.

You haven't made a decision and she's already threatening you? That's disgusting. I LOVED your response.

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by Tweety Bird

You haven't made a decision and she's already threatening you?

That's disgusting. I LOVED your response.

Ditto!

[Rapscallion St Croix]

I have had very few bad firsthand experiences, mostly on the streets and roads. If I didn't frequent this forum or read the online news, I would be pretty much unaware of any behavior issues in TV.

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion St Croix

I have had very few bad firsthand experiences, mostly on the streets and roads. If I didn't frequent this forum or read the online news, I would be pretty much unaware of any behavior issues in TV.

The most on the money post....100% accurate!!

[Chi33]

My two cents. You will always get some bad actors in the group of 100,000 people. You will get people you just can't stand. However, there are a lot of very good people in the group also. You don't have to buy the house with the crank. It's karma, the most she is a pain, the longer that house will be on sale and the longer it will have a stream of new people. She should have brought you a cake, you buy, then she gets cranky (lol).

As to the villages. If you are going to live here year round and you do not like lightening and thunder, well, this is the lightening and thunder capital of the US. If you do not like pollen, well this place has tons of it. If you do not like noise, well, you may get a neighbor who is retired also and they think retirement is fun and noise. If you like going out to new restaurants then you will get bored quick. Outside of the villages you will see trailer parks. I mean right outside the villages. Orlando airport doesn't really connect to other Florida cities and if they do the price is high.

The good things: The lower in the villages the friendlier it seems because they also are new to the villages. The golf cart thing is great, just be sure to get a larger garage (I hear that complaint a lot). Don't worry about the traffic, just drive safe and you will be okay. Just remember its just like a car and people don't always follow yours (or the) rules. There are many activities if you are into them, and if you golf, I cannot think of a better place in the US. So many different course (the opposite of restaurants). If you get good neighbors then you will have instant friends who will watch your back and property. Lots of ex-military and ex-law enforcement in the villages.

Washington is nice, but the taxes and rules aren't. No homeless problem in the villages and crime is low here. Food is plenty. If you like the entertainment, it is here. You can get a new house, or you can get a manufactured home (really cheap and they don't look all that bad).

So, good luck to you and the villages can always use more good people.

[valuemkt]

I'm surprised no one has asked which 3 communities have vaulted to the top of the Villages .. Perhaps some of the members of this forum have had experience with them !

[thetruth]

Re: neighbor conflicts
Years ago I met a guy, who lived in Germany. He was married to a German duchess complete with a castle and I don't recall but over 20 acres. I recall him telling me that he and his neighbor also with a huge property were fighting over an oak tree that was on the property line. As I recall the story, he said if another 20 years pass it will under German law be grandfathered in.

For many of the posters and complainers AND SELF APPOINTED DIRECTORS. THINK! Does it matter? Are you perfect? We all hear about some of the crazy disputes that can get started

Tied by a tree. Before buying here, someone else I knew who lived in a planned community got into a dispute over where his tree was. As I viewed the story, the tree,planted by him, had been there for years. Some neighbor decided to turn it into an issue. The community
hired attys to force him to remove it. The case went on for years. So, he was paying for the atty against him, or part of the cost, in his common charges and he was paying for his own atty. I never asked but, surely that was a very expensive tree for all. The end, he passed awy years ago.
Far as I know the case was still going on. I assume his daughter sold the place as she never lived there. MORAL?
BEATS ME.

[patfla06]

You will notice that only the badly behaved are in the news. The normal, well behaved people are in the majority and don’t make the news.

The Villages is the best and most wonderful place I’ve ever lived. You can be as active or quiet as you want.
There are so many different activities you can be busy all day long.

People here have a zest for life and are happy to be here.

You got good advice about coming and renting and living the lifestyle. Best of luck.

[patfla06]

I would be more concerned that after living in Alaska are you going to be able to tolerate the heat and the flatness of Florida.
Florida is the polar opposite of Alaska.

Wishing you good luck in your search.