[DMoring]

We chose Fenney because of the beauty and nature. Love it but sometimes it would be nice to be closer to stores and restaurants. Eventually there will be amenities nearby. Do hope it's in our life time. LOL

[asianthree]

Rented for 3 years in different areas, before we bought first vaca home in 2010, new. Second house 2012, new wanted 2 car garage. Third house 2014, preowned needed a 2 car with golf cart garage. It’s about the house for us

[Joorn59]

I rented for a year and fell in love with Emmalee Villas. Centrally located really friendly with many singles men and women. Youngest male is in his forty’s.
You can also try renting for several month stays.
Enjoy your search!

[Leadbone1]

Originally Posted by STLRAY

I have been trying to schedule a LV for almost a year but a combination of elderly parents and adult children and COVID have derailed my plans. So I have been scouring the internet for everything I can learn about TV. One thing I remain curious about is how to determine where to live. Some say live in the established areas because there is so much more to do and some recommend the newer areas because there will be more people my age (I'm 57 and single). Any thoughts, suggestions or smart ass comments are welcome.

I put the Sorting Hat on that they use at Hogwarts, and after some deliberation it told me Pollo Ridge. It was easy!

[Leadbone1]

Originally Posted by STLRAY

I have been trying to schedule a LV for almost a year but a combination of elderly parents and adult children and COVID have derailed my plans. So I have been scouring the internet for everything I can learn about TV. One thing I remain curious about is how to determine where to live. Some say live in the established areas because there is so much more to do and some recommend the newer areas because there will be more people my age (I'm 57 and single). Any thoughts, suggestions or smart ass comments are welcome.

I put the Sorting Hat on that they use at Hogwarts, and after some deliberation it told me Pollo Ridge. It was easy!

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by STLRAY

I have been trying to schedule a LV for almost a year but a combination of elderly parents and adult children and COVID have derailed my plans. So I have been scouring the internet for everything I can learn about TV. One thing I remain curious about is how to determine where to live. Some say live in the established areas because there is so much more to do and some recommend the newer areas because there will be more people my age (I'm 57 and single). Any thoughts, suggestions or smart ass comments are welcome.

If you have been searching so long for information, you have probably read the two or three books available about The Villages online. If so, you know that they are all woefully inadequate and riddled with typing errors. (I wrote to the author of the biggest one and offered to proof-read his book FOR FREE, but he didn’t even reply!) I’d like to see a book about The Villages that has several pages about each village. It should have a full page map of that village, showing each lot and house (as seen when you search for houses on Zillow and increase the map magnification). It should break down the types of houses (for example, courtyard villas, stick frame or cinder block), give the date of construction. It should give the approximate distance to various amenities, such as stores, golf courses, pools, recreation centers. It should give the pros and cons of each village. It should show the distance to various busy streets. (I know that there is at least one village that has a large percentage of gay men. If I were gay and considering a move to The Villages, I’d like to know which village that is!) All this information is available, and the authors could put it in their books, but they haven’t. It would be so helpful!

I’d also like a listing of all the restaurants in The Villages area and how to get there. What are their specialties? How are they rated? How about all the grocery stores, and dry cleaners, and other stores, all marked on a map, or a bunch of maps? What about including a list of all of the clubs? (Granted, they are available on Talk of the Villages, but they should be in the book, too, which could be updated yearly.) How about chapters on various hobbies and the people who practice them and how? How about information about house direction and the size of garages? Don’t you wish you had that book?

I’d really like to have a good quality laminated map that shows every village and ideally every lot. Sure, GPS is nice, but so is a map. There are a couple maps online that have that information, and I’ve printed them out over several pages, but I’d like a bigger one.

There are a number of useful videos about The Villages on YouTube (I especially like the drone videos). However, a lot of them are very badly made. Some guy sits in his lanai and rambles on for twenty minutes. He has useful information, but why not make notes and use them and cut out all the rambling? Why not rehearse?

One thing to consider is that if you use your golf cart a lot, you may be using your car much less. If you only drive your car a thousand miles a year at The Villages, maybe you don’t need a new one. Save yourself hundreds of dollars a month! And do you really need a big SUV, or can you get by with a much smaller car that is easier to park in that tiny garage with a golf cart beside it. If you say you need it because it is safer, Bear in mind that an open golf cart offers much less protection than a small car. Plus, a small car may be $20,000 less than that SUV.

A large percentage of the homes in The Villages are only 1100 to 1200 square feet. If you are single, do you really need a king size bed, or is that just wishful thinking? Do you really need big chests of drawers, or could you keep all your clothes in your walk in closet on shelves? How much do you REALLY think you will be entertaining? If you aren’t entertaining, how many seats do you really need? For years I had only three comfy chairs in my living room. Now I have two chairs and one loveseat. (Why? I’ve only had one visitor to my house in the past year.) If you don’t have two or three seating areas and couches, 1200 square feet doesn’t seem nearly so small. And do you need a dinner table that sits six or eight plus another table in the breakfast area if there are only two of you? There’s more room! One table for four may be all you need. And why have various sets of china and other dinnerware and more than one set of flatware? You could probably get by with service for six. Twelve? Who are you kidding? It’s not very likely.

If you are buying, at present you can get 3% interest on your mortgage. That’s amazing! There are several useful YouTube videos that explain the costs of living here, and one of the books does, too. Here are some costs to consider. (These are off the top of my head and are probably inaccurate, but in the ballpark.) My bond is paid off. If you buy a new house, how much is the bond? $200 a month? How much is the Amenities fee we all pay? $168? There is trash pickup, whether or not you are here. Electricity will probably cost you at least $100 a month. There’s a water bill. I pay about $800 total per year for homeowners insurance and flood insurance and hurricane insurance, etc. Car insurance is very cheap in The Villages—especially if you don’t have an expensive car. Pool cleaning costs me $2,000 a year. Mowing my tiny lawn also costs about that. Then there is fertilizing and weed control and weed pulling and tree and shrub pruning. Roughly, for me, all of this is about $800 a month on top of the mortgage.

I hope this helps.

[Singerlady]

Originally Posted by STLRAY

I have been trying to schedule a LV for almost a year but a combination of elderly parents and adult children and COVID have derailed my plans. So I have been scouring the internet for everything I can learn about TV. One thing I remain curious about is how to determine where to live. Some say live in the established areas because there is so much more to do and some recommend the newer areas because there will be more people my age (I'm 57 and single). Any thoughts, suggestions or smart ass comments are welcome.

Location (where do you want to be), new/pre-owned, etc...lots to consider. We wanted to be in the center of the villages between 466 and 466A and within 10 to 15 minutes by Golf Cart to grocery shopping. Also, I read an article about moving into an already established neighborhood. They said that sometimes the groups are already formed there and it is harder to fit in than it would be to move into a brand new area where everybody is in the same boat at the same time… New owner, not familiar with a lot of things, Just starting out issues, etc. We lucked out in our neighborhood. There still are groups that were formed before we moved here, but plenty of very nice people that welcomed us with open arms.

[HappyTXVillager]

Originally Posted by STLRAY

I have been trying to schedule a LV for almost a year but a combination of elderly parents and adult children and COVID have derailed my plans. So I have been scouring the internet for everything I can learn about TV. One thing I remain curious about is how to determine where to live. Some say live in the established areas because there is so much more to do and some recommend the newer areas because there will be more people my age (I'm 57 and single). Any thoughts, suggestions or smart ass comments are welcome.

I found Jerry and Linda's Villages Newcomers VLOG super helpful. I just moved here after in April after two 7-14 day visits in late 2018 & 2019. I arrived April 24, was under contract within 24 hrs, closed May 29 and moved into my small Colony Patio Villa June 16. It's been the best decision of my life!

I compromised on a couple of things but stood VERY firm on not being squished between two other homes. I didn't want to be staring at the side of someone else's home. I have the most beautiful large lot and love it. I've already met so many nice people!!!

YouTube

[cemtennis]

I read all "we" replys. As a single, your realities may be different. Rent for awhile and explore the many different Village neighborhoods. But, be aware, that as you live here things change. The oak lined street you loved, can turn into stone yards with trees cut down. The convenient shopping to a favorite group of stores, restaurants expereince turn over when rents go up. Established neighbors may not be as welcoming to a single. The singles club may be 90% women. The big plus is, when things return to normal activity, there are so many activities to choose from. Their are organizations and churches to become a member of. A ton of activities to elect to be involved in. And,10 months of the year, the weather can be 'perfect.' Good luck to you.

[VApeople]

We tried to imagine what our day-to-day life would be living in one of the villages.

In my case, I truly hate having to turn left onto a 4-lane highway without having a stop light to control the traffic.

That rules out most of the villages because there are many 4-lane highways like Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Moyer (2 lanes for cars, 2 for golf carts) and we refused to live in the villages along those roads.

That is why we chose Osceola Hills. When we leave our neighborhood, we come out to a roundabout where it is easy to turn left. Every time we drive down another 4-lane road and see someone struggling to turn left, I am glad we live where we do.

[kimgarwel12@gmail.com]

We've lived here a little over a month now and looked at property in TV off and on for years. What we found in looking at homes in the established part of TV is that most of the homes, being older, needed updating and the owners obviously wanted their equity, so it made the cost of the home and any potential updating more. We ended up buying a brand new home in Monarch Grove near the Fenney area. While we don't yet have golf cart access across 44, the potential for new growth and activity is huge, and we can't wait to see how it plays out! It's true that the age group for those living in the newer areas seems to be younger, but overall, I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in TV. Right now, south of 44, you have to be okay with driving your car everywhere, which doesn't bother us. We think the wait will be well worth it!!

[OhioRaised]

We rented for the month of January 2020. We stayed in McClure which is south of Warm Springs Avenue near Fenney. Had no intention of buying a home. Fell in love with TV and started house hunting the second week. Decided we wanted new as we are in our 50’s. Did not find a home but left knowing which models we liked and that my heart really loved Marsh Bend. Figured we would have to build. Kept an eye on the TV app to see if anything came up. Low and behold a home next to a green space in Marsh Bend appeared in February. It was one of the models we liked. Bought it the next day.

[regas56]

Let my Brother in Law, (yeah you know who you are) talk me into a visit... kicking and screaming the entire way we pulled into Lake Sumter Landing where I first saw the golf carts and open front bars and said okie dokie where do I sign up.. We bought a newly released Spec home 2 weeks later sight unseen from 1000 miles away and 30 days later we flew back and walked through on our way to closing.. That was August of 2013 and it's already been 7 years of driving down several times a year for short stays but we now only have 1 more year before we're there full time..We've found we're both excited and nervous, happy but also sad, it's going to be an emotional roller coaster for the next year or two but we think we're ready..

[kendi]

In my opinion the age of my neighbors is not an issue since I enjoy all ages. We've stayed in Sumter, Brownwood and the Fenney area. Never wanted to move here until our stay in Fenney. Too crowded up North for my taste and I love all the trails that are for walking/biking only in Fenney. No golf carts to dodge on the trails. I've heard that if you move into an established neighborhood its harder to make friends because everyone has already established their circle of friends. I've talked to people who have moved out of the North for that reason. However, I suspect it just depends on the particular people in the area and not how established the neighborhood is. I wouldn't hesitate to move into an established area anywhere in TV if it was an area I liked. Bottom line it all depends on your personality. I prefer a quiet area with nice views and friendly neighbors and I don't have an issue getting in my car to get somewhere as opposed to taking the golf cart. But keep in mind that with all the land TV currently owns what is now considered to be the South will one day be more central and most of what we would need to go North for now will be closer to home.

[Gulfcoast]

Check out Robyn Cavallero's videos on Youtube. She's a 50 something year old single lady who has recently moved to the villages and has started to make videos about TV. Her latest video highlights some of the newer patio villas. She does a walk thru on some of the models.

Also highly recommend Jerry and Linda's channel.