[njbchbum]

I have been reading the posts here for some time and it is amazing to me to see the number of 'wannabes' and 'newbies' who visit here. And who can give thanx enough to the senior member posters here! It has made me wonder how we all came to have homes here.

We bought our home this past St. Patrick's Day after visiting friends in their home for the past 3 out of 4 yrs. They moved in 4 yrs ago after visiting their cousin who moved to the villages about 8 yrs ago. And they moved after visiting friends from home who moved to the the villages about 10 or 12 yrs ago.

So while we are but a new limb, our 'villages family tree' has a trunk that is between 10/12 years old. I don't know how our roots family came to know about the villages, but we are there because of word of mouth and caring/sharing friends from home.

How did you come to own in the villages?

[SteveFromNY]

Around 2002 a friend told us about TV. I started looking at the website then, and tracked the house prices for for a couple of years (up, up, up). We met a number of folks who had heard about TV, and a few who were moving there as well.
We had been planning our retirement for quite some time but aren't retiring until this year (October 09), so, in mid-2005 we decided to buy figuring if we waited until we actually retired the prices would be much higher. We visited, loved it, and bought with the intent to rent for a few years. I figured if all I did was hold onto the house for a few years - well - how could I go wrong?
So we rented the house out until last year (when we sold our "big" house in NY), and moved into a condo in NY (our future summer home). We have 2 young grand daughters, and we couldn't be away from them for the whole year.
So we've spent almost all of our vacations and many long weekends there, and I count the hours until I can spend a few months at a time in TV. We've been there about 7 weeks this year total days. We love the neighbors, we love the house, we love the community, and we won't be selling for a long, long time!

[Bonny]

We're from Michigan. I had been collecting info about retirement places in Florida. In September of 1999, we drove down on a whim to look at another community. Didn't like it. Talked my DH into coming here the next morning. Took the trolly ride & bought a lot in Santiago. Had 2 years to build which was good. We weren't ready to move yet.
Came to Florida & stayed here for a few days for New Years. When we got home, we decided we wanted to start building. Put our house on the market in Feb 2000. The 1st. people that walked through bought it. Did our home order. Closed on our house & moved here May 2000.
We kept our summer place in Michigan, but by July of 2000, I said let's sell the summer place. I'm not going back.
We built our 2nd. house in BonnyBrook in Feb 2004.
Ya gotta love the Villages !

[Campbell soup]

We are also from Michigan...
In January 2009 a friend of mine that I use to work with, called to chat ....and he told me about TV and it sounded great.

I went on the website and requested the DVD.
Then the Boss (Mrs. Campbell soup) and I watched it and both agreed that it looked like just what we wanted.

Went down in March 2009 for a Lifestyle visit and found we just loved the TV.
We bought a home in Duval and couldn't be happier.
We still own our house in Michigan and plan to keep it for a few more years. Then we will become Frogs ....

[twynsmom]

Same as you NJ, visited friends for 3 or 4 years and decided this was the place for us..No regrets!

[swrinfla]

Somewhere in the archives of TOTV there are other threads on this subject, but it's nice to see some of the "new posters" telling their stories.

I was first exposed to TV when I came to visit my brother at Thanksgiving 2002. He isn't a Villager, prefers his airpark just off the Marion County Road, but we came to Town Square at least a couple of times on that visit. I was intrigued, but not treally ready to give up in St. Louis.

Then, after some urging from bro' as well as my own daughters, I decided to come down in May 2004, to see what there was. Visited several other over-55 communities nearby. While they were all intriguing and beautiful, there was a real pull here in TV.

So, I came and bought my lot two days after Hurricane Frances stormed through, jst after Labor Day. All my friends in St. Louis knew for a fact that I had really, really lost my marbles. They'd been pretty convinced of it since I'd announced that I was "thinking" of moving to Florida. Their image of the state is nice sandy beaches along which stand multi-story condominums in which even $700,000 gets you only a view of the land-side parking lot! And probably only one bedroom!

Of course their tune has changed, now. Several have been through, and have decided that I made the Right Move! How I agree with them!

SWR

[SABRMnLgs]

My wife and I loaded up the car and moved from Orlando. Still close enough for her kids, but far enough they're not here all the time.
She came for the Mah-jong and I came for the various music groups. Not much else goes on around here we are interested in.
People go to bed way to early! No night clubs or local pubs open till 3-4 am.

[k2at]

Like many of you, We were lured to the Villages by friends who had already moved into Bonnybrook. We visited them for two consecutive years over Christmas and then rented the third year for January, February, and March. The 3 month rental pushed us over the edge and a house came available in Bonnybrook just a few houses down from our friends. We bought it and kept our house in NJ so we can still go back for a period of time to spend time with the grandkids.

[MSNPA]

Visited Leesburg October '05 and met with a realtor to see the Legacy properties. One evening for something to do we visited Spanish Springs Town Square. The next day we did the Trolley tour. My husband fell in love (it took me much longer). We met with a Villages realtor, told her our wishes, went home and after 3 months basically decided and bought over the internet and closed January '06. We never did the Lifestyle package or rented. You could say we jump right in.

[MarcV]

We never heard of the place but saw the golf cart bridge over 441 on our drive from Ocala to Altamonte Springs where we were looking for a retirement home. We turned in at the sales center sign, followed the gate guard's instructions to drive past 466 to the LSL sales office. The rest took two days of looking at Designer models.

After we bought, we were disappointed that there was no map to our new house. We had to guess at the turns from a (erroneous) Mapquest map. The keys they gave us at LSL worked in the door so we knew we had the right place.

We left two days later, after waiting for a bed delivery, and are back in Illinois now still at work.

We never did find out when garbage is picked up so have to apologize for the bags being out July 4 & 5 & ? Maybe they're still there. We were told to ask the neighbors but most of the homes are vacant this time of year. We'll hopefully meet the neighbors after hurricane season ends.

[Floridagal]

We were living in South Florida and it was getting too crowded and we decided it was time to move, but didn't know where to.

One day my son called me and said he found the place for us. He came down from up North with his family to visit his mother-in-law who lived here. We took a drive up the The Villages and once we saw the place we knew this was where we were going to move to.

We sold our place down south and the rest is history. We are living here almost 5 years and love it.

[movinsoon]

A little over a year ago our friends from Atlanta told us they were going to retire in The Villages. I immediately went online and did some research and based on that research we booked a Lifestyle visit over the fourth of July weekend because we wanted to prove to our friends that The Villages was too expensive, that one did not get enough house for the money and that there could not be enough good things about the place to make moving here worth it. We spent three days looking around and went back to Mississippi knowing that we would put the house on the market and move as soon as possible. It is now one year later and we again spent the 4th in The Villages -- this time as homeowners. Our friends have not made it down yet but they are not far behind.

[conn8757]

We lived nearby (Orlando) and used to come up for Saturday or a weekend. We took one lifestyle week. I think we always knew we would be up here. 4 weeks after I retired we sold our house and here we are - we love it!

[LELANDJANE]

In April 2008, I heard about tv from someone in Al. who lived here parttime. My sister-in-law and I decided to come here for a lifestyle visit. Of course, we loved it. Neither of us was retired so we just dreamed about the day! In June, I met a man (my son set us up). On our first date he said he was moving to tv. I couldn't believe it. Anyway, one year and one month later, I married Carl on Friday and moved to tv yesterday! I feel blessed. Today I'm a villager!

[Bettiboop]

Wow, congrats on your marriage AND becoming a Villager. Fantastic! Hope you enjoy many, many happy and wonderful years together in TV!!

Originally Posted by LELANDJANE

In April 2008, I heard about tv from someone in Al. who lived here parttime. My sister-in-law and I decided to come here for a lifestyle visit. Of course, we loved it. Neither of us was retired so we just dreamed about the day! In June, I met a man (my son set us up). On our first date he said he was moving to tv. I couldn't believe it. Anyway, one year and one month later, I married Carl on Friday and moved to tv yesterday! I feel blessed. Today I'm a villager!