[Schaumburger]

Two years ago I went with my friend (who moved to Florida 7 yrs. ago) and her sister (who was then contemplating a move to Florida). My friend's sister wanted to look at homes in TV, so I tagged along on this house hunting expedition and fell in love with TV. My friend's sister bought a home in TV in 2010, and she moved to TV full time last year. So it is all her fault that I am a TV wannabee. . See you all on June 8 when I am back to rent for 8 days! Wish I was a Frog right now!

[LittleDog]

I had heard about TV since around 1995 but had lived in the same house in NJ for 32 years but had never visited TV. In 2005 we were attending a convention in Sarasota and had a few days before the convention started. We had friends who had moved here 6 or 7 years earlier when her parents died and left her the house. We looked at TV and thought it was a "neat" place. We were both retired so that was not an issue. We contacted a realtor here to take us around and show us some houses. One house that we particularly liked was on the historic side. It had a nice landscaped lot and was immaculate inside. We stopped 3 times to look at this place. On the 3rd visit I found that the house didn't have an oven. In any case we continued looking and found a house (who knows where we were) that we liked so in 3 days we bought the house. We hadn't planned on doing that prior to our visit. When we returned to NJ we found 16" of snow on the ground so that was a good sign. After we bought the house our son, who was living in Boston at the time said that he had gotten a job teaching at USF and would be moving to St. Pete. Another good sign.

What I did find out once we made our move was that we were in a rut in NJ and this move invigorated both of us. Don't regret it for an instance.

John

[jebartle]

BUT moving here was a chore....1st trip stayed in a rental in Belleview, rental was so new that they were delivering furniture DURING our stay, we were less than thrilled, 2nd trip stayed in CYV in Springdale area, owner gave the "ole boy" a golf cart driving lesson, but being the stubborn Taurus that I am, I looked on line and found villas around square, there was a bidding war, we said "forget it" (condos that should sell for no more than $300,000 were selling in excess of $600,000), went on line, found the little yellow house and the rest is history....We LOVE LOVE LOVE the Villages

[batman911]

Suprised no one has mentioned The Golf Channel. There were lots of add during the golf tournaments several years back.

[Bill & Carolyn]

LOL, we 'found out' about TV when we were looking at potential retirement communities in this area of Florida back in 2006. Originally TV was not on our radar and I had not even heard of it.

My wife and I stayed a couple of days after our cruise out of Orlando ended. We had a list of 6-7 communities spread out from south of Orlando to the Crystal River area. We didn't find anything both she and I liked (her major concern was the lack of women in evidence at most places) and were heading back to Orlando from Ocala to catch a flight home. She said, "Let's try to see the 'The Villages' place a co-worker mentioned. It took us 45 mins to find Spanish Springs, but, as soon as we drove into the square, My wife looked at me and said, "This is it. I LOVE IT."

The rest, as they say, is history. We visited two more times and bought a home in Pennecamp last March, where we will become full time residents in November when I retire.

[peaches]

Came here from visiting DisneyWorld in order to check on a friend's mom. She moved here shortly after it opened (the historic side) and suggested we look at "the other side." We drove into Spanish Springs with our mouths hanging open. We came back for a Lifestyle visit and saw where Sumter was in the process of being built. A few more visits (and sick of the Michigan snow) and we bought a Courtyard Villa. We have now lived here four years and find ourselves more active than ever.

[skyking]

My wife and I had seen the ads for The Villages on television and I told her that I would never want to live there - in a "retirement community". Then I volunteered for a healthcare accreditation survey for a surgery center in "Lady Lake" Florida (wherever that was??) and ended up staying at a hotel just outside The Villages. I changed my mind when I saw what was here. (Could have been the cheap two for one drinks.) We came for a LSV a couple of months later and we both swore that we would not buy anything right away - just look. We signed the purchase agreement before we left for home (probably the drinks again).

[jpharmat]

My parents had rented in The Villages for years during the winter months... way before Nancy Lopez was built. Mother would never move here.. Long story short, mother died, WE (father, husband and myself) bought a house here in LSL, father died and the house became our (husband and I) property.

BTW it is always advertised on the Golf Channel.

[PJOHNS2654]

Saw an Ad in a golf magazine in the early nineties. Chi Chi was saying come play my favorite hole (Hacienda Course). Sent for the video and did life style tour when I retired in 96. There were a coule of restaurants at the square in S.S. and a huge tent where the square is now. Entertainment and libations under the tent.

After tour went to local R.V. park for a couple of weeks, (stayed the next four months. and returned for six months a year for the next 15.) In late nineties saw some nice looking Condos that had been built behind S.S. Thought I would like to live there. When TV reduced the price on them in 2008 bought one and love it here.

[uujudy]

HoneyBoy saw the ad on the Golf Channel & asked me to type in the website so he could check it out. I typed the website wrong, so a whole page of suggested sites popped up. I clicked on the first link & wound up at The Villages 4 Rent dot com. I told him I don't know anything about this place, except they have a lot of golf courses & we could rent a 3 bedroom house with a golf cart for the month of December in a place called Lynnhaven for $1800. He said 'Book it!" and the rest is history.

[John_W]

I had lived in Florida since age nine from 1959 until 1989. I then had moved to Baltimore for a job but when I retired I wanted to move back. I grew up in St. Petersburg but that is too crowded now, I had loved my six years in Pensacola and probably would of moved there if it had not been for that 30 minute infomercial I saw on the Golf channel in 2003.

[CaptJohn]

I saw the 60 Minutes show a couple of years ago about the custom golf carts at TV and said "I've got to see this place! Looks like a lot of fun and people must have great attitudes to be having that much fun. The old people aren't old!"
Once I found this forum I realized how much more there was thanks to everyone who posts here.
Before then I had not heard of the place and I grew up (sorta) in Pensacola.