[VillagesFlorida]

Knowing nothing about Florida, except where Disney World and Busch Gardens were, we drove down Rt. 441 from Ocala and happened upon this place in 1997. We were on a tour of central Florida, trying to see if the area might interest us 5 or 6 years down the road as a possible retirement destination. We took the 45-minute trolley tour and agreed that we would come back then, and look again. The next year we again toured the area, stopping here first, and then looking at communities from Leesburg to north and west of Ocala. Nothing looked as good as what we saw here. Spanish Springs Town Square was partially completed and there were two supermarkets. 5 months later we were headed down the turnpike in a Penske truck, hauling our car on a flatbed trailer. I am still not sure how it all happened so fast but I think it had something to do with the water in the fountain on the square! Since that August day in 1998 we have had an ongoing love affair with this magical place. So, how did we find this place? Purely by accident!

[hedoman]

Originally Posted by cgalloway6

Saw ad on the Golf Channel.

That and a few of the members of my old club rent here and convinced us to check it out

The rest is history

[ceejay]

Five or six years ago, a friend in Brooklyn was cutting our hair and telling us about a wonderful "city" where her niece was a reporter for the local newspaper.

They only drive golf carts and you don't even have to leave the grounds because you have everything you need as far as shopping and entertainment,
golf courses and pools galore; they even had their own local newspaper.

I remember thinking "Wow, it must be like the Emerald City...what a cool place to live"!

Fast forward a couple of years. We have a friend who hates everything, except the Villages! It was one of those "he likes it, hey Mikey (substitute Frankie)" moments.

Thanks to Lillian and Frankie, we have found our OZ!

[Lynnelf]

My husband and I were planning a trip to FL to visit some possible retirement spots. I was telling my neighbor about the trip and she had heard about TV from a friend of hers who had just returned from a visit. So we ended up visiting and loved it. Then we visited the Sarasota area and loved that too. We were torn between the two until we met a man who lived in TV and was vacationing in Sarasota. He told us how much he loved living in TV (like being on vacation everyday) and spending great weekends in Sarasota whenever he felt like it. That sold us! After that we scheduled a lifestyle visit and had a fabulous time. We bought our lot this summer and will become full time Villagers very soon! My neighbor can't wait to visit us to see for herself what she started.

[Schaumburger]

I came to learn about TV last year while visiting TV with my friend and her sister who was looking to buy a home in TV. All 3 of us took the trolley tour last year, and I was very impressed by what I saw. The three of us went to several open houses, and my friend's sister bought a house in TV last year, and she moved to TV full time about 5 months ago.

Since that visit last year, I have rented twice in TV this year. I will be back to rent in TV hopefully in June of 2012 -- oh how I wish it could be tomorrow.

[redwitch]

I had to move from the Bay Area and knew I was going to move to the South, just not where. Fortunately, I played a lot of bridge on Yahoo at that time. I did a post saying I was going to do a tour of the South and would love to meet some of my online friends if they could me up for a day or two. I did a whirlwind tour from Homestead (by Miami) to the Carolinas (5,000 miles in 30 days). One of my stops was The Villages.

After some careful consideration, it came down to North Carolina, Kentucky (my father's home) or here. Had to eliminate Kentucky because there were no jobs in that area. Figured I would have aged out of North Carolina's area (who wants to hire a legal secretary pushing 60 when you can get someone much younger for a lot less money?). So, that left The Villages since (1) I would be one of the "young 'uns;" (2) I loved that I could be as busy as I liked; and (3) just really liked The Villages in general. Once I moved here, I discovered that I could find a job with no problem but not one that paid a living wage. So, I started my own business and am now doing well enough to be looking to hire part-time to help me in some areas. I LOVE my bubble and thank Nancy weekly for inviting me to come visit her!!!

[bonrich]

We had vacationed for a number of years on Siesta Key, and really enjoyed going there twice a year. Well, while on a cruise we met a "young couple" onboard who were full time residents of TV. They in true Villages style, invited us over to their house to visit and look around. We did one year and really enjoyed the peek. We were able to see TV through the eyes of a resident and not "on the bus" as we later on did. We would look at the video of the Lifestyle here, and usually in the dead of a SW NY winter, cold, horizontal snow, below zero wind chill, etc. It took us about 3 years of rentals to finally make the commitment to purchase a Villa and now a golf cart, and last night was able to enjoy the monthly meeting of our neighbors at our Rec center.
Don't get much better than that!!

[Yorio]

You think everyone should by now know about TV. Wrong. Definitely there are more people who have friends living in TV these days. Let me tell you about a good friend of ours at a dinner dance. We happened to be sitting together that evening and somehow our conversation gravitated towards retirement. I mentioned about TV and as I explained more about the place, my friend got interested but not his wife. Since he was going to a conference in Orlando next week, he said he might look into this place. A month later, as we met at the dinner dance again, both he and his wife had this sheepish grin on their faces. They went, smitten, and bought a model home with all the furnitures. They spent a total of three days. Now after 5 years they sold their home up north to their son and living happily in TV.

[Sunshine Mary]

Girl friend told me about The Villages about 10 years ago .She looked every place to retired and this was the place ..She pick up and sold everything and move down to The Villages .Well last winter I stay in Fort Myers and on the way home spent the night looked around like what I saw .So we came back In Aug spent a week and come back to rent here for three month .The second day here husband wanted to write a check and buy a house I said no .I am glad we waited we found the right lot we love the lot and well build Golf course view .First need to sell the house in Pittsburgh but we are living here so we are enjoy it here till we build..