[Michael G.]

There are retired people from all over the nation that settled down in The Villages, some snowbirds, and some full-time residence.

My question is: "What's your story that brought to TV, and why not other areas in Florida?"

Cheers!

[Taltarzac725]

My parents visited the Villages in 2004 from Palm Harbor, FL and loved it after spending a week or so here trying it out. They then moved here in the Summer of 2005 after their various grand kids moved back to the West Coast following my younger brother's divorce. We gained a bunch of Jamaicans and Jamaican-Americans as extended family after his 2nd marriage to a lady he met in the St. Petersburg, FL area.

I have been along for the ride. I do have 4 degrees from 5 schools in five states but have only used those for the most part for various hobbies but did work my way through school often via summer jobs, scholarships, work-study and the like. I was only at BYU Law School for about ten days though so did not experience that much of Utah. I did look into a dual degree in law and librarianship at the University of Denver (Class of May, 1984) but just had to settle for the MA. Later, went back to law school at the U of MN-- Class of 1989. Also have BAs in Philosophy and History (Classes of 1980 December and 1981 May from the U of Nevada, Reno). I took some Spanish classes at the College of San Mateo in San Mateo, CA around 1985 or 1986.

I have a habit of poking my nose where it should not be. So, ended up with my loving parents.

Grew up Lutheran but find things to value in many religions.

[Stu from NYC]

For some years every time we cruised we would meet people from the Villages and almost all very favorable.
Visited about 6 years ago and liked it but were not ready.
Came down here 2 1/2 and rented for a month and we knew it was time and moved here 2 years ago just in time for covid.

[Carla B]

Left Texas in 1996 aboard our 40' sailboat, an Island Packet, after selling house and most possessions, including cars. Lived aboard and cruised until 2002, then moved to a condo in Southeast Fl. with ocean access. Finally stopped boating in 2008 and started looking for a less costly and crowded place to live, away from direct hits from hurricanes, and with more of a "country" environment. Thought we'd go back to Texas but we didn't make it that far. Friends from Texas mentioned they had happened upon The Villages and were impressed, as were we on our first trip. We all moved here in 2008.

There are many people in The Villages who moved from other places in Florida.

[GpaVader]

We were born and raised in MN. My wife has SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) so we needed to move someplace with more sun in the winter, plus we both hate snow.... We've spent the last 8 or so years of our vacations exploring where we wanted to retire. Saw a commercial on the Golf Channel and came to check it out, and we kept coming back. We tried it at different times of the year figuring if we can handle the heat and humidity at its worst, we could live here. Not ready to retire yet, 2 years ago I put out resumes from here to Orlando, Tampa to Ocala and didn't get any interest, plus COVID hit. We had planned a Life Style visit for Aug of last year and 2 weeks before our trip I had some tickles on a job. Flew out for our visit, went to the job interview, got an offer the next day and the rest is history. We get to see how we like it and if it doesn't work out we still have time to hit the reset button.... Love so far but still adjusting.

[Taltarzac725]

My parents moved from Chicagoland in the mid-1950s to a suburb of Milwaukee where they raised us three kids even though I greeted the arrival of my younger brother by taking off at three for about a few mile tricycle ride. Wound up in the back of a police cruiser, I think. At three!

We then moved to Reno, Nevada in very early 1970 and grew up there.

I have met quite a few Villagers who worked in Reno, Nevada for a time and even more who have visited there.

I spent 5.5 years in Minneapolis getting a law degree and working at the downtown Minneapolis Public Library for about a semester before getting hired by the U of MN Law Library. Worked at that library until mid-1991. Also helped prisoners and former inmates at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater while a law student.

Originally Posted by GpaVader

We were born and raised in MN. My wife has SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) so we needed to move someplace with more sun in the winter, plus we both hate snow.... We've spent the last 8 or so years of our vacations exploring where we wanted to retire. Saw a commercial on the Golf Channel and came to check it out, and we kept coming back. We tried it at different times of the year figuring if we can handle the heat and humidity at its worst, we could live here. Not ready to retire yet, 2 years ago I put out resumes from here to Orlando, Tampa to Ocala and didn't get any interest, plus COVID hit. We had planned a Life Style visit for Aug of last year and 2 weeks before our trip I had some tickles on a job. Flew out for our visit, went to the job interview, got an offer the next day and the rest is history. We get to see how we like it and if it doesn't work out we still have time to hit the reset button.... Love so far but still adjusting.

[manaboutown]

Read about The Villages in "Leisureville" and just had to see it. I found it beautiful and very impressive and after three separate visits figured out what type house, location and so on would work best for me. It all worked out and here I am.

BTW I really miss Katie Belle's!

[Bilyclub]

We would cruise once or twice a year and a lot of the people we met were from TV. After researching and visiting both sides of Florida and figured out TV was probably our best fit. Checked out TV a few times, plus 2 lifestyle visits. Spent a few years looking for a house that suited us and bought before the current big bubble.

[JMintzer]

Friends of ours talked about moving to TV for years before finally pulling the trigger in 2019. I laughed it off for years, thinking we'd end up in SE FL, where my mother in law had a condo (Boca Raton). After she passed, we started looking (as I didn't want a condo), but nothing that wound our watch...

We visited our friends for a week, 10 days over Thanksgiving 2 years ago. I was immediately smitten. I was ready to dive in. I loved the plethora of golf courses, all of the activities and clubs. Everyone we met, while shopping, eating out or just walking the squares was friendly and helpful.

The Boss insisted we wait and rent for a season to be sure, so we rented last Winter for 2 1/2 months. Came down just before Christmas and by the first week of January, had made an offer on a re-sale that was accepted. We were lucky. A few weeks after our offer was accepted, the market went nuts! I'm working on retiring and hopefully, we'll be "Frogs' in 2-3 years max... Sooner if the stars align correctly...

We settled in the middle of February, a few weeks before our rental expired. We moved a bunch of stuff in this past April and have been coming back and forth ever since... A week in June, 2 weeks at the end of July/August, and again in early December. Each time we come down, we bring more "stuff" that we weren't sure we wanted to keep, and we schedule contractors to tweak things to our taste. We had the inside painted just before the movers arrived, we're having light fixtures changed next week and gutters installed next month... Still to do? Landscape changes... But that can wait for now...

We'll be down again this weekend, I'll only be able to stay for a week, but the Boss will stay till the beginning of March. I'll come down in late February for a week or two and we'll drive home together...

We have a daughter's wedding coming up in May, so we're not sure when we'll be back... Probably June or July...

[Garywt]

Friends of ours did the search around Florida and ended up buying in The Villages. It was surprising to us up north. We had never heard of the Villages and had never really thought of living down south. Our friends invited us down for a visit and we spent a week, then another week and after many weeks and a ton of open houses we figured we could buy something. We pulled our finances together, found the house we wanted and bought in March 2019. We only get down 4-6 weeks a year but we love it.

[Hape2Bhr]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

There are retired people from all over the nation that settled down in The Villages, some snowbirds, and some full-time residence.

My question is: "What's your story that brought to TV, and why not other areas in Florida?"

Cheers!

While still working, spent 25 years on central Florida golf trips. After retiring, while my better half continued to work, I spent a January at Citrus Hills and the next year at Black Diamond in Lecanto.
After my wife retired we rented for 3 months in Santo Domingo (a very nice house with a pool and a good size yard by the way). The following year we rented a 3 bedroom courtyard villa with a pool and separate golf cart garage. We were hooked; bought that March.
How about yourself?

[laboutj]

My brother and sister in law purchased sight unseen in 2007. I was driving my father in law to West Palm and we scheduled an overnight stay with my brother on the way down. I was awed. Wife and I ended up renting for 1-2 months at a time for several years and then ended up purchasing in October 2020 before the housing market went crazy. I talked it up so much between that first visit and our purchase that both of my wife's siblings ended up buying homes in the Villages.

[ThirdOfFive]

We came here on the lifestyle program a few years back, then also rented here subsequently. We enjoyed our time here but saw ourselves more as prospective snowbirds than permanent residents. However in the fall of 2020 Minneapolis and St. Paul were in the throes of rioting, violence, and looting to the extent that housing in about a 60-mile ring around those two cities skyrocketed in value, as persons living and working in those areas sought to put some distance between themselves and the unrest. Our house was one such. It was the perfect time, we found an incredibly good deal here when my wife came down to house-shop, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Why here and not another part of Florida? We talked about it, but TV is designed for retirees; not just all the golf and other activities, but the structure of the residences, shopping in TV and nearby, etc. are all conducive to healthy and active senior living. Plus its inland enough so that hurricanes are not a major problem. No other place in Florida met our needs the way "the world's largest open-air nursing home (as my wife calls it) than The Villages.

[asianthree]

Came in 2007 after seeing TV advertised on golf magazine and Golf tournament. Rented, 07, and 09. Bought first home vaca home in 2010.

One retired in 2016, one still figuring out the love of working

[Michael G.]

Our adopted son and daughter in law came to TV for a visit and rented for a couple months.
They decided to move into a new home they had built, and we came down from Wisconsin to visit,
when I retired, and my wife sold her business.

We rented for the winter in 2015, brought my Goldwing trike along, put a bid in on our house and moved here in 2016.

Now you know the rest of the story.

BTW, we're still trying to adapt to the summer heat, but 6 months of Wisconsin winters for 70 + years, proved to be too much