[Sgt1010]

My wife and I are starting to plan for our retirement in a few years and The Villages is one of our options. When I mention this this to other people the first words out their mouth is a comment about STD's. I know the story has been blown out of proportion but how do you stop the negative comments. Even my wife makes jokes about it. Right now the Villages is #1 on my list ( not that my vote counts) as I am a golf teaching professional and when I retire I want to PLAY golf as much as I can> Hope to see you all in a few years.

[Mack184]

The first thing our doctor said to us when we said we were moving down here was.."You better buy body condoms!" Do you know how bad the STD & HIV rate is down there? We already knew, but then she backed it up with facts.

The best way to shed the STD label is for people to clean up their acts.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by Mack184

The first thing our doctor said to us when we said we were moving down here was.."You better buy body condoms!" Do you know how bad the STD & HIV rate is down there? We already knew, but then she backed it up with facts.

The best way to shed the STD label is for people to clean up their acts.

Really I cannot imagine that a population that probably contains a higher than average rate of people who have been happily married for many years would have a STD/HIV problem.

I would suggest that those individuals making such outlandish statements back them up with statistics.....as my boyhood hero says Ïcan't stands no more.

[gomoho]

I would answer "small price to pay for free golf for the rest of my life." You will never convince them otherwise so have some fun with it.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by AutoBike

You DID ask, right?
Seniors STDs rise: Seniors STDs rise with active sex lives - Orlando Sentinel

Oops I live a sheltered life. While I do love women i have only been in love with one woman my whole life...now I see that it was good for my health too.

Oversexed 60's gosh I don't even want to think about it. Walk through the park are my style. Sway on the dance floor are my style

[Mack184]

What our doctor did was to pull up the current CDC numbers in her office while we sat there. She has relatives living in TV and she's well aware of the situation down here. Her degree is from Johns Hopkins and you can't get one of those out of a Cracker Jack box. (Can't get a Coupe DeVille in one either! LOL) Since my wife is an NP she has access to the same information. I believe them both. No reason not to.

A lot of people want to think that TV is nirvana. If you like the lifestyle, it's a fine place, but it is not free of the various social things that plague our nation.

Knowledge is power.

[kittygilchrist]

I'm thinking the less attention you give the myth the better???

[rayschic]

Originally Posted by Sgt1010

My wife and I are starting to plan for our retirement in a few years and The Villages is one of our options. When I mention this this to other people the first words out their mouth is a comment about STD's. I know the story has been blown out of proportion but how do you stop the negative comments. Even my wife makes jokes about it. Right now the Villages is #1 on my list ( not that my vote counts) as I am a golf teaching professional and when I retire I want to PLAY golf as much as I can> Hope to see you all in a few years.

Colleen McQuade was the gyn that made a statement in 2006 while being interviewed by channel 6 news. She basically said she treated more STD cases in the Villages then when she practiced in Miami. But if you look at the actual data on STD's by county, you can compare for yourself and refute the rumor. Just use this link and go to the bottom section...Reported STD's by county, click on any year and compare Sumter, Lake, and Marion to Miami/Dade.....not even close.
I read that the gyn later recanted her statement.....but that didn't make the headlines.

Florida STD Trends

[DianeM]

That was the very first comment many said to me when I said I was moving to TV. I finally got so annoyed that I started saying "good thing they discovered penicillin" followed by "give me a break".

[Uptown Girl]

...

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by AutoBike

I clicked on the link and compared the total rate of STDs/100,000 residents.
Here's what the stats say for 2010:

County.....................................STD rate/100k residents
Miami/Dade.....................................25
Marion............................................ 26
Lake.............................................. .39
Sumter...........................................6 2

It looks like the statement was accurate to me.

Well what it looks like to me is that village residents have got to do more bike riding and less.............................................. .........

[Mr. Grampi II]

I think you need to look at this in the context is of the OP's original question, is the STD problem worse in the Villages than in any other retirement areas?

If you use the relatively old statistics that someone inserted here on a previous post(no pun intended) then Villages shows less instances of STD increases than the Arizona area and slightly more than California. The numbers the Villages were lumped in and included multiple central Florida counties and 55+ communities

I have a daughter that is a nurse practitioner/ midwife, she has access to all of those numbers too. This is a national issue for this demographic and is not a problem found only in that "wild place" know as the Villages, you know.... that place were everything closes up and the turn out the lights at 9 pm.....

[graciegirl]

I don't know and I don't care. The only behavior we have any control over is our own. If the singles are enjoying their life here, then I hope they will use protection.

Personally, I am amused by those rumors and it kinda beats the mindset that we are all dead or close to it.

[queasy27]

Now, I might worry about moving somewhere that had the highest murder rate in the U.S., or the biggest cockroaches, or the most sinkholes, but since STDs aren't transmitted through drinking water, it wouldn't affect me or my decisions one whit.

Everyone else can have whatever fun they want, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe The Villages should change its motto to The Friskiest Home Town! (Although as others have pointed out, it's not really true, but let's not let truth get in the way of a nascent internet meme.)

I can certainly understand that it would get old hearing it, Sgt101.

[CFrance]

If you are single and dating, this could be an issue, albeit it's also an issue anywhere. If you are happily married and contemplating retiring to TV, whether those statistics are true or not won't affect you.

If you should become single and begin your dating life anew, its something to keep in mind.

Otherwise, who cares what the rumors are? Anyone who mentions that to you is rude and doesn't deserve a response. I grew up in Pittsburgh and am constantly being harangued with prejudiced, uninformed, out-of-date comments about the condition of my hometown. I just ignore them. Let them feel stupid when they find out differently, and that has happened quite a bit, as people who have necessarily had to visit have been gracious enough to let me know their new opinions.

You can't change someone's mind that was made up from ignorance, so ignore the statements.