[Kenswing]

Are the homes for the Lifestyle Preview in a designated area or are they spread out throughout The Villages?

I'd also love to hear if people thought the Lifestyle Preview visit was a good representation of what your actual Village lifestyle turned out to be..

[Wiotte]

Originally Posted by Kenswing

Are the homes for the Lifestyle Preview in a designated area or are they spread out throughout The Villages?

I'd also love to hear if people thought the Lifestyle Preview visit was a good representation of what your actual Village lifestyle turned out to be..

1) the former
2) no
3) bring your checkbook




Near Brownwood

[tom_sjc]

We stayed in a villa right across from Brownwood. Great location.

We bought in Fenney so for us initially our experience will be quite different than the Lifestyle weekend.

[FenneyGuy]

Originally Posted by tom_sjc

We stayed in a villa right across from Brownwood. Great location.

We bought in Fenney so for us initially our experience will be quite different than the Lifestyle weekend.

We did not do a lifestyle preview. We have friends who live there and they helped us to "preview". However, we did stay in a court yard villa near Sumter Landing for our design week and got a good feel for the lifestyle.

We also are moving to Fenney in just over a week.

I think they gear the lifestyle preview to the area they are trying to sell. When we came down it was at Sumter Landing and I think shortly after that they switched to Brownwood. I expect soon it will be in Fenney.

[Brenda.ball]

We spent time with friends a few years ago and got a good look at the Villages life. Then, we came back in October and rented a home close to the Lopez golf course. It was a 2/2 villa with fenced back yard so we could bring our dog and see how he adjusted. We checked out the open houses all over the villages. Once we found the basic plan we liked we began concentrating our search in Woodbury and then found Fenney. Wow, we were blown away with our options down there. The purchase of our Fenney home was so easy. Currently, we are part timers and rent our home while we are not there. But, we take every opportunity to get down to visit during school breaks. Good luck in your search. Where ever you settle in the Villages you will not be disappointed.

[Kenswing]

Thank you all for your replies.

[Sgroemm]

Lifestyle previews are currently held in the Alden Bungalows near Brownwood. They are courtyard villas and very nicely furnished. The pool is often a meeting place for all of the other friends who are on the lifestyle preview....that being said, it does create a different atmosphere than the neighborhood pools in areas that house full time and part time residents. I did notice the Alden Bungalows pool was 99% adults, 99% lifestyle visitors and very friendly. Alden Bungalows has a gate without a visitor's entrance and without an attendant....giving you the feeling that we are truly a gated community, for only those with a gate card can enter. This is not the case for most of the other gates in the villages....anyone can visit. The golf cart that comes with the lifestyle preview can only go 12 mph. That is not the true feel of golf cart travel in the villages. Cell service is questionable in most of the Alden Bungalows due to the radiant barriers built into the roof....we could not get our phones to work in the home, but they work outside. The Bungalows are clean, well built, light and bright inside and quite lovely. The walking distance to Brownwood square is also quite nice. I think the "feel" of the villages comes more from the activities.....try to do as many as your visit allows. Take the 3 trolley tours to get a nice overview of the three areas. Spanish Springs tour focuses on the history. Lake Sumter trolley tour focuses on the lifestyle. Brownwood and Fenney tour focus on the expansion. Enjoy!

[John_W]

I had my LSV in 2011 and bought a month later. I got the best feel when I played golf, since I had been golfing twice a week up north. I played one round of championship 18 holes at Cane Garden and 9 holes executive at Heron. My salesman made the teetimes and then just called me and gave me the info. Since the golf carts are so slow, I drove my car to Cane Garden and they gave me one of their carts for free, which wasn't much faster but at least I didn't take forever getting to the golf course.

If you're into bowling, try the two bowling alleys, they're both at SS very close together. If you're into exercise and working out, you're only a 5 minute walk to MVP Health Club from Alden Bungalows. They should give you a free visit or at the very least a tour of the place, it's not owned by TV.

[Wiotte]

Originally Posted by Sgroemm

Lifestyle previews are currently held in the Alden Bungalows near Brownwood. They are courtyard villas and very nicely furnished. The pool is often a meeting place for all of the other friends who are on the lifestyle preview....that being said, it does create a different atmosphere than the neighborhood pools in areas that house full time and part time residents. I did notice the Alden Bungalows pool was 99% adults, 99% lifestyle visitors and very friendly. Alden Bungalows has a gate without a visitor's entrance and without an attendant....giving you the feeling that we are truly a gated community, for only those with a gate card can enter. This is not the case for most of the other gates in the villages....anyone can visit. The golf cart that comes with the lifestyle preview can only go 12 mph. That is not the true feel of golf cart travel in the villages. Cell service is questionable in most of the Alden Bungalows due to the radiant barriers built into the roof....we could not get our phones to work in the home, but they work outside. The Bungalows are clean, well built, light and bright inside and quite lovely. The walking distance to Brownwood square is also quite nice. I think the "feel" of the villages comes more from the activities.....try to do as many as your visit allows. Take the 3 trolley tours to get a nice overview of the three areas. Spanish Springs tour focuses on the history. Lake Sumter trolley tour focuses on the lifestyle. Brownwood and Fenney tour focus on the expansion. Enjoy!

12 MPH ???


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[MSchad]

Very informative. We too are coming down for a Lifestyle Preview in June. Very excited!!

[John_W]

Add to my first post. Besides golf, bowling and MVP gym, the biggest entertainment for me in TV the first five years was softball. I hadn't played since I was 30, so I had a 31 year break. We play three seasons a year, so you can play year round or part-time like a snowbird. There are two major softball complexes with 4 diamonds, Buffalo Glen next to TV High School and Saddlebrook next to the polo fields. If that's something you might like, go watch some games when you're here. There is a newer complex with just 2 diamonds next to Rohan Rec Center, called Soaring Eagle, which is the closest to Fenney. I'm not sure what leagues are there, I do believe the woman play games there.

The easiest league would be Neighborhood League, which is what I played 15 seasons in a row until I quit. Each season is 14 games and played only on Saturday and is coed. Go any Saturday morning and check it out. Don't worry about players being better than you, everyone before they can play must be evaluated and then you'll be placed in one of five different levels of leagues.

Those LSV golf carts are very slow, I think mine might of gone 14 mph, so I never used it. Walked to the square and drove everywhere the week I was here on m LSV and by the end I knew my way around pretty well. However, in spring 2011 they're wasn't any homes or anything else south of 466A except for a driving range. That shows how fast this place gets built.

Let me add, if you need a really good salesman, ask for Tony Trussler. He showed us everything we asked for, never any pressure, made my teetimes, and we put a deposit on a home while still up north. In fact, Tony and his wife went to the property and took photos inside and out and emailed them to me that night since the property listing was so new they didn't have photos on the website yet. Also, I don't know if Tony did this, but while speaking to Tony I was trying to decide between a CYV and a Patio Villa, the price of the CYV dropped by $5,000 while I was on the phone.

[Cobh521]

If it is your first visit, you would stay in Brownwwod. If you are a return visit you stay at Lake Sumter Landing.

[Kenswing]

Loving all the detailed info. Thanks again, everyone..

[Schaumburger]

I'll just add, there is no sales pressure to buy a home during the Lifestyle Preview Visit. The sales person assigned to me showed me around for about 4 hours. Since I won't be buying probably for another few years, I didn't want to take up any more of his time than that.

If you want to spend more time looking at homes, there are new and preowned open houses held every day in The Villages.
The open houses for homes listed by The Villages sales staff are advertised on The Villages' web site and the Daily Sun newspaper. MLS agents selling pre-owned homes also hold open houses, which are advertised in the Daily Sun.