[PR1234]

After renting for a few winters, we bought a place on the historical side. VERY economical and we LOVE it. Have our big house in MI for the summers and our "honeymoon cottage" for the winters in TV!! Maybe someday if we decide to be in TV full time we will get a bigger place....but for now, it is just perfect:

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by PR1234

After renting for a few winters, we bought a place on the historical side. VERY economical and we LOVE it. Have our big house in MI for the summers and our "honeymoon cottage" for the winters in TV!! Maybe someday if we decide to be in TV full time we will get a bigger place....but for now, it is just perfect:

Sounds like the best of both worlds for you! Congrats!

Bill

[monroe]

very interesting - we are contemplating becoming regular snow birds and are still trying to decide whether the villages life style is worth carrying expense of 2 homes or are we
just looking for something that exists in other places including our home towns but just
takes more effort.

[manaboutown]

Some people are deeply rooted within their communities. They and/or their families may have spent most of their lives living in one community and feel very much a part of it. Some may even have ancestral roots in a community. I can surely understand their reluctance or emotional inability to leave all their friends, family and other ties behind and transplant themselves into a new community some distance away, both geographically and perhaps culturally, regardless of the weather, social activities, golf courses and other attractions.

Others may not feel so bound, may not like where they grew up or have lived a long time for any number of reasons, may simply desire a change or may have resided many places during their lifetimes and feel rootless to some extent. Moving to an active adult retirement community may be just their cup of tea, especially if they are gregarious and make new acquaintenances easily.

A move to a community such as The Villages is especially easy since most who live in such a community have migrated there from elsewhere and are 55 and older and may share other commonalities. It could certainly help if one knew someone who had made the move who could introduce oneself to people in the area.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

..........It could certainly help if one knew someone who had made the move who could introduce oneself to people in the area.

From our relatively minor amount of experience to-date in TV, we feel it's real easy to meet people: Visit the squares on any given evening for the entertainment, stop and say 'Hi' to the neighbors where you're staying, etc. Heck, you're meeting people here on TOTV....virtually, anyways!

Best way to meet people - bar none - is to just pull your golf cart over somewhere and start staring at your $5 map. Someone will ALWAYS stop by to ask if you're lost or if you need any help finding something!!

Bill

[LI SNOWBIRD]

Originally Posted by GERALDINE

We sold our 2nd home in TV a few months ago (September) and moved back to our home state of Michigan in November. We're in northwest Michigan where we get LOTS of snow!! We lived in TV for 5 years and just couldn't get really acclimated to Florida living. We're sooooo thrilled to be "Home" and are enjoying "Winter" up here. We'll come to FL and rent for a couple of months in subsequent years, but for now we're just enjoying being here. Nothing against TV...it's a great place to live IF you're really into it. Personally, we just couldn't make the necessary adjustments to be really happy there. We DO miss our friends...but they'll ALWAYS be our friends and we'll be back to visit.

Where the heart goes the feet follow. Being from a cold weather state I thought you should consider:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MckM5GRQFfA[/ame]

[graciegirl]

Awwww yes. I remember it well.

[MaryGoRound]

Where did you move back to in Michigan?

[GERALDINE]

Originally Posted by MaryGoRound

Where did you move back to in Michigan?

Gaylord

[Debbie0625]

Re: the michigan video - so funny!!! It's so true!!! I live in Wisconsin and can totally relate to that video - it all looks SO familiar. Can't wait until I, too, can move to The Villages

[MaryGoRound]

My sister lives in Gaylord! Has for many years! I lived in Kalkaska for 25 years. Lots of snow up there!

[GERALDINE]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl

Geraldine doesn't say if they kept their old home in Michigan while they were in TV or bought a different one when they moved back.

If you are unsure how you will do pulling up roots and moving whole hog, I would suggest buying a 2nd home here if you can afford to have 2 homes. Lots of furnished ones available in TV or you can buy quite nice secondhand furniture here, or blend some old and some new. It is a worry and a hassle (to have 2 homes), but if you like where you are up north and are unsure about your move better to be sure before you sell it.

If you have real doubts, or haven't relocated before, might behoove you to buy at the lower price level in The Villages while you decide. Some will say to rent, and I think that's a great idea too, (while you're looking for the right villa/home for you) but I don't think you really get into the social scene and ownership thing unless you're in your own place. I, for one, just felt temporary and not truly happy when I'm renting.

Plus, it's always easier to sell at the lower end of the market if you decide it's not for you or if you decide TV IS for you, sell the place up north and move to bigger in TV (if you want - I've met many people here in TV who are fulltimers and who downsize)

Consider, though, if it's the house or the area or the family members/friends still there that you are attached to or all 3. Change is hard. Some things to think about (and maybe make a customized list for yourself):

- is your house up north (or wherever) suitable for your later years when perhaps you are unable to maintain a large lot in the country or a big house with upstairs bedrooms/basement laundry? Maybe you should consider selling the country/big house and buying smaller or a condo where you are now, thus freeing up some money to be a snowbird.

- Many of your friends may end up relocating in retirement to be closer to THEIR family or to get a lifestyle like here in TV. Are your children going to stay there permanently or are they possibly going to relocate for jobs or warm weather living in the future?

I'm sure others can add more things to consider. Moving back is hard too and might not be what you thought it was going to be.

Ohiogirl: No, we didn't keep our home in MI when we move to TV 5 years ago. We moved down there from Tawas, MI. and when we moved back, we moved to Gaylord, MI. Also, we did NOT keep a home in TV when we moved back to Michigan in November. Owning 2 homes is a hassle we don't want in our lives. We'll come to FL next winter but we'll rent somewhere. It won't be in TV though...we want to try some different areas. There's LOTS of snow on the ground now and more coming down as I write. We're happy with our decision.

[ssmith]

LI Snowbird....sooooo funny ....I was thinking of the guy at the end....your kidding right...doesn't he have a window scraper and they to see him cleaning off the wrong car......hahahahaI could see that being me!!!!

[Freeda]

Since my husband and I moved to The Villages in Oct 2007 I've gone back to Louisville about once a month both to see my children and for business. I've been here in Louisville alot since August due to a family illness. This time it's been 3 weeks, and I can't wait to get back to TV on Thursday to see some sunshine, even though it may still be somewhat cold there - at least, it will not be in the 'teens! It's not just the snow here in Louisville - and there have been only a few inches at a time here - but it's the lack of sunshine, the wind, and the cold - and this type of weather lasts, to some extent, for almost half of the year here in Louisville; and a big part of the rest it is either very rainy or extremely hot and humid.

I find myself asking myself how in the world I tolerated the cold winters for so long, and why I didn't seek a more comfortable climate a long time ago. At times I have debated in my mind whether moving away from family and friends - even to a wonderful place like TV - felt right to me, so I can understand those who have that dilemma. However, the longer I'm in TV and have the lifestyle there to compare with the lifestyle, not just the weather but the comparative lack of fun activities and lack of an atmosphere of fun and relaxation, that I see here in Louisville, where I lived for over 30 years, I realize that TV is home to me now. Don't get me wrong, Louisville has a lot of nice things about it; it's just that in comparison I see TV (and Florida, as a whole) as offering so much more. I am going to encourage my friends and family to visit us more in TV - or even to move to the south (whether TV or elsewhere) themselves - so that I don't have to make trips back quite so often, especially in winter.

I'm enjoying putting down roots in TV and hope that our example can influence some or all of my children to consider living where there is not so much hardship for them to deal with, weatherwise. Just observing the effort and ordeal, and the risk, that my youngest daughter goes through in getting out to and from work or anywhere else, in this weather, and how the weather so restricts her activities, has helped me realize that moving back would never work. There is probably not a 'perfect' solution to these issues, but each of us has to find the balance that feels the best.

One thing that helps is that when we visit Louisville, even if it is primarily a business trip, we always stay in our children's homes no matter what, and we just work out any inconveniences; even if they have only a sofabed etc. for us to sleep on. The quality time together is priceless (and sometimes hilarious, such as when we are dodging each other as they head out for work in the morning), and in many ways we spend better, more valued, time together - even just 'hanging out' - during those visits than we did when we lived in Louisville. With our kids' busy schedules, it helps to be staying with them, so that we can catch even brief periods of time together, and so that we can also pitch in and help them out with simple errands or sometimes having dinner ready when they get home, etc. I also keep a bag with basic toiletries and casual clothes, robes and pjs, etc at each of my children's homes, so that traveling for visits is simpler.

[whartonjelly]

The michigan video was priceless! My three children completely under stand our desire to live in TV. We willl always be welcomed when we visit. They will always be welcome in TV. WE just have to get there first!!!

Intrusions into familiy life is what drove me away from my family as a young mom. We only moved one hour away and our lives became sooo much easier just managing our own immediate family. His family was 4 hours away and that is why I appreciate that my mother in law can only hurt my feeling for short periods. Some families are too emeshed and begin overstepping their bounds. No one ever wants to be wrong about childraising. I had 7 brothers and sisters. They all have learned by now that we did some pretty good parenting. They all had multiple problems with their own. They too should have stepped away and concentrated on their own families.

Overall, We were good parent role models and now want to become just a couple again exploring our new lives. Grandchildren will be welcomed and never will be left out.

Our kids have done sooo much more in their lifetimes than we have. It is our turn!!! We are very proud of their accomplishments, no drugs, alchohol, incarcerations or anything to be ashamed of. All three paid most of their way through college and have self respect for this. They traveled in Europe, something we have never even dreamed of. They appreciate all that we have done and just want us to be happy. People keep trying to make us feel awful for want to leave our grown children. I refuse. Each family is very different with different problems. We are flourishing. TV here we come, ready or not! ( real soon I hope )