I get it we live above Sand point. and yes we too lived in alaska when we were younger. The cold is getting to us. it makes our bones hurt. Thank you .I think we will be just fine

That is funny. trust me even in the mountains people know every ones business..

We're right there with you. We're in WA. About 50 miles from the Canadian border. These cold and dark winters are starting to make my wife's body ache. Florida makes her feel good.

We're excited too, but not in the least bit nervous. We'll be moving in about two months.

Thanks we are heading out May 25th. I am ready. snowed here last night ugh....

The good thing about renting is taking your time to decide if this place is right for you.

Not for everyone but certainly right for us.

The great thing about the Villages is you can do as much or as little as you want and still have fun. Everyone does what they want, what brings them joy. For me it is driving the golf cart and just enjoying myself.

We still have our house in Mass but I sure hate the winters now but I am sure yours are worse. Enjoy your time renting, look at a lot of houses but when you find the one, don’t delay because they can sell fast. Good luck.

I'm from New England and lived in a depression (not exactly a valley) between two mountain ranges. I was a bicycle ride away from both of them for most of my life. We had a proper Autumn (the Merritt Parkway is a designated National Scenic Route for this reason), and the usual expected 3 other seasons that are notable because each one is remarkably different from the other.

While I don't miss the Nor'easters or sub-freezing temperatures, I do miss New England. I miss the mountains, I miss Autumn. I miss apple picking at the orchard, I miss berry picking season. I miss my wild raspberries, I miss my huckleberry tree, I miss my 5 200+-year-old sugar maples in the back yard. I miss real actual Town Greens and the fairgrounds where we had food truck festivals and the International Irish Dance competition every year, and the agricultural fair during the last days of summer.

I miss driving down the main road in Wallingford to appreciate the Victorian Colonial homes all decked out in their finery for Christmas. And yes, I even miss snow (though not the icy winds that usually accompanied it).

I will ALWAYS be a New Englander. But I'm here, and it's very lovely here, there's plenty to do, or I can sit on the lanai and do nothing if I choose, and I have wonderful neighbors that make me feel like I'm "home." So I'm a New Englander whose home is Florida. I know I'm not alone in that - there are LOTS of New Englanders down here who share the same feelings of nostalgia and wistfulness of our own backgrounds.

That's one of the best things about the Villages, as opposed to any other retirement community. You can find lots of your "people" down here who share similar backgrounds, who might even be able to give their opinion on the same restaurants "back home" that you used to enjoy. They might even have attended the same football game you did the day your team clobbered the opponent in the last 8 seconds, and you can share with them your own version of the exact same play-by-play they give you from their perspective.

The facade of the Villages is just that. A facade. It's a pretty picture. But it's filled with people who are, for the most part, genuine. And many of them come from your neck of the woods, and you'll not feel lonely at all if you reach out, or accept their hand when they reach out.

It is an adjustment. It can be overwhelming, just remember you do not have to try everything in one month. If you buy a house live in it for a while before painting and landscaping. Relax meet your neighbors, join the facebook page of your village and just have fun

Twin Falls.... Idaho...here, come on down, you'll love it.

TV has a lot to offer, even for those that don't golf. Things are beginning to open up again. Renting first is the best approach, that way you'll find out if you like the lifestyle and if so where you might want to buy

good luck

What are you nervous about? You say that living in the mountains of Idaho is a hard life. Living in The Villages is very easy. I never felt nervous about moving here. I loved it from the moment I set foot here. I also have the philosophy that nothing has to be permanent. If I hated it here, I could always go somewhere else.

We are coming up on the 5-year mark of living in The Villages.

Both of us are originally from N.J. We miss 4 things about N.J. and that would be our Grandchildren.

The Villages is what you make of it. The thing is that there is an opportunity here to do whatever you like or to do NOTHING.

I'm betting you'll love it. :welcome:

Renting was a very good idea. Take your time to make a final decision and look around Central Fl for comparism.

The thing is, you're not stuck here if you decide T.V. is not for you...Took me three years to get out of Mexico(selling the colonial)to get to T.V... Buying or selling homes here, move very fast...

I'd rather be in your mountains or on a beach, lake, river, or any natural setting. I am only here in TV because my wife insisted. This is not her opinion; she loves every little thing about it. For me though other than the warm winter weather, it sucks.

Driving anywhere is a pain. Way too much vehicle traffic and it will continue to get worse as they are continuing nonstop developing. Homes are crammed together & you can hear everything from next door - it can be as noisy as an apartment building. Heavy golf cart traffic is ridiculous and dangerous. I ride my bike on the cart paths and it is scary. Read the local .com newspaper for all the latest drunk cart driving accidents and crimes.

I am more prejudiced than most because I don’t play golf, I don’t like games or clubs, I don’t like to socialize, I don’t swim or like pools, and would much rather be around animals than people. I’ve been here 3 months and haven’t even needed or would use a TV ID card for anything. I prefer solitary pursuits, cycling, hunting, fishing, kayaking, reading, television, sitting on a beach, etc.

TV is a marvel of cookie-cutter overpriced homes in a town that reminds me of The Twilight Zone episode where a couple woke up in this picture perfect town only to find out everything in it was fake and they were in a giant being’s terrarium. The place is just plain weird.

Get outside TV and this central part of FL is pretty darn ugly. Swamps, brush & scrubs, ugly trees, trashy homes, dumpy house trailers with plenty of crime & drugs to go around. I carry a legally concealed handgun pretty much everywhere I go.

To each his own. As for me, I am counting the days until we can return to our lakefront home in PA.