[mike1946]

Historic side for us !! Fantastic ..no thru traffic and noise but close to everything ...and if you just want new house ...they are tearing out lots of older places and building new one of the only places on the villages you can buy new without a bond or impact fees or crappy landscaping !!

[ithos]

If you know your priorities for choosing a home then I don't think it is necessary to rent first for more than a month or two unless you are waiting for a dip in prices. In the off season you can get some bargains on month to month rentals.

Most long term residents and listing agents can provide very good information. If you like sitting at the bar then you can get plenty of recommendations. Villagers are the most enthusiastic salespeople.

[Bilyclub]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

Recommendations to rent—maybe more than one in different locations—is a great suggestion. The Villages is a BIG place. You may have seen the posts that it’s already several miles longer from CR 42 on the north to where they’re building on the southern end than the City of Chicago!

False. You always post this and it's not true.

[Galmarini]

There a house just went for sale. 2079 yearling way. The Villages of Pinellas

[LindaNC]

I would try to stay away from pickle ball courts. Very noisy. I don’t see the squares as a problem unless you go to bed before 9:00. If you are a shopper, N of 466A is a good choice.

Originally Posted by ronda

Hey Mr. Friendly, wanted to give you a shout out… we are from Toms River.

We were from Bayville a few miles south of Toms River, and had a lagoon home on the bay, 22 years.

[FenneyFanatic]

Manasquan here!

[DALEPQ]

My reply is duplicating many others.
Rent first to find out what you are looking for in T.V.
I would think one month should be the bare minimum to rent, but that's up to you.
Suggest more than one month so you can really get a feel of all parts of T.V.
When looking for a preowned home it would be hard to fine one that's 100% of your likes.
We found one that hit about 90%, and are quite happy with it.
Good luck!

[dadspet]

Simple. Rent before you buy to decide what you want in terms of location, house size, near various things, not what other want. We love activity and want to be near activity (rec center, Tennis, PB, golf, Squares and entertainment). Others are the opposite. You have no clue what it's like here until you have tried the water on more than a short visit. Your ideas will also change over time which is why many, including us, buy a 2nd or 3rd house. Good luck. Maybe I should have said don't drink the water because there is no know cure for what happens when you do. I'm surprised the Food and Drug agency haven't required The Villages to post a warning

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Hopeful Returnee

Is it true that mail is not delivered to your home and you have to go to a mail station to retrieve it? If you are used to having your mail delivered every day (except Sunday) for your entire life, this is a pretty big change. Perhaps as you get older, you don't feel like or aren't well enough to go out each day. How do you manage with this mail delivery system. Are there other options other than relying on a kind neighbor who might be willing to do pick up you mail occasionally. I would never want to impose on someone to do this for me indefinitely.

Correct, the mail is sent to a postal station in your area. Mine is around 3/4 of a mile away from my house, so I typically walk to it on nice days.

Some deliveries (such as UPS and FedEx packages) go directly to your house.

It turns out that it isn't nearly as big a change as I thought it would be. I grew up in the burbs, we had a mailbox outside our house, same situation as you. Living here almost two years now, it turns out - I don't really need to pick the mail up every day. Just because it was a habit all my life, doesn't mean it was a necessary thing to do.

Now, I walk on nice days, or ride my bicycle. I also stop off if I'm coming back from the supermarket, since it's on the way. Or I'll take a quick detour a block in the "wrong" direction if I took the golf cart to the dentist or doctor's office.

I end up picking my mail up maybe 5 days out of the week anyway, and it's never an inconvenience.

[Topspinmo]

Good luck finding property in close proximity of the squares? Especially Sumter landing or Spanish springs (close as the music being problem) IMO as suggested it would be smart to rent for couple months to really check out areas and then decide what location you want to be in. As far as amenities, you will not find more than villages. You can get the rec guide online to see what interests you.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by mike1946

Historic side for us !! Fantastic ..no thru traffic and noise but close to everything ...and if you just want new house ...they are tearing out lots of older places and building new one of the only places on the villages you can buy new without a bond or impact fees or crappy landscaping !!

They're not tearing down lots. They were replacing older trailers with site-built homes at one point, but they stopped doing that a couple of years ago. Any lots you see that are currently vacant with no house on it in the Historic area is owned by someone other than the Villages.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Hopeful Returnee

When I move from New York to the Villages, I know it will be best to rent first for a few months because I have absolutely no idea what village would be best for me. I'll have to change all my mail to my new temporary rented address. This will include Social Security, pension, etc. Then when I move to a permanent home, I'll have to make all the address changes again (and there are many). Some of these like Social Security, etc. take a while to make the needed changes. There must be an easier way to do this--perhaps getting a P.O. Box number at the mail station rather than giving a street address. Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas.

Get direct deposit to your bank account. Then it won't matter where you live. If you have an ATM card you have access to cash. And you can use your computer to do any transfers of funds or pay most of your bills.

You can't get a PO box at the mail station. The PO boxes are at actual post offices. The mail stations (postal stations they're called here) are just a series of canopied outdoor rows of cubbies with locks on them (just like a PO box but each one is assigned a specific address, no matter who lives in it).

[paulajr]

Originally Posted by LoisR

Think about pre-existing. Why wait years to have shopping, banks, health offices, town squares, golf courses, rec centers, etc. promised to be built.

Because…moving into a new neighborhood where everyone is new is the best way to make new friends!!

[Buckeye Bleau]

Renting first is a great idea.
Living between Town Centers is a great idea.
I would suggest investigating the different Rec Centers and what they offer.
I know this is weird and I don’t want to start a bunch of hate Mail, but I cannot coax my wife away from the “historic” areas of silver Lake and Orange Blossum, yes we have some trailers, we have manufactured and we have site built so the area is diverse but it is mature. We have trr we o executive courses, one CC, two adult, one family snd one CC pool that has a waterfall.
The roads are quieter, less traffic because nobody is passing through to get somewhere. We are on the extreme NE confer snd we like it that way. It takes 8 minutes from my NE corner home to Spanish Springs, add 1 minute for grocery snd liquor, restaurants andshopping via golf cart. We have a private gate and road to go to Walmart, Lowe’s and do much more in about 12 minutes by golf cart.
We have it all with NO BONDS and no through traffic.