Newbies
 

never next to a pickle ball court noise all day

never with a bond

never new

never next to a thoroughfare

never a villa. Can hear your neighbos fart and dogs barking

drive by at 10 pm and listen

drive by at 9 am and listen

Renting before buying is an excellent idea. Because of the huge size of this place, and the wide variety of activities you may find yourselves gravitating toward one area over another. Only way to find out is to spend some time living here. Each area has advantages and disadvantages. Good luck!

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

Real quickly let me just say most people don't actually look at a full map of Florida to see where they're going to be living. In other words do you know that the Orlando airport can be 75 minutes away or almost 2 hours away depending on where you live in The villages. If you're going to be the type and wants to go see grandkids a lot or take vacations that's also important. If you're the type that wants to explore Florida and gets bored with just going to the pool and wants to explore Disney etc tampa, miami, clearwater, Cocoa Beach St Augustine who want to go to the casinos a lot, and you have to consider how close you are to the major highways, especially route 27 which is a major thoroughfare and route 44. FYI if you're in the older section of the villages you going to be upwards of 30 minutes farther away from most everything excluding Ocala and Wildwood. There are a few cities with great rest restaurants that could be an hour away even though on the map they're pretty close like Mount Dora. just consider that also. Although a lot of people get golf carts to go around they can be hot in the summer I may not get you everywhere you want to go as fast as you can in the car

Close to the Squares is great if you entertain out of town guests often and close to 466 or 466A so you can shop or leave the bubble more easily.

Beware of nearby sewer treatment facilities located throughout the villages!

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

You cannot be close to everything.
You go to the things you wish to attend and they occur all over.
You should go to sites and sit around to listen.
No one here can really answer your questions.
Your preferences will determine where you will end up.
Do the math.

Marbles.
We play a lit of marbles here!

My house is for sale

The areas north of 466 have more established trees and landscaping as well as lower or no bonds. Closer to Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter. Less than 30 minutes to fine restaurants in Ocala and less than an hour to Mt. Dora and an hour to the Airport. All established shopping via golf cart. The south areas are newer but higher bonds and less shopping and doctor offices. Older homes can be upgraded but make sure they have newer roofs and AC’s are newer. Appliances can be purchased for an easy upgrade as well as hot water heaters. Just my experience, but may not coincide with your needs. Either way, you’ll love it here.

The Historic Side
 

Bought starter house & forever house here in the Historic Side. Everything within reach by Golf Cart, sold my car for I drove < 200 miles/year. Have a friend if I go to Sams drive us there.

Me, I would look north of 466, but near Lake Sumter Landing. Even between 466 and 466A is nice, but by the time they crossed 466A they razed everything in their path.

Should have rented? Could have rented? Would have rethought the whole thing. But here we are 18 years. Now take a few days when possible and hit the beaches. Closest an hour. Would have checked medical care quality. Now hunt for those doctors who care enough to touch ,listen,and do not insist we work patient portals. Should have realized as we got older things change. Activies are plentiful. Recreation guide loaded with clubs,you can find it on line or at any recreation center. Tampa Airport nicer than Orlando IMO. Best car dealers? Good luck. Now that Covid restrictions are lifted things are getting very active again. Rent for extended periods, Maybe even look around at other communities to compare lots of areas building up to entice seniors with money. Town squares are not restricted to The Villager.
Do what works for you. We all have different needs and thoughts on what is quality living.

We also rented for a few weeks after which we decided to build new in the southern end. It gave us more opportunity to get in with groups before they became to established.