[spofford]

The complaints I have heard many times over 8 years being a snowflake, gone in the summer, here the rest of the time, is too many people. Roundabouts, golf paths, Publix at Colony Cottage, squares for popular groups, going out to dinner with friends are all crowded Jan to March. Tee times you want are harder to get January to March on executive courses, and if not a priority member on championship, also fees to play are higher. If you like the big city life, not here.
For me, I work around all these issues and enjoy being retired, with softball, golf, riding bike, friendly people, except during national elections.
We do tell friend to rent and experience the Villages before buying a house. Enjoy

[daca55]

I have owned for over 5 years now. I bought here because of all the amenities, the cleanliness, the rules that each village has and the safety. My only complaint is the over building. To me enough is enough but the Villages just keeps getting bigger and bigger. High season there are lots of people presently but if they continue to keep expanding it is going to even busier than it is now. Just hope the owners at some point will say enough is enough. Good luck!

[banjobob]

Have been here 4 years and love every minute of it, the occasional gripes and whines are normal for a large community like this my gripe is the constant expansion and lack of supporting amenities, Pickle ball courts and golf courses population growth seems to be outpacing the ability of the developer to manage the amenities and causing overload in the winter on existing facilities

[Irishgirl0317]

I love living here BUT ...becoming overcrowded...questioning if the good out ways the bad traffic when the seasonal renters arrive.

[injunlee]

Moved to the Villages 10 years ago. This place is an adult Disneyland. So much to do and at reasonable prices. I know for sure Ive added years to my life and much healthier than I would be retired back up North. If you can't find something to do you like, there's something wrong with you.....it's all here. Gets pretty congested when all the snow birds are back (restaurants and golf courses) but I wouldn't give it up for any other alternative!!!

[Daylight]

Been here 2 1/2 years. It's like any other place we have ever lived. Some things you like, some you don't. We came from small town midwest and in the short time we have lived here the number of residents and guests migrating here has been amazing. And it's not stopping. So if you get the message that build-out is forthcoming (like we did), forget it, it ain't gonna happen. The summers are brutally hot and while the winter weather is wonderful the sheer number of people restricts access to restaurants and other services. The good thing is, if you wish to leave you shouldn't have much trouble selling a property. All in all, we do not regret giving TV a try but we are considering options to leave. It's not for everyone.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Barboza

We found the Villages about 26 yrs ago, couldn't believe all the smiley people, had to be a catch!
Spent 10 yrs coming & going looking for it then gave in & bought in Santiago in 1999 when that was "the end of the earth" Lived there for 11 yrs with wonderful friends & neighbours with whom I am still closely in touch .
Moved South to Tamarind 5 yrs ago to find yet another lovely community & friends.
When we first bought, there were generally only the restaurants around the squares + country clubs that were golf cart accessible, & at that time you could not use your golf cart at night so had bikes or used taxis. Also not much in the way of stores & nearest hardware stores were Ocala or Leesburg,
Yes, things have changed ( in 1999 I could go to square & know most peoples faces) however much change in the way of Cinemas, shopping, entertainment, & recreational opportunities but each Village (wherever you choose to live) has retained it's own community within the greater Villages with everything you could wish for for a wonderful retirement.
Of course you will always find the occasional dissatisfied person, but I notice that though they may complain they seldom leave.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! Just wish I could be an American!!!
We are Snowbirds from across the Pond who have been well accepted by everyone & grateful for it & the chance to spend 6 months in our home in the sun

You know I don't want to knock the Villages but I agree with most of what BITSEE said. We've lived here as permanent residents for 5 yrs. south of 466A & the Village we live in is really great & the people in our village are the best. We have 1 gentleman in our village that pretty much plans everything in our village, wish I could tell you his name but I didn't get his permission & maybe he wouldn't like it. But I found out that whatever you can buy here it's cheaper outside the Villages, the water is expensive & not that good, buying houses,well that's got some pro's & con's, but the really good thing here is, where else can you play golf for FREE, other than Championship courses. Since we've lived here I've been in some other retirement communities that are just like The Villages & as nice & maybe just a little better but that just depends on who's evaluating it. For instance we liked Robson Ranch in Argyle, TX, but they have some pro's & con's too. Anyway I don't think we'll be living here for probably more than 6 to 7 yrs. more. It's getting to big & I'm afraid when the building stops & the money is cut things will go up. Now that's just my opinion & I know there's some people that will think I'm right & they'll be some that think I don't know what I'm talking about.

[GypsyBuddy]

We moved here to be full time residents more than 4 years ago and I would say it's the best move I've ever made. I can strike up a conversation and make a friend even waiting in line for my prescription. Everywhere we go, we engage in conversation with other Villagers. We love dancing at the squares, love our dance class with Lola and Bob Miller, love golf, love being close to a gym, and just appreciate having activities and people to do them with at all hours of the day. The weather gets chilly now and then, thank goodness because it gives us time to rest, but there are nice days every month of the year for being outdoors. It's the ease of getting around and the friendly people plus activities that make this place so wonderful.

[LianneMigiano]

YES! And a million times YES! We bought 6+ years ago and wish we had made the move way before that! We're not golfers - but love the camaraderie of neighborhoods and all of the activities that are available within easy commuting distance by golf cart everywhere. As far as we're concerned this truly is like a Disneyland for seniors.

[caitzach]

Been a full time resident for 12 years. Depending what you want it is all here in the Villages unless you want to be near water. I really believe part time residents and full time approach their time here differently. Seasonal are constantly busy and often approach as a resort. Full time live here and settle into a routine and the WOW factor wears off. One cannot criticize what the Villages has to offer. It all depends what you want.

[john2]

yes yes yes We love living in TV and wouldn't live anywhere else. I did move from Glenbrook to the historic side because I love it over here. I would just advise that the neighborhood is more important that the house you want. Plus look for a property you can expand. There are no basements here and if you are going to be a frog you need storage.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by banjobob

Have been here 4 years and love every minute of it, the occasional gripes and whines are normal for a large community like this my gripe is the constant expansion and lack of supporting amenities, Pickle ball courts and golf courses population growth seems to be outpacing the ability of the developer to manage the amenities and causing overload in the winter on existing facilities

I agree! As the Villages is growing very fast it seems like our amenities are going up very slowly or will be going up very slowly. If whoever want the Villages to keep growing & they're the ones making lots & lots of money they ought to be not raising the amenities to keep making them rich because one of these days as things keep getting older & older some one is going to have to be shelling out more money to keep everything in tip top shape & just like every other community around the country that have these housing developments that lure people into there communities, eventually they back out of the community & pass the maintenance onto the owners or they get some slum lord to buy it. Right now the bigger it gets the closer I'm getting not to want to live here. But right now it's like someone said it's like Disneyland here for retirees & a lot of fun, but like the old saying, "Everything come to an end sooner or later".

[navair4me]

I agreed to visit The Villages just over 5 years ago for one reason only....to make my husband stop begging to see it. I was not a golfer, he loved golf and had seen the commercials on the Golf Network and wanted to be able to golf year round (or nearly year round) once he retired.

Some friends had recently moved down so I reluctantly agreed to "go check it out" with the condition that if I said no, there would be no further discussion. Clearly we did not intend to buy a house during our first visit....however I failed miserably in the "just say no" department! We came for a 5 day "lifestyle visit" and late afternoon on Day 4 we found a house which we knew we'd never be able to find again at that price and location if we decided to buy later. So on the last day of our visit we stopped by the Lake Sumter office to sign the paperwork before we headed for the airport. Returned a month later to close on the house and went back and forth (not at the typical snowbird times) for 3 years before we fully retired, sold the home in IL and moved here full time. We have now been full time residents for 2 plus years and have yet to regret the decision. For social reasons, I even took up golfing (my friends still find that hilarious) and we still really enjoy being in The Villages full time. Neighbors are friendly, lots to do even if you don't golf and you sure can't beat the weather. The only question most people have is, "why did we wait so long?"

Now I am recruiting friends to come join us....and we are making good progress! navair4me

Originally Posted by Cmgregory

For those of you who have been residents of TV for at least 2 to 5 years:

Is it as good as you thought it would be?

If you had it to do all over again, would you still buy in TV?

We would like to hear both the positives and negatives of living in TV.

We have visited TV several times and walked around the squares but have never stayed there. We have heard nothing but good comments but wonder if it as good as everyone says it is.

Thanks for your comments!

[bbbbbb]

Originally Posted by Sandtrap328

Ah yes, the bicyclers! Obey the rules of the road and all will be fine. However, a group of 15 or 20 bicyclers will come to a stop sign and just blow right through like the sign was not even a suggestion to stop. They will ride 4 abreast taking up the entire MM path. All are equal on the roads and MM paths - but bicyclers are a little more equal?

Responding to Sandtrap. By bbbbbb
Yes, there are some bike persons, some cart persons, some car persons and some motorcycle persons who are way out of line. We wish it was not that way. According to the Florida Bike Laws, a bike rider is required to obey all road requirements and riding two abreast is OK but not more than two. An auto or cart is supposed to be three feet away, clearance from a bike. Some carts do and some do not. Some persons really take offense of bicycles. On a milti-modal path if I see a cart coming from behind, I pull over, slow down and give all the clearance that is possible at that time. We also park our bikes in the most unobtrusive area possible.
So now Sir, what about this?: 1. I am as far over on the path as I can get, I see a cart coming from behind, I am coasting, not pedaling and the cart comes by at incredible speed, the passenger leans over and swats my rear view mirror with his hand, really hard, he disfigures it for sure.
2. I have parked my bike out of the way, a man sort of staggers up and every few words start with "Mother,,,,,,,,,,, Bike riders". He then says he is going to stomp the spokes out of my bike. Well sir, lucky for him it was only nasty words spoken by him.
3. We have friends who we invited here to see this wonderful place, we did a lot of bragging. They were going to be here a month and find a house. They rented bikes. At two weeks, they left early with this comment: No biking for us in this zoo.
Sorry wish it were not so. Yes, we know about the suggestion, we should move. It takes time.

[dmgrillo]

I have lived here for 10 years and still love it. Even though it is getting very crowded, I still would choose to live here.