[DonnaNi4os]

Originally Posted by AbbyPye

Some time ago, I placed a post within this portal that spoke about the notion of creating new friends once someone has moved in to The Villages.

I am in the process of moving to a smaller home within the Villages domain. However, I tend to make note about the aspects of making friends with other residents here in TV since most (if not all) people that live here, be it full or even part time, come from somewhere else in North America. I don’t know if anyone lives here who are natives to anyplace within a one hundred mile radius. But for this post’s sake, let’s state that those that live here come from somewhere else.

My question is, how many of you from the time you have settled here made some friends that you speak with, get involved with activities, or are just “chummy” with one another. I don’t mean people you see on occasion only to engage in small talk or just say a few things just to be polite. I mean somebody who you could feel comfortable inviting them for a simple meal, or to engage in some form of sporting event, or even have a frank discussion on a specific topic.

And is there anyone out there who has limited to even no friends that live within TV? Your only contact is with family members, or with others that do not necessarily live in TV. In other words, you just exist here, perhaps take part in some public event, maybe use some of the amenities that are available, and so on.

I just ask these questions because I know that the sales and marketing department here in TV push the “lifestyle” one can be part of. And what I mean by “lifestyle” refers to being involved in clubs, groups, and so on. I always referred to somebody living “the lifestyle”, which means that one engages with what is affectionately known as “swinging” a.k.a. “wife swapping”. However, I wouldn't be too surprised if such an activity such as "lifestyle living" exists within these parts, but I will not go any further on that topic.

Again, I just want to know what I may be getting into before I make a full commitment to relocating here. My old neighborhood where I come from held more diversity in terms of people’s stages in life. And because of this, making friends was rather difficult, if not totally impossible! People just had to take care of other things that held a larger priority to them (Work, school, family, etc.), and sometimes taking a bit of time off for just a quick cup of coffee wasn’t worth their effort. And so it goes....

Many thanks for your what I hope will be your honest input to my inquiry.

-Abby

Abby, I came from the north almost four years ago. I have made countless friends since moving here. The community I moved to has an amazing network of people who truly care for each other. If you are a dog person, get one. You would be amazed at how many people I met simply by walking mine. But if dogs aren’t your thing, just go for a walk in your neighborhood. Stop and talk. You won’t make friends if you are housebound, but if you make the effort you will be amazed at the amazing people you will meet. Each one has a story so take an interest and before you know it you will feel like you have been here your whole life.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by DonnaNi4os

Abby, I came from the north almost four years ago. I have made countless friends since moving here. The community I moved to has an amazing network of people who truly care for each other. If you are a dog person, get one. You would be amazed at how many people I met simply by walking mine. But if dogs aren’t your thing, just go for a walk in your neighborhood. Stop and talk. You won’t make friends if you are housebound, but if you make the effort you will be amazed at the amazing people you will meet. Each one has a story so take an interest and before you know it you will feel like you have been here your whole life.

Yup!

[Robnlaura]

The tales of woe are bursting my bubble … 🤣 be social make friends smile participation is probably a great idea .. we hope to make tons of friends when we move.. gonna take out the 20 year old golf clubs and hack our way across the golf course .. drink dance get a weed card.. drink lots of beer have peeps over for drinks after we build the bar .. well we hope anyway

[Seasonal]

I enjoyed reading this thread and the many thoughtful responses.

[frose]

most people only have 1 or 2 real friends in their life.. making acquaintances here is just that.. I have noticed that most everyone is friendly, and most just like to complain about something.. I think it's just the age and time of life we are at....just old people trying to get into heaven or wherever you may think we go..lol I have met some very nice people and am looking forward to joining some clubs to expand my interests.

[mainlander]

If you want a friend... you have to be a friend.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

A nice, honest, and raw post. I used to be COMPLETELY tolerant of my acquaintance's political leanings. I felt that political parties were outmoded and a product leftover from a prior century. I felt that electronic voting on ISSUES would be done in the future and help people feel that they had a real stake in a UNITED country. About 2017 I began to feel that groups that I regularly participated in events with were becoming more and more heated as they discussed politics, current events, and news. Moderation and goodwill were gone - I had to pick a side. By 2018 I stopped making any comments, in person-to-person communication about any serious news subjects. By 2020 the big US public health problem had layered more controversy upon other big leadership problems - making almost all conversations among acquaintances practically impossible. Families members were fighting family members. Religious leaders were fighting other religious leaders. TV channels were dueling about who were the more patriotic Americans, and so on. My acquaintances and activities dropped by about 75%. Casual conversations decreased and friends were out of the question. Who knows where this will end up in the future!

There are sane people here who aren't foaming at the mouth over our political choices, as long as no one gets all up in our grill with theirs. We can discuss topics of interest - even politics - among other sane people who don't go on about how this or that one should die or we can't wait to see who their girlfriend will be in jail or other low-rent neanderthalian sentiments EITHER side might have.

In other words - we, the moderates, are here. There are a lot of us. We just don't put up signs on our golf carts telling you who we are. In fact, that's one way to know who we are. We're the ones who don't have signs.