Great place to be
 

Before we made the decision to move to TV (we will arrive in May) we talked about all of the things you are concerned about. I've never seen a live gator, except on tv, I hate snakes, the fire ants don't sound too good either. As for hurricanes....like everyone else said, TV is inland, which was what made it easier for us to make our decision to move there, and is protected much more than living in other parts of Florida. We weighed the pros and cons and the pros won by far. We feel we can avoid the gators, probably avoid snakes, the fire ants are probably like the black fly bites we get in NY, and preparing for a hurricane is kinda like preparing for a foot of snow and ice. So, I'd rather be enjoying the fun, the sun and all that TV has to offer than sit here in the North Country and complain about all that I don't like. We will deal with ever comes our way in TV and with such a great community, if anything really bad happens (a hurricane) we will all ban together and help one another until things get back to normal. My daughter, who lives in NC, has lived there a year, and I can't tell you how many times she calls and tells me there are tornado watches for her area. Much more than I've ever heard of extreme weather in TV. I say pack your bags and make the move!! Life is too short to wonder if what it would have been like to live the good life!

We moved from the Tennessee and Arkansas area were we had a tremendous amount of Tornado's. At least I will get a warning if a hurricane is coming. There are wild animals in every state we have lived. Tarantulas in Ark and snakes. If you are scared off by that persons opinion then you should stay away. I've been here two years and love it. IMHO

We are not there yet but friends and family are. I NEVER wanted to move to Florida to retire. Then I met TV.

I always say now, I am moving to TV. It is located in Florida.

PERFECT! :wave:

Been in Fl. about 9 yrs. and in The Villages 1 yr. We Love it here...so much to do & it really is the friendliest town...always lots going on & I have seen 1 little black snack in 10 yrs. maybe a couple of baby alligators in Leesburg..but ..Hey...thats Florida!! Come on down..and OK..a couple of Hurricans..but we lived in Ohio & had plenty of Tornado's...Find a new Realtor!

You can't count on living out of harm's way in any area of the country or world for that matter. As an example, when we were down last August to finalize the details of our new home our home state of Virginia was hit by an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week.

I wouldn't make a decision based on that realtor says. Every area of the country has negatives and positives. You have to way the pluses and minuses. IMHO the amenities of TV really tips the scales toward the positve.

Jim

My parents moved from Baltimore to St. Petersburg in 1959 when I was in the 4th grade. I went through high school and junior college there and after an enlistment in the Army I later lived in Pensacola, Savannah and Atlanta. I was pretty much in the south my whole life until a few years ago I did return to Baltimore for a while. As soon as I retired I headed back this way, if it hadn't been for TV I would of probably retired in Pensacola, but it would of definitely been Florida. What's not to like?

Grain of Salt
 

I would take what this author has to say with a "grain of salt". He claims in his book that 1000 people per day move to Florida, but that number is offset by 1000 people per day who leave. This would represent nearly stagnant population figures, but the latest U.S. Census dramatically shows otherwise.

I hate snakes!
 

I say pack your bags and make the move!! Life is too short to wonder if what it would have been like to live the good life![/QUOTE]

I like Gators because they are big enough to see and stay away from.

I like Gators because they eat snakes!

It's the snake thing that is going to take some getting use to.

Ehhhhhh Gadds!

That's what makes FL. Up north we had snow, hurricanes (Irene), wild fires, traffic, smog, snakes called bankers/lawyers, high taxes and such. Gators are not a threat if you know NOT to go into their domain. They are actually quite a converation item

It was cooler here last summer than in PA......

We moved here from California, earthquakes-no notice. Tax's very high! To retire we would need to buy down. Here in The Villages we live abundantly well, grand people, great golf courses and other amenities that you we could not find in California.

Check us out, you will be pleasantly surprised. We love it here with the snakes, gators and hurricanes.

Good luck.

I fully agree with you abour CA being an "unfriendly" retirement state. We fully researched things, since our daughter lives in beautiful San Diego, but taxes are EXTREMELY high, and housing is expensive. CA offers no tax benefits for retirees; even NY offers tax breaks for pensioners.

Only thing holding us back from FL is the heat and humidity of the summers, since my wife has MS.