[stan the man]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Awful. They should kick those people off TOTV and make this an unsubstantiated opinion only zone

Same old --Same old poster with big numbers - keep up the good work but you will always be number 2 gg

[oliviam97]

Originally Posted by michaelUK

Is it just my impression or have others noticed a startling number of retirement communities, with a variety of amenities and prices, springing up all over Florida and beyond? A difficult choice to be sure. A show of hands: Has anyone moved here from other existing retirement communities?

We moved our parents from TV to another community in Leesburg (Hawthorne) five years ago. They felt TV did not have a strong community feel, and they were overwhelmed by the size. We have been residents of TV since August of 2019. I have to say that so far, we agree with them. Their community has such a warmth to it - everyone waves from their golf carts or when they are out walking and you feel comfortable joining any activity. There is always something to do, activities are changing constantly, and there are dinners and activities specifically designed to ensure friendships are developed. Our neighbor here at TV has been here five years and he has experienced the same lack of friendliness/community. I think it has to do with the sheer size of TV. That being said, we love the beauty of Fenney, the dog parks, and our home. Time will tell if we will stay, but those are our thoughts for now.

[dkaufnelson]

I checked out a few other retirement places in Florida but none of them offered as many activities as The Villages. I also spent five days touring retirement communities in Arizona in the Phoenix area but discovered that most of them have about 60 to 70% snowbirds and they close down most indoor activities from the end of April until the end of October as not enough residents to make it worth paying for instructors then. You wouldn't be able to do outdoor activities in Phoenix in the summer other than in a swimming pool so that would have left me with next to nothing to do from the end of April until the end of October. If you want year-round activities and lots of choices 4 both physical and mental activities and a variety of home sizes and prices The Villages is the best place to go. If you're not that active there are many other beautiful retirement places in Florida but they just don't have enough residents to offer the variety of activities we have here.

[ALadysMom]

Originally Posted by John_W

The best example of that, is Walmart. Everywhere there was a Kmart a Walmart opened within a mile. The Kmart's are no longer.

Who would want to be a stuck in an outdated, over-priced K-Mart waiting for a “blue-light-special” because no competing Walmart ever came along. Ah...the good ol days!

Most of the competing senior communities have a very weird vibe of ancient insiders who dislike the younger newbies.Thankfully TV only has a few of them. It’s so big it’s easy to avoid them.

[DianeM]

Originally Posted by Poirier

We are planning to On Top Of The World in Ocala. We are not moving because we dislike it, quite the contrary. It's just we found a really good deal at OTOW. We will be moving into a new house with no bond, complete outside maintenance taken care of by them, all new appliances and it has solar panels to help lower the cost of the electric bills. They have basically the same amenities. And each month we will be saving around $120. Our problem now is to sell our current home. We put this house on the market and then the pandemic hit. Not sure how we will manage this if we can't sell it....

I have life long friends who recently moved to OTOW and their house is spectacular in comparison to ours. Their pool and clubhouse is beautiful as well. Thinking ....

[Chatbrat]

One of the main reasons we chose, Tv is--its run by professionals, not amateurs akin to wanna bees who are the boards of POA/HOA's & condo commando's
we left a totally corrupt community in NC whose nickname was "nuthouse on the Neuse"

[jimlambert]

Originally Posted by John_W

Here's 704 in Florida on one site.

https://www.55places.com/florida

What???

[mydavid]

It sound to me you are buying a home and not the land, that's why their is no bond, the developer owns the land, My home was like that when I lived there, is 2003 the amenities fees was $246 when I left in 2013 they were just under $400. for the full maintenance. If you like the quite life you will be happy there.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by jimlambert

What???

If you clicked on the link you would know. 705 Florida Active Adult Retirement Communities.

55 and Over Communities in Florida | Best Florida Retirement Communities

[Ihateotow]

I live in OTOW. Moved here a couple years ago to look after folks who lived in nearby Oak Run. I really wanted to buy in TV but, thought it would be too far away from them. This is really a tired, old community. Not much to do and the population is much, much older than this young 62 year old. Lots of old bitty's that have nothing better to do than sit on their porches just looking for something to complain about.

[JerryLBell]

Originally Posted by Ihateotow

I live in OTOW. Moved here a couple years ago to look after folks who lived in nearby Oak Run. I really wanted to buy in TV but, thought it would be too far away from them. This is really a tired, old community. Not much to do and the population is much, much older than this young 62 year old. Lots of old bitty's that have nothing better to do than sit on their porches just looking for something to complain about.

On Top Of the World (OTOW) is one of the communities we considered. We really liked their emphasis on energy efficiency and solar power in the houses. Other than that, the community did seem WAY too quiet for us and the layouts of the houses we toured were just a bit strange with too much wasted space.

Friends of ours also considered OTOW and ended up picking out a lot and a house design and were all set to sign the paperwork. Before they did, they did one last tour of the community and realized how little seemed to be actually going on. The one pool had just one guy at it and he was sleeping. Judy said to Andy, "Gee, the only excitement we're probably ever going to get here is when we end up giving that guy CPR." They ended up backing out of the deal and bought here in The Villages.

During our visit there, we did talk to one guy who had moved there from The Villages and was happy with it. He said that The Villages was "just way too busy" for him and he far preferred the quiet lifestyle there. And, of course, OTOW is a "true" gated community, which appeals to some. We're happy that he's happy there and we're happy that we're happy here.

[2BNTV]

I never checked out other retirement communities as I knew TV was right for me!!! I moved here 7 years ago.

It may or may not be right for you but only visiting will determine that for you.

I've seen some people move away from TV because of health issues and wanting to be closer to family and some who felt TV was getting too big, too much traffic, restaurants too crowded during snowbird season especially and wanted a more serene lifestyle.

You are buying a lifestyle and just not a home. There are several thousand clubs and a multitude of things to do. I can talk until I'm blue in the face as most people don't believe TV can be this wonderful! A visit or renting for a month is preferable. Seeing is believing.

You can do as much or as little as you want! Only you can make the decision if it's right for you.