After 16 great years, we moved back north. Covid changed everything for us. Felt too far away from kids and grandkids. Haven’t regretted a single day.

that's the hard and bitter lesson learned by those who said to all, " i wont move to the villages, my gc need me" 15 years to late. All they get is hi grandma/pa, bye grandma/pa

Wife and I must be very lucky then.
Or.
Maybe we taught our kids and grand kids to be better people than that?:shrug:

Our grand children never "needed" anything but love from us, they had their own parents to love them and guide them into adulthood. We were just there to be a safety net if they ever needed one, and a couple of them did. Technology has made the world a very small place and we kept in touch through any means we could, we flew back to holidays and birthdays, we were there for them whenever they needed us. They had their lives and we lived ours.

Everyone takes a different path. There's no right or wrong here. The Villages is like anywhere else, it's not for everyone. I have friends and family that wouldn't leave their grandkids if you paid them to. Which is fine if that's what makes them happy.

Afterall, at the end of the day isn't that what we all want? To be happy.

My wifes sister and her husband live in Stone Creek/Del Webb in Ocala and love it. They looked at the Vilages but thought it was too busy. lol.
We visited them there and thought it was boring. No way we would live there.

Good luck with your relocation. Hopefully it brings you much happiness!

You made the right decision.

We’ve only been part-timers in FL for almost 5 years. Our intention was to eventually sell RI and become full time Florida residents. However, living my whole life in RI I took a lot of things for granted that I’ve only recently realized. I love the four distinct seasons in RI. Two + acres of land, privacy and wildlife out in the country is also a plus. Those two acres of land includes about an acre of lawn which I enjoy cutting with my riding mower. Then there’s restaurants, doctors, family, etc. Winter can be long in RI which is definitely not a plus but summer can also be long in Florida. As a result, we’ve decided to remain part-timers in Florida.

We have a lot of contact with kids and grandkids, and they all supported our move to TV. I have a grandson station at Eglin Air Force Base up in the Panhandle (part of the Army 7th Special Forces group stationed there) so we see him from time to time. He's coming down for Thanksgiving as a matter of fact. Granddaughter flying down in December for an 11-day vacation. My stepdaughter, her husband an four kids (ages 13 to 24) come down once a year, and we fly to Minnesota quite a bit as well. My son comes down from time to time. Sister-in-law from Milwaukee comes down each April for about 10 days--loves to play golf.

There is something about a Minnesota winter that makes a stint down here in the land of sun and palm trees VERY attractive.

Of course there has been some lessening in personal contact. Living an hour away by car vs. flying from one end to the other will inevitably cause that. But we make up for it, and then some, with the quality of the time spent.

Having recently moved from The Villages to Asheville, NC 3 years ago, this conversation is quite interesting to me. I thought I would miss all of the things to do in The Bubble, but for those interested, here are a few things in beautiful Asheville (we live in WONDERFUL small suburb called Weaverville) that are SO much better than The Villages IMHO. Ya'll come on up! Asheville NC Insider’s Travel Guide

What's winter like in Asheville?

In the Paradise of God we call East Tennessee, we have a name for a lot of you folks. Halfbacks. Moving down to Florida from New England/NY/MI/IL/etc. and realizing you are too far from family or other creature comforts, so they move "half way back" to TN, NC, KY, etc.

How about not labeling or name calling people and if necessary, how about “our wise neighbors”?

The Wall Street Journal had an article on "halfbacks" some years ago. They somewhat joked that the large number of hurricanes at the time blew northerners halfway back to NC.

We are proud halfbacks LOL

Winter is not bad if you’re from the North. Last year we had some flurries and one larger storm about 10”. We stayed home for 2 days and it all melted. Lots of Sun and above freezing temperatures. Spring starts in early March, I think we may have had 2 or 3 days where it got up to 90 this summer. It was 77 yesterday and low 70’s today, cold front going through this weekend with highs around 50 and lows around 29. We get up in the morning and light the gas fireplace for an hour while we’re having coffee. It’s great for us.