[ctmurray]

I would say don't come back this fall. Florida does not have a mask order, and the governor wants to re-open ASAP. So they will not have the virus under any type of control by the fall. Even though it is suggested to use a mask, many do not, again for political reasons. So restaurants with servers not wearing a mask is common. Basically to stay safe you have to just stay in your house. With golf you can socially distance but many other activities that is not possible. Wait until there is a vaccine.

[Dana1963]

I’m staying away for a while until Florida works everything out. Although we should be relatively safe villages picked up 12 cases in last 2 days. Some of the infected claimed they had contact with covid patient. Yesterday the found was not specific. Play safe

Originally Posted by Clarinet

We are pretty long-term Villagers with a home in a fairly safe northern state. We are conflicted about whether we would feel safer staying here (with limited activities) or returning to The Villages in the Fall. We've made this trip 17 times and miss the activities and friends there but are concerned about whether we would be making a mistake in returning this October. We would appreciate some advice from people either way. Thank you.

[Jazzman]

Originally Posted by Kahiland

Stay there as long as you can. Florida's numbers are going up and most people in TV do not seem too concerned. Makes me nervous.

The “numbers” are increasing worldwide and those now seeing the highest rates of infections and hospitalizations are in the 18 to 35 year range. Unfortunately you won’t find this info in any page one story in the Daily Sun. This age group were absent from the initial phase where the overwhelming majority of cases and deaths were senior citizens and particularly the elderly. This is a result of those now being identified as infected or asymptomatic being out and about in groups. You can issue all the mandates you want but you can’t stop groups from being together in someone’s home attending a party etc.

Whether many want to believe it or not, more testing results in identification of more people being infected. What to look at is the hospital admittance rate and death rate based on age basis.

[Carlsondm]

It depends on your risk level. It is June 26 and Florida is peaking. Many northern states peaked already and are guarding a resurgence. I would stay north until FL cases and deaths are on the decline for a week or two. Many activities are outside here, so watch contact but consider coming down to stay active. Bring hand sanitizer and masks. Still hard to get here.
I just moved here from Michigan and will be returning there for a while to see the self home schooled grand kids after my 14 day quarantine. Parents are all nurses/ drs or prison workers, so the grandkids have had limited contact w adults. I expect a seasonal virus return In the fall most everywhere and it usually is more deadly than this one. Check to see if you have some immunity perhaps, and come on down to enjoy the sunshine and modified activities. It is certainly better than being stuck in your home for 3-4 months.

I am guessing that the northern states will support careful vaccine production/distribution more aggressively than southern states. May want to get vaccinated there. Good luck & health, and kudos for requesting input.

[lindaelane]

If you make this trip by plane, I recommend getting the ticket now so that you can change plans if there is a new spike and you need to.

I think it is safe here as long as recommended precautions (masks, social distance) are followed. While cases in Florida are increasing, they are among a younger demographic - average age mid-30s - , and some but not all of the increase in numbers is attributable to more testing.

Deaths have not increased anywhere, including Florida, even though cases here and elsewhere have increased for weeks.

I see plenty of people in the pools. Current talk is that there will be club meetings in person, though we will need to wear masks, of course. I go to restaurants and see plenty of people dining-in. Servers wear masks and patrons are socially distanced. Golf goes on as it has.

For me the bottom line is that people fall into two camps. This is contagious, there is not a vaccine, we can't close down forever. This means a good percent of people will get the virus. The two camps:

(Camp A): I am at risk of death or serious health complications so I will isolate myself for as long as it takes.

(Camp B) I cannot stay isolated forever, the shut-down was for purposes of keeping hospitals from being overwhelmed, they are not overwhelmed, and I am going to go out even if I could get sick.

Hopefully Camp B folks wear masks and keep distant. I'm Camp B - I can't stay in my home for months or years, so I use caution but go out. If I was Camp A, I would not come - too many chances to catch the virus on the road. If you are Camp A you are going out as little as possible, so I do not see how you would enjoy coming here.

Your northern state will be "open" by October (unless we have a second wave, in which case all bets are off) so its likely your northern state will be having an increase at the time you want to come here. We always knew openings would cause increased cases, but we knew we could not close forever without eventually doing more harm to people that the virus itself.

So flexibility is key - get a ticket that can be rescheduled or don't have irrevocable plans to drive. Be ready to make a final decision closer to the day.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention *esti*mated in May that the coronavirus kills about 0.26 percent of the people it infects, about 1 in 400 people. This is an average - older people and people with underlying conditions won't do as well, but it is not fatal to most people healthy enough to travel, such as yourselves.

One thing that is a little different here is people who are not wearing masks - It is not a majority, but I think there are far too many. That difference is likely to persist since, sadly, it seems to be political and there are political differences, on average, between The Villages and northern states.

It was much better at Publix last time I went, though I am not sure the improvement is permanent. I can hope. You could check closer to the day to see how we are doing with masks if this is a big factor in your decision.

[davidkath]

Stay there

[Gulfcoast]

Originally Posted by lindaelane

If you make this trip by plane, I recommend getting the ticket now so that you can change plans if there is a new spike and you need to.

I think it is safe here as long as recommended precautions (masks, social distance) are followed. While cases in Florida are increasing, they are among a younger demographic - average age mid-30s - , and some but not all of the increase in numbers is attributable to more testing.

Deaths have not increased anywhere, including Florida, even though cases here and elsewhere have increased for weeks.

I see plenty of people in the pools. Current talk is that there will be club meetings in person, though we will need to wear masks, of course. I go to restaurants and see plenty of people dining-in. Servers wear masks and patrons are socially distanced. Golf goes on as it has.

For me the bottom line is that people fall into two camps. This is contagious, there is not a vaccine, we can't close down forever. This means a good percent of people will get the virus. The two camps:

(Camp A): I am at risk of death or serious health complications so I will isolate myself for as long as it takes.

(Camp B) I cannot stay isolated forever, the shut-down was for purposes of keeping hospitals from being overwhelmed, they are not overwhelmed, and I am going to go out even if I could get sick.

Hopefully Camp B folks wear masks and keep distant. I'm Camp B - I can't stay in my home for months or years, so I use caution but go out. If I was Camp A, I would not come - too many chances to catch the virus on the road. If you are Camp A you are going out as little as possible, so I do not see how you would enjoy coming here.

Your northern state will be "open" by October (unless we have a second wave, in which case all bets are off) so its likely your northern state will be having an increase at the time you want to come here. We always knew openings would cause increased cases, but we knew we could not close forever without eventually doing more harm to people that the virus itself.

So flexibility is key - get a ticket that can be rescheduled or don't have irrevocable plans to drive. Be ready to make a final decision closer to the day.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention *esti*mated in May that the coronavirus kills about 0.26 percent of the people it infects, about 1 in 400 people. This is an average - older people and people with underlying conditions won't do as well, but it is not fatal to most people healthy enough to travel, such as yourselves.

One thing that is a little different here is people who are not wearing masks - It is not a majority, but I think there are far too many. That difference is likely to persist since, sadly, it seems to be political and there are political differences, on average, between The Villages and northern states.

It was much better at Publix last time I went, though I am not sure the improvement is permanent. I can hope. You could check closer to the day to see how we are doing with masks if this is a big factor in your decision.

I am probably more of a loose camp B and I may even be more of a camp C. I feel as though contracting the virus is pretty much inevitable for me. The horses are out of the barn, the dust masks that people are wearing are not going to prevent the spread to susceptible people unfortunately. The virus is tiny and preventing the spread would require medical grade masks which most of us do not have access to.

I have a parent in an Independent living facility and they are taking very prudent precautions. Everyone wears a mask. There are strict social distancing rules. They have meals served in their apartments. If a resident even gets tested for the viruses, the facility basically goes on a lock down with residents confined to their apartments. If I was in group A and wanted to greatly minimize my risk of exposure to this virus, I would live where she is living. No question.

Active adults, living in single family homes in an active adult community with lots of shared group amenities are simply going to experience a higher level of risk unless they can stay inside of their homes until a safe and effective vaccine is developed.

The best thing that people can do is if they are symptomatic - stay home. Do not put on a mask and head out to Publix - stay home. The risk of asymptomatic transmission appears to be, thankfully, very low. It's the symptomatic, sneezing, coughing folks (masks or no masks) who are spreading this virus around.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Clarinet

We are pretty long-term Villagers with a home in a fairly safe northern state. We are conflicted about whether we would feel safer staying here (with limited activities) or returning to The Villages in the Fall. We've made this trip 17 times and miss the activities and friends there but are concerned about whether we would be making a mistake in returning this October. We would appreciate some advice from people either way. Thank you.

All the TV networks have nationwide maps showing Fl in RED. If your state is orange or lower--STAY there. It is 100 degrees here so you can hardly do anything outside. Activities here are WAY down. Fl is like Texas on the cusp of big-time increasing CV and crowded hospitals. What's your hurry? Take a trip to Alaska if you have to entertain yourself by travel. Good luck.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by toeser

Do you own the house or does the house own you? I was finally able to talk my wife into dumping our larger home and downsizing to just the space we needed. It's a better way to live.

The Villages has a lot to offer. I have a problem here in the summer-itis 100deg today. And the heat index is greater. So, my advice is to spend the winter in TV and the summer in Alaska, Canada, or Scandinavia. Happy trails to you!

[rmd2]

Originally Posted by Gulfcoast

I think that TV is safe now. But I am waiting until more things reopen before we plan a Lifestyle Visit there.

In the meantime, I will stay in my nearly 4000 sqft home on close to 2 acres in an outer gulf coast suburb. A few days ago, I spent the entire day trimming shrubs, weeding and hauling big cans of yard debris around. Today I have 5 bathrooms to clean and sanitize.

When we retire, I want less maintenance and more fun activities. The idea of spending our days working out, going golfing and swimming, shopping and dining on the squares, going to classes and listening/dancing to live entertainment sounds like a lot of fun.

We are patiently awaiting things to reopen in TV so that we can check it all out. We know that good things take time and eventually things will get back to normal.

For now, forget about the squares, there is no live entertainment anywhere. Dancing, going to classes, and normal rec center activities are severely restricted or non-existent. Even shopping is dicey. You cannot use the dressing rooms to try on clothing and the hours in many of the stores are more restricted. The number of cases continues to go up so it may be better where you are right now.

[jimjamuser]

The Villages has a nice video they can send to you. And reading this TOTV will give you some flavor for the place. There is, also a forum on Facebook for TV.

[rmd2]

Originally Posted by TandHSTAR@AOL.com

Actually people not going to the pool etc means we are all cautious. Hopefully that applirs no mstter where you live. The are no guarantees that other parts of this country do not have the same problem. We only hear about our state because this is where we reside. I for one am cautious and encourage others to do the same. I have started my water aerobics class. We have a limit of 40 and that is working out well.

If you have 40 people in a non-sports pool I would be very concerned about the spread of COVID. I'm not even sure it would be a good idea in a sports pool.

[Gulfcoast]

Originally Posted by rmd2

For now, forget about the squares, there is no live entertainment anywhere. Dancing, going to classes, and normal rec center activities are severely restricted or non-existent. Even shopping is dicey. You cannot use the dressing rooms to try on clothing and the hours in many of the stores are more restricted. The number of cases continues to go up so it may be better where you are right now.

Yes, I think we'll wait until the crisis has passed and things are more back to normal. I live in Florida now and, for the most part, things have been opening back up. You still can't try on clothes in the dressing rooms but you can go bowling, eat at a restaurant, have drinks at a bar, spend the day at the beach, go to the gym and get a haircut now. I got my 6 month dental cleaning which was nice, too.

There is an uptick in cases but many of those cases appear to be in the younger age groups and most of those people are not getting very sick from it which is a blessing.

Considering how many people are out and about I think we're going to be o.k. If things were going to get bad they would already be really, really bad. I think that the fresh air, sunshine and Florida citrus are helping to keep us healthier than other parts of the country. TV will bounce back from this - I am sure of it.

[Chatbrat]

Don't go anywhere, especially if you're over 65 and your BMI is over 30--do you need a better reason to lose weight

[Carl99]

As far as the virus is concerned, The Villages is a safe place to be .