Those who live south of 44 may disagree with your information. Restaurants and Grocery within 5-20 minutes. Turnpike and 1-75 just few miles away. Younger residents don’t retail shop like their parents, and really don’t miss shopping in a grocery with 6 carts sitting mid isle while shopper wanderers around.( my parents do that so I try to avoid).

No need to be close to medical facility for once a year or more appointments. We will be 20 minutes to Middleton when the first restaurants open, coffee shop (hopefully Starbucks) ice cream and more ready for customers between 3rd quarter 2024 and 4th quarter 2025. In 30-45 minutes restaurant in Ocala or Orlando that have food worth mentioning :clap2:

Think of 2 Villages, north and south of 44.. North is preowned with better access to food, gas, championship golf, Sumter county tax and SECO. Also might need new roof appliances etc. South is newer with construction, city annexed tax and utilities, perhaps younger people, new streets parks and rec centers.Golf carts are fun but you will soon tire of the distance between the 2 areas.

Concerned as in anxious? Or concerned as in mindful?
I assume you don't really expect any place to be "ideal". If you are expecting the Garden of Eden, you should be concerned.
Is there something you should know about before you decide to buy here? Yes, lots.
For example, the general question: Will you like the lifestyle enough to put up with the warts?
Warts? Well, it can be crowded for some folks, in the high season. The golf courses get to be very busy and well worn. Some people find the squares too busy. Some people find the sound of lawn mowers and leaf blowers to be oppressive.

Then there are the more specific questions, like "which areas would suit me best".. Lots to choose from, and many are quite similar to each other, but there are differences between the most northern neighborhoods, and the newer southern neighborhoods , and "between the sixes"....if you don't know what these differences are, you would do well to spend some time invesitigating them. You'll need more than a lifestyle visit to get a feel for what's here, and to make the best decision you can make FOR YOU.

Once you figure out IF, and WHERE, you needn't be overly concerned about the market. Chances are good that if you are ready in the next 6-12 months, there will be a large inventory of homes to choose from, in some area that suits you.

A lifestyle visit is good, but it is up to you to do your due diligence ahead of time, mapping, services distances. Hard to beat thus place for beauty, activities etc. best to take a look.

I lurk way more than I post, but I'm always a bit surprised at some (a lot) of the advice from folks "who have been around the block" TO folks "who have been around the block". I mean for the most part, most of us have several home purchases under our belts by the time we get to "TV phase" of life.

Everyone has their own versions of "due diligence" married with how they've made major decisions for themselves the past 50+ years. There's nothing wrong with making a long-drawn out 1+ year decision to buy a house here (doing lifestyle, renting, etc.), if that's how you've operated your entire life. There's also nothing wrong with a quick due diligence phase followed by looking at homes and neighborhoods followed by making an offer on a home - all within 30-45 days or so - if that's how you've operated your entire life. You know what factors you recognize as leading to "the right decision" for you.

You know whether you've made successful decisions in life using one approach or the other. Stick with your instincts you used buying any other house in your life. Location was likely important in any housing situation, it might be more "in focus" here due to the variations in neighborhoods and proximity of infrastructure, but that info is covered in spades all over this forum. Visiting here helps immensely with that part of the decision.

As for the "am I missing something" question, well IMO not more so than anywhere else. Sometimes I think it boils down to whether the "warts" in life get to you - in other words, if you buy and find the Publix is farther away than you like (say just outside of comfortable golf cart range for you), will that bug you to no end or will you just shrug it off and take the car? If you find out what ends up being your favorite restaurant is 40 minutes away, will that cause you to constantly lament your decision to buy a home in the location you picked?

To me it sounds like you are following the decision path you've been successful with prior times in life, so I'd say carry on.

Ps, one thing I always mention to folks coming for rent or lifestyle - the golf carts provided can be "sub optimal" in terms of comfort, especially lifestyle visit. It is a WAY different experience going 45 minutes on one of those vs. 45 minutes on a new, plusher cart. So what might seem like a chore on your visit might end up being something you don't think twice about in a newer cart - if that's your plan.

way too many people now. I came in 2005, 30,000 and was told will be built out at 50,000. now 150,000

The area is become unbearably crowded. Traffic on I4 is horrendous and you take your life in your hands. Along with the crowds, it has become very expensive; I can no longer afford the home I sold a year ago!!! You can't get anywhere near the beaches for under $1M; plus I am very Hurricane adverse and prefer to locate in Central Florida as I have been through 6 hurricanes including Andrew.

Thank you for the heat warning, but we are veterans of Florida and now live in Georgia which is probably hotter and more humid. One saving grace is having a pool; which we do not have in our GA home. Living close to a community pool is a top priority for us!!!

No, he will relocate to one of the major airline hubs as he is an Army Pilot and has just achieved his commercial pilots license with the FAA. He most likely will HUB in areas like Houston or Chicago. With any luck it could be Orlando or Tampa, but not very likely and he will NOT reside with our near us. He is married with two children and has been in the military for 14 years.

High Bonds, High Taxes and High Homeowners Insurance , what's the question again ?

Taxes in Sumter County are low. You do pay around a thousand more for the privilege of living in Wildwood.

not happy her. it is to big now . the place is not Fendley . we are going back home

I would stay in Savanah just for the architecture.

Depending on where you live outside of TV. Our home up north the taxes, and homeowners is triple what we pay in TV. Weather is a factor not just in Florida.

No bond but If the new sewer system proposal goes through instead of our septic tanks, we are looking at $29,000 per house, for that privilege. That will be divided into our taxes for 15 years, can’t imagine what that interest will be. So we are ahead of that game in TV

Good post. I liked the statement that, "some people find the sound of leaf blowers and lawn mowers to be oppressive". I am one of those people. I think that some of the professional grass cutters actually take off their mower's muffler. They can be loud (to me) even when cutting a lawn 1/2 of a block away. As to leaf blowers - I have NEVER needed to use one on my yard and I do my own mowing with a QUIET electric mower. I wish that the Community Service people would monitor excessively LOUD lawn mowing equipment.
--------Actually, if I had my perfect IDEAL community to live in - I would want one that encouraged STONE YARDS because that would cut down on the LOUD noise while at the same time eliminating lawn cutting costs and with fewer people WATERING their lawns - the cost of water SHOULD go down, instead of as it is - oppressively high cost.