[Pturner]

We were sold the first time we came down for all the reasons Gracie, Ed and others mentioned. We loved all the wonderful activities, the friendly people, the golf cart lifestyle, the golf courses, the beauty, well... everything.

However, at the time, we were a long way from retirement. We visited a few more times and then in 2009, five years after the first visit, we began seriously looking for a small vacation home in TV to tide us over until retirement. We bought a turnkey resale that fall and have come down whenever we can ever since. Looking forward to the day when we can finally say... RIBBIT!

[Happinow]

Here's my story....my inlaws both lived in TV when I married my husband almost 10 years ago. My husband and I are from upstate NY. My inlaws lived in a manufactured home community. (My husbands parents are divorced but both managed to stay inTV). We would visit a few times a year and each time we loved our visits and mostly visited Spanish Springs because we stayed at a hotel there. We'd walk around and I'd say to myself " it's so beautiful here but everyone is too old for us.". The grass would be greener in a younger community. So years went by and we decided we wanted to live in Florida but not TV. We decided on Lake Mary, about half hour away from TV. Younger population and research said it was a great place to live. We contacted a real estate agent and spent an entire day house hunting. We were so disappointed! The community was very family oriented and we passed the toys in the driveway, basketball hoops outside, kids running around...you get the idea. My mother in law called to see how we were doing with our house hunt in Lake Mary and we said terrible! She said "you really should give TV another chance". So we said what do we have to lose? We drove to TV and contacted a realtor who my mother in law knew and he promptly showed us model homes. We instantly fell in love! As Gracie said it was the manicured lawns, the beautiful flowers, the golf carts....and it was a retirement community. We had to admit we were ready for retirement and all it had to offer. We hadn't met anyone yet so we hadn't made any friends but the sales people were wonderful so we were good. We decided that we wanted to build on a golf course and he had one designer lot left and we bought it right there. So, by default we will be a part of TV family. We haven't looked back once. We will start building next month. The rest will be history! Moral of the story...no grass is greener than the grass in TV

[lovsthosebigdogs]

I grew up in South/Central NJ which is a haven and final resting place for every senior citizen in the NJ/NY area to spend his or her final days. Or so it seemed to me when I was growing up. You can't drive a quarter mile without finding an adult community. I knew I never wanted to live in ONE OF THOSE. And besides, I have dogs and need a fence and no adult community I ever heard of had fenced yards for your dogs and they have dog size restrictions. Then 2 of my friends bought in TV and kept telling me how great it was and that I should look at the website. I resisted for years! Finally in a weak moment I did look at the website and found it was true, the CYV do have fences and it does NOT look anything like the 'old folks neighborhoods' from back home. I decided to check into it further. I was totally into all the clubs and activities and it didn't seem like a place to grow old and hide until you died of old age. This might be different than what I thought. It took a year of research but we scheduled a visit. We were hooked immediately. It was like Stepford, all happy people walking around with these grins on their faces ALL the time. We talked to so many random people and no one had anything negative to say. We spent the whole LSV looking at homes and before we knew it, we bought our home. Whirlwind experience with no time to look back or be afraid.

[lightworker888]

I had learned about tV from a clogging friend up north who came to TV for 8 years and she gave us a tape (that's how long ago it was). We always thought it would be too expensive but then in 2009 we called for a new DVD and then got motivated to check out a LSV. However when we thought of the drive down from Canada we figured that we would be better off renting for a month and getting to know the place. Fortunately for us the CYV that we rented in Poinciana was perfectly located for all the activities. When we first talked to the owner she told us it was for sale and asked if we were interested. Of course we said "oh no" as that was the furthest thing from our plans. To make a long story short, we walked into a beautiful CYV that had the same style dining room set as we had at home and living room furniture that we loved and the bonus was a king size bed. By day 3 we were talking about buying it turnkey and we ended up buying before we left and then closing the following spring as she had it rented for the winter! It is such a joy for us to be able to vacation twice a year in Lower Paradise. We have always felt at home in TV and our neighbours are, of course, the best.

LW888

[Oren L Miller]

We started looking for a place to retire 15 years ago in Fl. Nothing we looked at fit the bill. One golf course. Kids in the movie theater. Yards not maintained. Some houses not maintained. Eight years ago with the advice from a friend (who has been in TV for 6 years now) we drove into Spanish Springs. We saw people walking along holding hands. We saw people riding around smiling in their golf carts. We walked up to the sales center and my wife said where do we sign up. We went and looked at models and fell in love with the kool-aid. We weren't ready to retire so we promised ourselves that we couldn't come back down until we were ready to retire. We - maybe I lack self control. We came down again in June of 2011. They gave us a year to build. The called in December and said they were willing to knock off 4% if we bought early. Monday is our closing. We will be frogs by March 1st. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my bride of 25 years in The Villages.

[Happinow]

These are wonderful stories and they fill my heart....thanks for letting us in on your journey to TV.

[Bettiboop]

I've always found it interesting to hear the stories of how and why people end up where they do and the journey they have traveled.

From reading this thread and others, I think I might be the only one who actually likes the state of Florida, but I'm probably biased as I was born in Florida (I hope you don't hold it against me ). I haven't lived my entire life in Florida but I have had the pleasure of living in some beautiful areas of the state as I grew up and again after returning to the state in '97.

I do agree TV is like a beautiful oasis in the middle of nowhere!!

The main reason we are planning to retire in TV is for the lifestyle....now THAT is something you won't find anywhere else in the country....that is the WOW factor for us!!! We love the area where we live now...if we could have golf cart access to everything we might not go through the trouble of moving at all.

[ceejay]

Originally Posted by Happinow

Moral of the story...no grass is greener than the grass in TV

Except for the months of January and February.

[KYWildcat]

Even though I live 200 miles south of the Villages, I really think its the air (like the Vegas casinos) . I have sold my condo with a closing date of 2-2-12 and I am coming up this weekend with check book in hand to make the purchase of an existing. Don't know yet which one but before this weekend is complete, I will know.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by KYWildcat

Even though I live 200 miles south of the Villages, I really think its the air (like the Vegas casinos) . I have sold my condo with a closing date of 2-2-12 and I am coming up this weekend with check book in hand to make the purchase of an existing. Don't know yet which one but before this weekend is complete, I will know.

A smart person!!!

You're on a mission - hope it goes well for you!!!

Bill

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by KYWildcat

Even though I live 200 miles south of the Villages, I really think its the air (like the Vegas casinos) . I have sold my condo with a closing date of 2-2-12 and I am coming up this weekend with check book in hand to make the purchase of an existing. Don't know yet which one but before this weekend is complete, I will know.

WOW - Congrats on selling your condo.

You sound very decisive and it is a smart thing to do.

Best wishes on your house hunting adventure.

[duffysmom]

I've had the pleasure of living in Florida in three beautiful communities. The first was Key Biscayne which is a paradise. The second was Hutchinson Island a barrier Island and also beautiful. While living in Florida I always thought central Florida was a bug infested swamp and if I couldn't live with the ocean as a backdrop I wouldn't be happy. Well after a trip to TV I fell in love. We rented for a couple of months just to be sure. Since moving here 3 years ago we have never looked back. Some of the most amazing things I learned about Central Florida is that in the Summer months the evenings are breezy and lovely and sometimes downright cool. Another thing is the lack of mosquitoes and bugs. In my other locations in Florida the Summers and Spring were difficult when the noseeums were out. I love the beautiful lakes and springs surrounding out community as well as the rolling hills and horse farms. Most of all I love the incredible light. I realize that TV is not for everyone but I feel blessed that I get to live in paradise.

[CarGuys]

This started on honestly how did you get here.

I had a promotion mailed to us from " Top of the World"

Of course I lost it. Ruthie said "Honey did you book that place in Florida I would like to visit?"

Of course not I was lazy. So I got on the computer quick and by mistake Googled The Villages vs Top of the World. Booked the life style visit.

That was four years ago. Our sales agent has patience!

Just closed January 10th. Boy am I glad I did that Google search wrong!

[angiefox10]

Originally Posted by CarGuys

This started on honestly how did you get here.

I had a promotion mailed to us from " Top of the World"

Of course I lost it. Ruthie said "Honey did you book that place in Florida I would like to visit?"

Of course not I was lazy. So I got on the computer quick and by mistake Googled The Villages vs Top of the World. Booked the life style visit.

That was four years ago. Our sales agent has patience!

Just closed January 10th. Boy am I glad I did that Google search wrong!

This is the funniest story yet!!!

[Happinow]

Originally Posted by CarGuys

This started on honestly how did you get here.

I had a promotion mailed to us from " Top of the World"

Of course I lost it. Ruthie said "Honey did you book that place in Florida I would like to visit?"

Of course not I was lazy. So I got on the computer quick and by mistake Googled The Villages vs Top of the World. Booked the life style visit.

That was four years ago. Our sales agent has patience!

Just closed January 10th. Boy am I glad I did that Google search wrong!

Now that's cute and funny