Prob a personal preference, plus your wealth range. We are in Orange Blossom, or the historic side. I've actually heard snobbish people call it the PREhistoric side. ;/ We love it here, decent taxes, more leeway.

Im very curious were you wound up buying. I am in the process if buying and I am staying away from the Morse Blvd. side because of the power lines. Is that what youre talking about? I own property already in the Villages which I rent long term, so I am very familiar with the areas. Curious where you suggust.
Thanks

Spending four days here will help you get a lay of the land. Don’t spend too much time in your villa, get out, get a map of the villages and when we first moved here, it helped me when I realized the main roads sort of form a “rough” ladder with Morse and Buena Vista forming the sides and many other roads are the rungs of the ladder (like 466, Stillwater, Bonita Blvd, 466A, Pinellas Pl, 44, etc.).... A few things we learned after buying our first house was 1). how your lanai faced... ours faced south and was too hot to use most of the year, 2). Garage size... that’s up to your needs. Are you someone who likes to take care of their own yard or gardening? (All those tools take up precious space and of course you’re prob going to have a golf cart, so a 1 1/2 car garage will be tight if you have all those “toys” 3) do you like quiet? You might not enjoy a home on a major cut through road or your lanai backing up to a road or cart path ( but that can be somewhat tempered with shrubs. 4). Bond or no bond.... older homes are more likely to have bonds paid off, some have minimal bonds left, and new homes come with bonds which adds to your monthly expense for years. 5). Just soak it all in and see which area YOU feel works for you. The north is has more greenery and mature plants, the middle, is of course centrally located to everything, and the south will take a few years to fill in with plants and bigger trees, but is the up and coming area.... MOST OF ALL ENJOY

3 villages near woodworking shop golf cart accessible , Valle Verde, Mira Mesa, La reynalda, LaZamora

Happy in Marion County
 

You should give reasons for your comment. We've been here in Marion since 2003 and are very happy. The county commissioners aren't controlled by the developer as in Sumter. We also don't have the ever present speed traps & harassment by the Sheriff's offices as in other parts of TV. Our roads are better maintained since their upkeep is included in our taxes to district 4. Yes, there's a sinkhole problem (now being addressed), but sinkholes are present in all of the Villages and the ones in the pond at Alhambra (district 3- Sumter) are an eyesore.
If I was buying a home, it would be in Marion.

Excellent advice!
 

Good idea to rent first. We did that for 6 months and acquired a great education on all we needed to know about activities, houses, contractors, traffic, areas and streets to avoid, etc., etc., etc.! Be sure to attend some POA meetings and checkout their web site- Property Owners' Association of The Villages, Inc..

All the Villages are great the new areas are really nice you won’t make a bad choice!! Good luck

I agree with Tom C about making a list of needs, wants and budget.

As an example, do you want to keep two cars and have a golf cart? Make sure you get a garage large enough to have that without special movements to get access.

Note that storage is a problem for many as we are moving to smaller homes with no cellar, attic, outhouses, closets. Hobbies such as woodworking, auto restoration may require some compromise.

Do you want to move into older or younger neighborhoods? Neighborhoods change but not that fast.

If you are in a town/city (Wildwood , Fruitland Park etc) , you will pay county as well as city tax.

Quality of build varies in neighborhoods. It is noticeable.

Do you want to pay premium for same house for golf course, pond or nearness to some asset?

We determined house size first, style, general area and then let agent narrow that want to neighborhood and finally house

Cheapest taxes and best proximity to your needs would be to live in the Ocala National Forest.

The brownwood area seems to be very popular. Close to main roads, and i-75 or florida t/pike. However everyones likes and dislikes are different. You need to make your own decision.

Houses in the villages look alike- except for size.

If you want to be close to the woodworking shop, there is a three year wait list. They are building another across from Eisenhower rec center, so you might consider that area.

There is a large Woodworkers Club in the villages with access to many industrial sized machines. Drop by while your visiting. Additionally, the new southern Woodshop will be built across from the Eisenhower Rec center. If that is a passion, you might consider looking around those 2 locations.

Others will have to chime in on those activities as they generally do not interest me - excepting for golf, which is an outdoor recreation :)

)hiobuckeye
 

Unfortunately we moved from the Villages & only because we wanted to be nearer our children, grandchildren & great grandchildren. We first bought a Villa in a subdivision just off of St. Charles, then our 2nd home we bought in the Village of Charlotte. We loved both places, the people in both subdivisions were super. Personally I don't think you could go wrong moving anywhere in TV. The only thing I could say is, Ive heard from different people that some of the subdivisions, especially some of the older ones & I won't mention which ones because I've never spent much time at these subdivisions. Some people say the people have lived there so long that they have their own little clicks of people they hang with. But move where you want because I think you'll do just fine. There's no bad area's. I'm starting to feel like we might of made a mistake by moving. But our children made it worth while. Don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how dumb you might think the question is. Hope this helps a little!

After you explore in October would you please post what you find, my husband and myself want to do the same thing but we have no idea where to look in the villages but he wants golf I want pool and exercise room , activities , low taxes and something reasonable for two people with two adult kids who may visit occasionally.

Thank you