I thought it was a funny cartoon, too, Larry....and you're right, the topic originally was about the availability of spots at various classes. Oh how we can stray offtopic, but in reality, they are related.

Maybe we were more fortunate than some others when we were looking. Our sales agent was more than honest about situations....especially about the golf scheduling situation. It was something we were comfortable with...having had a more difficult time with getting tee times at the country club we belonged to. This particular method seemed more fair. Again, off topic, sorry. Classes are indeed crowded during peak season here...and they always were as far as I can tell. In some instances guests of Villagers were taking up spaces that probably should have been saved for community members. I think that situation has been addressed, but I'm not totally certain. In my estimation, there seems to be a difference in attitudes between those who are here as frogs and a few who are new to TV and not frogs, I said a few not all...they don't have much time to spend here and want to utilize their amenities fee to the max. I can understand that even if they sometimes forget it's their option not to be here full time. I've also heard some, again a FEW, say that froggies have all summer to use the facilities...not really a good attitude if I'm cutting them some slack, but soon, they'll adjust too and take up another interest.

Other communities may be less crowded, have some facilities, but they don't have as many and as many recreaction facilities...golf courses, pools, tennis courts, pickleball courts, etc. Everyone has to decide what suits them in this particular point of their lives. Some want hustle and bustle, others prefer something more serene or sedate.

Again, is the area too crowded? For some, obviously it is and they have been unfortunate enough to meet some who are selfish, nasty and think only of themselves and to hell with others. At this time, at least for my household, I'm not too bothered by those who need to be first, the best or have things their way. Hopefully I'll not change my feelings about those situations because right now, I'll just smile. Keeps them guessing... ;) I'm trying to learn how to sign. Maybe I'll not sign "What are you trying to tell me," as Doodlegirl posted, but something else entirely.... ;) Oh, I'm bad.

IMHO, I think it's generational. People brought up in the '40's and '50's have different morals, character, ethics then the generations after that. The 50's everyone lived the life of June and Ward and "Happy Days", the 60's we had the Rock-n-Roll Revolution, Woodstock, the War, Women's Lib, the 70's had disco, Jane Fonda outburst, Watergate and on and on and on. This changes our culture as a country and generation.

What I'm NOT saying is people born in the 60's, 70's lack morals, character or ethics. I'm just saying with each generation that goes by, less people put stock in these qualities as the older generations. And it shows.

I also know alot of older folks who think they have the "right" to speak their mind in any fashion they desire, because they've hit a certain age and they are entitled to do just that.

I actually play a game with myself and guess what generation the people on here came from. I'm right alot, but sometimes I'm wrong..

It's sad. I wish it was still like in the 50's.

We only live in our TV home from November to May each year. So to us, the winter crowds are normal. But I have to say that I'm getting emails from a lot of TV friends who've grown disenchanted with the Villages lifestyle. They say too many people with fewer and fewer available choices. Larry, I'm laughing at your description of TOTV as "the Honeymoon Board". But it's true ... "Seldom is heard, a discouraging word". ... Or did I hear that in a song?

Okay, you have friends who aren't happy....what about you, Barefoot? Do you feel you need to move?

Honeymoon board? Well, I don't feel it's like that. Those who love it here might not be impacted by what others are. Some who aren't too bothered may be from large cities where the congestion makes TV look like a ghost town. It's probably all a matter of perspective and has a lot to do with what you've come from and what you envision. Maybe after time, people need a different environment. Circumstances change, desires, likes, feelings change.

I'm around a lot today because I'm literally waiting for paint to dry.... ;)

[QUOTE=pooh;409144]Okay, you have friends who aren't happy....what about you, Barefoot? Do you feel you need to move?[quote]

We just sold our CYV last year and moved to a larger home in TV. So no, we're not planning to move. My husband has made it very clear to me that there are no moving trucks in our future.

You have expressed my sentiments better than I could. Me, I still wave.

Excellent points, Trish.

Another point to consider is that having the best and most amenities can be a double-edged sword. Of course more people want to live there! One could move to a community with fewer amenities and might not face overcrowding-- but they wouldn't have restaurants on site (as an option), free live music any ole night they choose, as many golf courses to play, as many sports, art classes, clubs, etc. Nor could businesses here thrive and stay viable if we were all able, as we might like, to close the door behind us.

So yes, there's a price to pay for having the best and most amenities. I know I can't shut the door behind me and keep TV the size it was when I purchased here. So the question is, are the beauty, the wonderful friendships, the cart paths and ample amenities worth the seasonal crowding. For me, the answer is a resounding yes. But it's a question all of us can answer only for ourselves.

When the lovely Diane and I discovered TV in the late 1990s we were impressed that everyone waved at us even though we were just day visitors to the area.

On our Lifestyle Preview in 2008 and when we rented last winter, we were smiling and waving fools too...and most folks waved back...but few initiated the wave. I think as TV gets bigger it will lose some of what it had in the beginning...but it is still the best place for our retirement.

Another thing to consider is everything south of 466 was built since 2004 when credit was cheap and easy and we had virtually full employment. Perhaps many folks you meet on the streets and shops and clubs and restaurants have some financial stress and therefore they might not be as happy as they wish they could be.

Smile and wave every chance you get. Its infectious...and it makes you feel good.

Your right, PT....you brought up very valid points.

The season does bring joy to me, though, friends return!

Wow! All of your comments on "That's My Spot" post just made me decide what to do with our 3rd bedroom! We have enough exercise equipment to fill the room which can all be folded up when we have guests. I don't mind exercising on my own when classes are crowded and then joining the classes in less crowded times. That way we get more use out of the room anyway. One of the things my husband and I have relished in our retirement is the ability to be flexible, which now sometimes means avoiding rush hour and/or crowds that we don't wish to be a part of. We've learned to enjoy doing things at different times to add some variety to our lives and know that we'll even enjoy some of the crowded activities in TV that we've not had the opportunity to previously experience. Same thing with the restaurants. On our last visit, our new friends introduced us to the 4-5 PM, $5 - $6, Gator's menu. It not only saved us some money but allowed us some early evening (and different) activities that we might otherwise not have had the opportunity to enjoy. After 3 visits (and reading TOTV comments), I got over my initial "utopia" impression of TV. To us, it still beats every place else we've been and offers a wonderful lifestyle with (mostly) wonderful people to live out the rest of our lives. Life is too short to dwell on the negative. We can't wait to get to our new home in 2012 in the Village of St. James!! Thanks to all for setting realistic expectations on living in The Villages. "Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice."

you should have told that woman that had she gotten there early it would still be her spot but now its my spot.:wave:

I'm With Dirigo!
 

So many pressures from economic, social, moral stressors may be contributing to "The Me Generation Grown Up"...this isn't our parents retirement years. It just may be that "I" get angry not at the person
who took "my spot", but that I've been thinking that my son just lost
his job at IBM after 25 years and I may now need to help him, that
my 401K tanked and I am wondering how much longer I can afford to
live in Lower Paradise, that the home I'm selling back in Anytown has
been on the market for nearly two years and potential buyers cannot
pass the credit issues to purchase and I'm beginning to feel the financial
belt buckle at my waist, that my physician called me yesterday afternoon
and the results of my stress test are not good.......

We come together now at a different period in history, we come when
core values are changing, or in some cases changed. We come from
a vast diversity of ethnic, racial, cultural, political and social mores and values.

And, we come with both real and percieved expectations from areas
where what we knew was a certain way of life and most of us at an
age when the end is closer than the beginning.

If one subscribes to the poliitical forum on TOTV it is clear there are
a number of grown up bully's; rampant anger; and negativity so shockingly
alive and well there. Translate that to activities such as a spot in an
exercise class and we can clearly see some people do exist in anger.
Disproportionally, perhaps, but do exist.

I've chosen to live here because I recognize I have plenty of time and space
to find the older, happier, gentler me! I can go and come with little expectation...sometimes a crowd, sometimes a walk along the Lake Sumter
Landing Boardwalk. My neighbors are terrific, and I enjoy a sense of peace.
If something is too crowded, I may leave. Lots of good television or kindle or
books at home. TV will never be all things to all people, it is really a question of how happy and satisfied we are within our own space, our own head so to speak. I am convinced the Schwartz-Morse family got it right, but as we live here, we must still remain all that WE hoped we would be and would become.

Bad behavior, impolite people, crudeness, rudeness...any of these may be exacerbated by age and space and "things". Fortunately, there are thousands and thousands of 'good' folks living here happily and amieably.
I try and make big circles around trouble. Had enough of that in my career
working with sick, sad, sorry people. There is no magic wand here in TV,
but if we are lucky, we just might find pixie dust all around us. I have.
And that is all I asked of myself for the third, third.

Wonderfully said, Doodlegirl:BigApplause:

I agree with everything you have said, Doodlegirl... but I still maintain that no matter what the circumstance, an individual still makes a choice to be civil, polite or otherwise.

People behave the way they do because that's what they WANT to do, be or say, even if it is in the moment. The reasons don't really matter.

And if someone acts 'out of character' (for whatever reason) and regrets it, they usually make amends and guard their impulses in the future.

Those who don't..... don't WANT to. I have no sympathy for them. Pity maybe, but no sympathy.

It is so wonderful to catch a glimpse of the insides of kind and caring and thoughtful people. I love this forum.

After reading Doodlegirl's post....

I have a different take on the economic and social stressors she mentioned in the first section.

I think television and extremely biased t.v. "news" networks (ALL of them) have created a lot of envy.

I think the "It's MINE" and "I NEED more" mentalities have grown out of seeing distorted pictures of what televised fictional characters or other real people have, that we don't.

And then there is what we've been led to believe we "need" and are "owed" thru television advertising and campaigning politicians on television.

Where, besides in a few radio programs that teach debt-free living, are we taught to be content with what we have without borrowing more money than what we can actually repay?? Credit card offers flow like drinking water!