[Bilyclub]

We checked out Lakewood Ranch. I'm pretty sure the only 55 and over section is the Del Webb part.

[RedChariot]

Downside to living here in TV is the maintenance you have to pay for mowing, trimming, pest control, and fertilizing. Runs a lot of money in the course of the year. Companies that do the work are good for a while then the it slacks off. Its a headache looking for another company. Many senior communities include this in their fees.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by RedChariot

Downside to living here in TV is the maintenance you have to pay for mowing, trimming, pest control, and fertilizing. Runs a lot of money in the course of the year. Companies that do the work are good for a while then the it slacks off. Its a headache looking for another company. Many senior communities include this in their fees.

You don't have to pay for any of it. You can do it yourself, if you're able. In an incredibly "active" retirement community where most residents no longer have to work for a living, I'm actually surprised that so many people choose not to take a few hours out of their week to maintain their own yards.

We mow our own lawn, do our own trimming, and I care for our garden myself. I have bursitis and arthritis in my hip, so I use a kneeling pad and get up to walk around the garden every few minutes so I don't stiffen up. It's good exercise, it keeps me off the streets and it's wonderful to get down in real actual dirt and know that I'm helping to make things grow and thrive.

We pay a guy to come every other week to apply some pet-friendly pesticide to the grass, and it is mixed with fertilizer. He has "hands off" orders for the garden. That's just $50 a month. Not a big deal at all.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Cookie Princess

We have been to The Villages 3 or 4 times as my parents rent there every year...love it.

However, before we make the retirement plunge we want to feel 100% confident in our decision. Have other people checked out other popular retirement communities in Florida? We plan to look at: Solavita in Orlando, Lake Wood Ranch Sarasota, and Margaritaville in Daytona Beach.

We had a lifestyle visit planned in TV last spring, but had to cancel due to COVID. We will try again soon!

Mick Jagger and his girlfriend just bought in Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota. I doubt that that would be a fair comparison to The Villages. We don't have a lot of $2 million homes here.

[Indy-Guy]

I had a friend that was looking at Top Of The World and Del Webb in Ocala. I looked on Zillow and was shocked that most of the resale homes sold for quite a bit less than they were purchased for several years before. Depreciation not appreciation. This was several years ago so I don't know the current status of these areas. But resale value would be very important to me. Yes you can get more home for your money in other developments but are you likely to lose money if you decide to sell. Not to many people lose money on their homes in The Villages. I have been in The Villages for 15 years and only know one person that sold their home at a loss and that was because they were in a hurry to sell and purchase another home in The Villages.

[PugMom]

i have to agree with those that say they moved here for the community. we stayed @ several places in Fl. before moving here full time. tampa/st. pete. is beautiful, but VERY busy in terms of traffic, & lots of younger people that go to the universities. several REALLY nice places in bradenton & sarasota, but also much more expensive due to the cost of the hoa's. we heard about the villages from a security guard working @ isla key over in st pete-- he told us his brother moved here several years ago & LOVES it. we took his advice to check it out & the rest is history.

[2newyorkers]

I agree about Solivita. Community is nice but outside area is sketchy. I have a friend that lived in the Del Webb 55 and older community in Lakewood Ranch. A very pretty and quiet community with one clubhouse and pool. It took her much longer to get to the beach than she thought it would because of traffic. There are outlets close by. My sister lives in TOTW. Each village is different. Some villages you do not own your property. Very quiet. Not much activity. They are also expanding TOTW. It is right off 200th street where they are also building many more stores. You can not take your golf cart to most shopping.

[spk7951]

When we moved to The Villages 12yrs ago it was about the lifestyle for us and we understood there was a premium to be paid for that. We had a wish list of items we wanted in a house but ended up getting only two items off the list in our price range, one most important to us was a pool.
Then last year we decided to explore leaving and searched throughout FL with an emphasis on fulfilling our original wish list. Our search ended when we found a spec home in OTOW with 8 of our 9 wish list items and that was it. Yes the lifestyle here is a bit more subdued then TV but that is ok as we have the house we wanted and are making new friends plus we are only 35 minutes from our many friends in TV.

Counter point to a couple of previous posts, yes SR200 is very busy road but since moving here we have learned of the back road network that provides us quick easy much less traffic ways to get to I-75 or even beyond I-75 in a lot less time.
Also we do have golf cart access to shopping/restaurants albeit much less access than we had in TV.

Good luck with your search & decision.

[HIgolfers]

Toured homes at Margaritaville in Daytona Beach last year. Nice homes but a much smaller community (at end of buildout) so not near the scope of activities that you have at TV. Also if you are golfers there is no on-property golf course. Margaritaville is across the street from LPGA International but there is no tie- in and I don't believe you can even access it via golf cart.

Access to the beach: Margaritaville has a beach club on the beach in Ormond Beach (saw it still under construction in July 2020) but you have to take a shuttle bus to it- no parking for your POV. Beach is probably 15-20 min car drive away (Margaritaville is just west of I-95).

On the plus side it looks like Tanger Ootlets is close by so if shopping is your things, Margaritaville might be for you!!

As others have said, it really is about the lifestyle here. Activities for every interest, cerebral or sports minded.

[RedChariot]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

You don't have to pay for any of it. You can do it yourself, if you're able. In an incredibly "active" retirement community where most residents no longer have to work for a living, I'm actually surprised that so many people choose not to take a few hours out of their week to maintain their own yards.

We mow our own lawn, do our own trimming, and I care for our garden myself. I have bursitis and arthritis in my hip, so I use a kneeling pad and get up to walk around the garden every few minutes so I don't stiffen up. It's good exercise, it keeps me off the streets and it's wonderful to get down in real actual dirt and know that I'm helping to make things grow and thrive.

We pay a guy to come every other week to apply some pet-friendly pesticide to the grass, and it is mixed with fertilizer. He has "hands off" orders for the garden. That's just $50 a month. Not a big deal at all.

Glad you can do this in the heat and sun of Florida. In the summer when everything is growing by leaps and bounds here, its 95 degrees out. We don't last 10 minutes out there. My entire neighborhood has services coming and taking care of their properties. Its costly. I prefer to lounge in my pool.

[Villager-Wannabe]

I love The Villages, however, I chose to live in a nearby 55 plus community because I got way more bang for the buck as well as more space. So I just ride the coat tails of The Villages and enjoy their town squares, the car shows, the craft shows, the restaurants, etc.

[perrjojo]

We certainly haven’t looked at every retirement community but visited many throughout the US. There is nothing like the Villages anywhere. Wouldn’t trade it for any other place. True, it’s not for everyone but over 135,000 and growing, it seems to be for a lot of folks.

[Dgodin]

Originally Posted by Cookie Princess

We have been to The Villages 3 or 4 times as my parents rent there every year...love it.

However, before we make the retirement plunge we want to feel 100% confident in our decision. Have other people checked out other popular retirement communities in Florida? We plan to look at: Solavita in Orlando, Lake Wood Ranch Sarasota, and Margaritaville in Daytona Beach.

We had a lifestyle visit planned in TV last spring, but had to cancel due to COVID. We will try again soon!

We looked at retirement communities in Tennessee, Virginia, North and South Carolina before coming to the villages. I didn't really want to live this far south and actually only visited to shut up friends, snowbirds here, who kept insisting we visit. Nothing even comes close. Houses cost more here per square foot but the lifestyle more than makes up for it.

[John_W]

Stone Creek, On Top of the World, Stonecrest, Del Webb, what do these places all have in common, they're inland away from the coast. If you're going to live inland you might as well live in The Villages. When you look at homes in Stonecrest the first thing they'll say is, it's near TV and the Spanish Springs Square. If you can't live in the real deal, why live inland, live on the coast, that's what Florida is all about. Also I wouldn't live in a place still under construction if you don't have to, live somewhere that is finished. You know how it will turn out, and you know what all the amenities will be. I would go 75 minutes southwest of here to Spring Hill - Hudson area, to a community finished about 15 years ago named Heritage Pines.

In 1983 US Homes was the 7th largest home builder in America and built a retirement community in Spring Hill (Hernando County) called Timber Pines. It had a concrete wall completely around the boundary the 2+ square miles with secured gates and 3 golf courses and it was built out by 2000. My parents lived there from 1984 until 1998. A sister community was started about 3 miles south called Heritage Pines, it's just across the county line in Pasco County.

Either community would be nice, but Heritage Pines being newer would have more updated homes with vaulted ceilings and they also have a wall with gated security. The home prices are about 1/2 of TV prices, and US Hwy 19 is a mile outside the gate and has every store you could want, plus 15 miles south is New Port Richey which has a mall and many restaurants and the beach and also have easy access to Tampa and St. Pete. To give you an idea of prices, this masonry home is for sale right now for $229K.

Originally Posted by Indy-Guy

I had a friend that was looking at Top Of The World and Del Webb in Ocala. I looked on Zillow and was shocked that most of the resale homes sold for quite a bit less than they were purchased for several years before. Depreciation not appreciation. This was several years ago so I don't know the current status of these areas. But resale value would be very important to me. Yes you can get more home for your money in other developments but are you likely to lose money if you decide to sell. Not to many people lose money on their homes in The Villages. I have been in The Villages for 15 years and only know one person that sold their home at a loss and that was because they were in a hurry to sell and purchase another home in The Villages.

I think some of the lots in OTOTW are leaseholds so they would depreciate over time.