[village dreamer]

maybe, just maybe you should work for a few more years. i dont think you should retire at 35.

[Blackbird45]

An easy way to determine where you are financially is to go onto Google and ask what the average earnings of a couple living in the villages and add a cushion.

[RoadToad]

Home insurance in Florida is horrific. Expensive and hard to get on older homes.
We have friends in Foley, Alabama that love it.

[La lamy]

Hard to believe TV was included. The rent, even for older manufactured homes are so expensive. And if you buy, the amenities fees really add up too.

[Berwin]

Originally Posted by Dusty_Star

& if you follow bopat's instruction you get better results as in:

Sure, here are ten of the best restaurants near The Villages, FL:
9.The Frog and The Fiddle - Located in nearby Summerfield, this British-style pub offers a variety of traditional British dishes, including fish and chips, shepherd's pie, and bangers and mash.

I looked this up because maybe I'd missed this in nearby Summerfield but it appears to be in England. There is a The Frog and Monkey in Mt. Dora.

[Two Bills]

You need at least $10-12,000 just to cover Village overheads, add transport, insurances, etc. and it would, to my mind, make it impossible on SS and few savings.
Mind you, some of the amounts that 'experts' quote to live reasonably well in retirement, are way over the top.
My wife and I have been retired for 28 years now, travelled the world, spent 25 of those winters in warmer climes, 20 in TV. and never had anywhere near the amounts some of the Guru's quoted.
It's how you cut your cloth!

[ithos]

If you only have your SS to fall back on then you may be best off becoming an expat in a country with a much lower cost of living. YouTube has plenty of ideas.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

I found this article on the GOBankingRates website:

GoBankingRates created a list of the best and worst destinations for retirement when you have no savings. They analyzed the 100 largest cities in the U.S. with a large population of adults ages 65 and older. These cities were then ranked based on the following factors:

• Average 2023 home value and property tax, sourced from Zillow
• Whether the state taxes Social Security benefits, sourced from the AARP
• Annual homemaker services costs
• Annual home health aide costs
• Annual grocery costs
• Annual healthcare costs
• Annual utilities cost
• Annual transportation costs
• Annual necessity costs

After compiling all the data, the team named Foley, Alabama, the best place to retire for those with little to no savings. Joining Foley on the top 10 list is Mountain Home, Arkansas, in the second-place spot, followed by Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, in third, The Villages, Florida, in fourth, and Bella Vista, Arkansas, at No. 5. Rounding out the top 10 is Pinehurst, North Carolina; Green Valley, Arizona; North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Fredericksburg, Texas; and Punta Gorda, Florida.

Best Places To Retire If You Have No Savings | GOBankingRates

The link is to a company trying to get you to give it your money. If you click on the “Worst Places to Retire” page, what you get is how you can retire if you have less than $500,000 in savings. That’s a LONG way from NO SAVINGS. Here’s what it says about The Villages, the #4 best place to retire with no savings:
4. The Villages, Florida

Percentage of population 65 and older: 85.7%
Average 2023 home value: $418,926
Average 2023 property tax: 0.91%
Whether the state taxes Social Security benefits: No
Annual homemaker services costs: $57,200
Annual home health aide costs: $57,200
Annual grocery costs: $4,591.44
Annual healthcare costs: $6,882.37
Annual utilities cost: $4,124.89
Annual transportation costs: $3,454.73
Annual necessity costs: $19,053.43

A lot of people who only have Social Security get under $20,000 a year. If they are a couple, that may be under $40,000, and it will be cut in half when one dies. How are they supposed to pay $57,000 for a home health aide if they need one? Looks to me like they can’t afford to even stay alive.

The fact is, unless you can sell your home where you came from for enough to pay cash for a home here and maybe even bank some, don’t even look. You can’t afford to make mortgage payments here plus live, even with two Social Security incomes or one and a pension. If you can pay cash for your house here, you can scrape by unless one of you gets very sick. However, there are plenty of older homes within driving distance of here that you can buy for half as much as the average home here, or even a quarter. True, you won’t have access to our clubs or pools or executive golf courses, but you can scrape by, like most retired people.

The alternative is moving here and supplementing Social Security payments by working until the end. I have a friend who is 78 and does okay by working three days a week as an RN at a nursing home. Another is 80 and works as a self-employed home health aide in The Villages and has a reverse mortgage.

[Normal]

Wow, just wow. The article is so off.

The best possibility for the scenario would be to drive a 2002 golf cart, rent (skipping once in a while), skip scan your groceries at a Walmart on occasion and spend the free nights at the corner of Morse and 466?

[Cliff Fr]

Originally Posted by bopat

Ok, let's try it that way:

Groq

What are the top 10 restaurants near the villages, florida. Please exclude Chop House.

Sure, I can help you with that! Here are the top 10 restaurants near The Villages, Florida, excluding Chop House:

1. The Villages Polo Club - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes, including steak, seafood, and pasta.

2. The Lake Sumter Landing Restaurant - Located on the shores of Lake Sumter, this restaurant offers a variety of seafood dishes, as well as steak and pasta.

3. The Waterfront Restaurant - Located in the Village of Lake Sumter, this restaurant offers a variety of seafood dishes, as well as a great view of Lake Sumter.

4. The Ocala Prime Steakhouse - Located in the heart of Ocala, this steakhouse offers a variety of delicious steaks, as well as seafood and pasta dishes.

5. The Italian Gardens - Located in the heart of The Villages, this family-owned restaurant offers a variety of delicious Italian dishes, including pasta, seafood, and steak.

6. The Bistro on the Greens - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes, including steak, seafood, and pasta.

7. The Corkscrew Bar & Grille - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes, including steak, seafood, and pasta, as well as a great selection of wines.

8. The Bogart's Bar & Grille - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes, including steak, seafood, and pasta, as well as a great selection of cocktails.

9. The El Santiago Mexican Grill - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious Mexican dishes, including tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.

10. The Sushi Maki - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious sushi rolls, as well as other Japanese dishes.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

One vote for Ipanema Brazilian steakhouse in Ocala

[elle123]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

I found this article on the GOBankingRates website:

GoBankingRates created a list of the best and worst destinations for retirement when you have no savings. They analyzed the 100 largest cities in the U.S. with a large population of adults ages 65 and older. These cities were then ranked based on the following factors:

• Average 2023 home value and property tax, sourced from Zillow
• Whether the state taxes Social Security benefits, sourced from the AARP
• Annual homemaker services costs
• Annual home health aide costs
• Annual grocery costs
• Annual healthcare costs
• Annual utilities cost
• Annual transportation costs
• Annual necessity costs

After compiling all the data, the team named Foley, Alabama, the best place to retire for those with little to no savings. Joining Foley on the top 10 list is Mountain Home, Arkansas, in the second-place spot, followed by Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, in third, The Villages, Florida, in fourth, and Bella Vista, Arkansas, at No. 5. Rounding out the top 10 is Pinehurst, North Carolina; Green Valley, Arizona; North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Fredericksburg, Texas; and Punta Gorda, Florida.

Best Places To Retire If You Have No Savings | GOBankingRates

You could buy a little **** box in the historic section and with your monthly Social Security
and pension pull it off. I'm sure many are doing just that.

[Villagesgal]

Yes, the Villages is a great place to live if you own your own home with no mortgage and own your own car. If you own your home somewhere else and can buy a home with cash here, and let's get real, you can still buy a home here for under $200,000 in an established area and it will be a good home, not a "dream" home, but a nice home. The monthly expenses here are very low compared to most areas up north or out west. If you have no savings you aren't going to be living like a king back home, and you won't be here, but your day in day out living will be much much better here, more things to do and more value for your money at the grocery store and in general if you know where and how to shop. I've actually been able to save money every month here which I've used for travel. The Villages is a great place to live.

[Robojo]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

I found this article on the GOBankingRates website:

GoBankingRates created a list of the best and worst destinations for retirement when you have no savings. They analyzed the 100 largest cities in the U.S. with a large population of adults ages 65 and older. These cities were then ranked based on the following factors:

• Average 2023 home value and property tax, sourced from Zillow
• Whether the state taxes Social Security benefits, sourced from the AARP
• Annual homemaker services costs
• Annual home health aide costs
• Annual grocery costs
• Annual healthcare costs
• Annual utilities cost
• Annual transportation costs
• Annual necessity costs

After compiling all the data, the team named Foley, Alabama, the best place to retire for those with little to no savings. Joining Foley on the top 10 list is Mountain Home, Arkansas, in the second-place spot, followed by Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, in third, The Villages, Florida, in fourth, and Bella Vista, Arkansas, at No. 5. Rounding out the top 10 is Pinehurst, North Carolina; Green Valley, Arizona; North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Fredericksburg, Texas; and Punta Gorda, Florida.

Best Places To Retire If You Have No Savings | GOBankingRates

No. You have to have money to live here.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by bopat

Ok, let's try it that way:

Groq

What are the top 10 restaurants near the villages, florida. Please exclude Chop House.

Sure, I can help you with that! Here are the top 10 restaurants near The Villages, Florida, excluding Chop House:

1. The Villages Polo Club - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes, including steak, seafood, and pasta.

2. The Lake Sumter Landing Restaurant - Located on the shores of Lake Sumter, this restaurant offers a variety of seafood dishes, as well as steak and pasta.

3. The Waterfront Restaurant - Located in the Village of Lake Sumter, this restaurant offers a variety of seafood dishes, as well as a great view of Lake Sumter.

4. The Ocala Prime Steakhouse - Located in the heart of Ocala, this steakhouse offers a variety of delicious steaks, as well as seafood and pasta dishes.

5. The Italian Gardens - Located in the heart of The Villages, this family-owned restaurant offers a variety of delicious Italian dishes, including pasta, seafood, and steak.

6. The Bistro on the Greens - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes, including steak, seafood, and pasta.

7. The Corkscrew Bar & Grille - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes, including steak, seafood, and pasta, as well as a great selection of wines.

8. The Bogart's Bar & Grille - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious dishes, including steak, seafood, and pasta, as well as a great selection of cocktails.

9. The El Santiago Mexican Grill - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious Mexican dishes, including tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.

10. The Sushi Maki - Located in the heart of The Villages, this restaurant offers a variety of delicious sushi rolls, as well as other Japanese dishes.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

It would appear the heart of the villages (LSL?) is nothing but restaurants.

[Normal]

Originally Posted by ElDiabloJoe

It would appear the heart of the villages (LSL?) is nothing but restaurants.

Just wait till the end of summer, answers may be different when the full blown housing deflation saturates into the area.