[NotGolfer]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

There are pluses and minuses to population size.

There will be more crime, probably, and congestion, especially during high season but...

An increased population brings us the businesses we long for and will perhaps attract other perks such as more doctors to choose from, more everything to choose from.

I agree with you Gracie!! That said....check the cities and towns folks where you once lived. Did not change happen in those places?? Why does everyone not want change or why do they complain once they get settled in a place? In our former small midwestern town (that doubled/tripled in size during the 30 yrs we lived there) the newbies came in and that's all they did, is complain. They didn't like (you can fill in the blank) and they most certainly complained when new developments began to crop up. We had a name for them...NIMBIYS!!! (not in my back yard). I LOVE The Villages and all that is has to offer and will be offering. We can't speculate on 10 yrs from now---or 15 or 20. Most of us won't be around in those time frames anyway.........

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Jim

Excellent point . I live close to Brownwood and everything I typically use or need is located within about 3 miles of my
home .

It's great to have the Villages amenities and features all around as a barrier to the " real " world . I was in Spanish Springs recently and realized that it was the first visit there in about 2 years .
Just returned from a 2 week trip up North to visit family and friends . It was great , much that I miss . However I was happy to return , especially with every conversation eventually turning to the fact that it would be soon time to get prepared for Winter !

As we age, which is inevitable, we notice how convenient it is to live within TV and to have the convenience of either using a car or a golf cart to get around. We have friends who live on the beach in a far northern State in a beautiful home, but they are miles from shopping, movie theaters, restaurants (other than eat in the rough places which close in the winter), and most of their neighbors leave for the winter. She remarked that she had to drive an hour to a local movie theater, meet her friends, watch the movie and drive back in the pitch blackness of a Northern night with no street lights. Getting old is so much easier and more comfortable in TV.

[asianthree]

We are on the younger side so traveling anywhere in TV for golf, food, and grocery is not a big deal. Besides if you wait til after 5 the traffic slows down by 2/3s. Most restaurants by 7 have multiple tables available.

In 15 years we may think differently but for right now, we don’t mind the expansion

[Rapscallion St Croix]

Originally Posted by Chatbrat

Just looked at the populations of cities in Fl, the TV's will,IMHO most likely be in the top 10,population wise, in a few years!!!

The Villages is not a city, so I don't see it making the list.

[BobnBev]

Originally Posted by collie1228

I think billethkid hit the nail on the head. We seldom travel to Brownwood (maybe a couple times a year), as it is way too far for us to go by golf cart, and I really don't want to travel by car 20-25 minutes through a baker's dozen roundabouts to get there. I think that some of the Southern Villagers probably feel much the same about the North. The one big problem I see is Morse Blvd, only two lanes, and when a person from the South needs to go to the hospital, they don't have a lot of choice on the route. Plus our shopping here in the North is more mature, with Target and other offerings not yet available in the South, so people are driving up here. The traffic on Morse is aggravating right now, and obviously gets worse in season. I really wish the family would consider spending some of their billions on a major upgrade to Morse from 466 to 27/411, but I believe that's a pipe dream. But other than that, I have nothing to complain about here. Nobody I know can name a better place to retire.

A person from the South should use the Leesburg Hospital.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Really, what does it matter if TV gets bigger?

A big percentage of residents probably don't venture outside the close proximity to where they live anyway; people that live close to SS, LSL and Brownwood have a tendency to stay close to those areas.

People in Fenney, Desoto, McClure and all the other soon to be southern Villages, will eventually have the same mindset once retail businesses are built up; some will drive their carts to Brownwood but cart traffic from the southern locales will be almost non-existent in LSL and SS.

I don't care if we get 500k people here as long as the Developer keeps the infrastructure up (in the existing Villages), retail businesses, the amenities and most important, the golf courses, on the same pace as the growth of residents.

[Buffalo Jim]

Originally Posted by asianthree

We are on the younger side so traveling anywhere in TV for golf, food, and grocery is not a big deal. Besides if you wait til after 5 the traffic slows down by 2/3s. Most restaurants by 7 have multiple tables available.

In 15 years we may think differently but for right now, we don’t mind the expansion

Another excellent point . During the " busy season " we often read complaints about the grocery stores being crowded because they are ......... at certain hours .
However I learned 7 years ago when I first moved here that if I went for groceries at 7 PM I " owned " the store and seldom did I find them out of any of the specials or things that I needed .
And same thing with the restaurants . Go a bit later and you seldom have to wait and frankly the noise level is much more tolerable .
Aw gee .... now everyone will be doing so . Oh Well .......

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

Really, what does it matter if TV gets bigger?

I don't care if we get 500k people here as long as the Developer keeps the infrastructure up (in the existing Villages), retail businesses, the amenities and most important, the golf courses, on the same pace as the growth of residents.

I second that, grow until the basic law of economic supply and demand reaches an equilibrium, just keep up the amenities on the same pace as the growth of the residential development. If the Villages developers don't provide the growth, some other developer will. And I would much rather have the growth being managed by the Villages than some other unknown.

[asianthree]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Jim

Another excellent point . During the " busy season " we often read complaints about the grocery stores being crowded because they are ......... at certain hours .
However I learned 7 years ago when I first moved here that if I went for groceries at 7 PM I " owned " the store and seldom did I find them out of any of the specials or things that I needed .
And same thing with the restaurants . Go a bit later and you seldom have to wait and frankly the noise level is much more tolerable .
Aw gee .... now everyone will be doing so . Oh Well .......

Great now you have let the cat out of the bag. Shhhh don’t tell anyone online grocery is the only way to shop. Then the only traffic we will see is UPS and FEDEx

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

I second that, grow until the basic law of economic supply and demand reaches an equilibrium, just keep up the amenities on the same pace as the growth of the residential development. If the Villages developers don't provide the growth, some other developer will. And I would much rather have the growth being managed by the Villages than some other unknown.

The fact of the matter regarding growth well stated above!!

[collie1228]

Today's web newspaper has a letter to the editor with a photo of the boardwalk in Sumter, showing disrepair and danger tape at the dock going to the pagoda. Unfortunately, seeing disrepair in a community like ours is usually the first sign that the developer has taken his eyes off the ball, and there could be more to come. I hope this isn't true, but someone "in power" should be pushing hard to avoid this kind of dereliction.

[Jima64]

Agree with Gracie. Plus I find as I have aged I have slowed down and stay closer to home for shopplng and relaxing.

[rjn5656]

My only concern is when is enough enough! How big can the villages get to support the people willing to buy or live here? Or will the bubble bust. I am still young enough and worry about the future.

[Challenger]

Originally Posted by collie1228

Today's web newspaper has a letter to the editor with a photo of the boardwalk in Sumter, showing disrepair and danger tape at the dock going to the pagoda. Unfortunately, seeing disrepair in a community like ours is usually the first sign that the developer has taken his eyes off the ball, and there could be more to come. I hope this isn't true, but someone "in power" should be pushing hard to avoid this kind of dereliction.

On the other hand:


The "Developer has acquired 100 or more dilapidated properties in the Historic Side , cleared and redeveloped the lots and built anew. Where have you even seen that happen before? I too wonder about the "Pier" issue. Someone not paying attention? don't know the facts yet.

[ColdNoMore]

Growth of TV is inevitable.

Da Family is getting bigger and instead of accepting smaller slices of the existing pie...a larger pie must be baked.