[jansmiles@mac.com]

I would like to visit The Villages in January. Any suggestions for me?

[dewilson58]

Great question.
Great place to ask.
I will start with a few.....

Hook up with a Villages Broker.
Get a golf cart.
Visit the town squares.
Before arrival determine your home preferences.
Enjoy the nightly music.
Play golf, swim, pickle ball, etc.
Talk to Villagers.
Get a Villages Map.

That's my jump-start..............more to come.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by jansmiles@mac.com

I would like to visit The Villages in January. Any suggestions for me?

Be prepared to be blown away. Than wonder "what's the catch". If you do a Lifestyle visit" and rent a home from the developer, the agent will NOT show you houses unless you ask and if they do they won't push.

See the sunset from the Morse Bridge. Enjoy the music at Lake Sumter Landing (my fave) Take the trolley ride and the boat ride and talk to everyone. Stop in at Laurel Manor rec center and ask to be shown around, and at Seabreeze rec center, and Colony Cottage and don't miss Eisenhower, especially if you are retired military. Talk to everyone. NO. We are not all Stepford Villagers, but most of us talk like we are.

Hurry. You will love it here.

[sbarron01]

You are so right Gracie about being 'blown away!' Husband & I retiring/moving to TV in 6 months, quick trip last wknd, stayed at an airbnb. I highly recommend! You're in a TV house, owners gave us tips about real estate/restaurants, ate outside at Cane Garden golf (their suggestion, wonderful!), and totally switched where we thought we wanted to buy to the area we stayed at. Drove all over, met w/MLS + VLS realtors who couldn't have been any nicer, crossed the street from Panera in Lake Sumter where we met a realtor to beers at Gators (2 beers = $4, really??, plenty of empty tables outside, stared at the water to unwind, then the free(!) live entertainment started at 3pm), ended at Spanish Springs for Scooter the DJ. The next morning looked at more neighborhoods, toured Eisenhower Rec Center, on the way back to the airport detoured over to the Lake Eustis Sailing Club (husband sails a Laser). Sorry if I went a bit off topic, but if you're coming from a city such as DC (crowded, high-priced), TV is something special.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by jansmiles@mac.com

I would like to visit The Villages in January. Any suggestions for me?

Hi Jansmiles, If you are planning on doing a Lifestyle Preview Visit in January, you may want to call The Villages sales office soon to book the visit. I would bet my cat's last can of Fancy Feast that January is a high demand month for Lifestyle Preview Visits in The Villages.

[eweissenbach]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger

Hi Jansmiles, If you are planning on doing a Lifestyle Preview Visit in January, you may want to call The Villages sales office soon to book the visit. I would bet my cat's last can of Fancy Feast that January is a high demand month for Lifestyle Preview Visits in The Villages.

True Dat Schaumburger. In fact I would be surprised to find out that there are any LSP slots available for this coming January. You also will probably not find a home available for short term in January as virtually every renter wants, and is able, to rent their home for Jan. thru Mar. There are several hotels to choose from in and around TV. Not trying to discourage you, and I may be wrong about LSP slots, but call TODAY!

[EnglishJW]

Originally Posted by jansmiles@mac.com

I would like to visit The Villages in January. Any suggestions for me?

Yes, do it! Plan some time, see some homes, get involved in a few activities, ride around, talk with people, etc.

[Carpe Diem]

1) Get a golf cart.
2) Get out of the house as much as you can and explore everything.
3) Go to a pool.
4) Go to a regional rec center.
5) Must go to a square at night. See Scooter the DJ if he is in town.

6) Don't hesitate to talk to Villagers. Ask, "How long have you lived here?" Then, "Are you tired of it yet?" Then be ready for a 10 minute conversation.

7) Have an ice cream.

[B-flat]

Originally Posted by Carpe Diem

1) Get a golf cart.
2) Get out of the house as much as you can and explore everything.
3) Go to a pool.
4) Go to a regional rec center.
5) Must go to a square at night. See Scooter the DJ if he is in town.

6) Don't hesitate to talk to Villagers. Ask, "How long have you lived here?" Then, "Are you tired of it yet?" Then be ready for a 10 minute conversation.

7) Have an ice cream.

I second Carpe Diem’s thoughts. Lots of good advice by other posters too.

We had a home in Ocala and visited the Villages a few times during our winter stays in Ocala. We decided we needed a change and sold the Ocala home. This past winter we rented a home and golf cart for 2 months to get the experience of living in the Villages. There’s nothing like it, visiting as an outsider only going to restaurants and the town squares does not give you the real experience of living here. Our only gotcha is due to a family situation we can’t be here more than a few months each year.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

If you're thinking about buying *new* (as in, custom built just for you in a brand new area of the community) then ask for a Lifestyle visit in Brownwood, or Fenny if available. If you're hoping to buy either "pre-owned" or "in an established area with mature oaks and minimal new construction" then if you have a choice, ask for a rental in or near Sumter Landing.

We're at Brownwood for a few days, we leave tomorrow. Everything we wanted to see and experience between 40 and 60-minute golf-cart ride away, or a 20 minute drive. I really REALLY wanted to see a bunch of homes in Spanish Springs, some of the newer rehabilitated homes in Orange Blossom, and maybe a few things west of Buena Vista but north of 466. We were only able to see a few homes in 5 days because the back and forth was just too much. If we were able to stay near Sumter Landing, everything we would've wanted to do (including dinner and dancing in the Sumter Landing town square) would've been no more than 20 minutes by golf cart, no more than 5 minutes by car.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

...and to those who remind me that there's dinner and dancing in Paddock Square yes, I know. But I wasn't interested in visiting Paddock Square, because if we move to TV it'll be north of 466 and I wanted to see what was in THAT area. Sort of like - if you're thinking of living in Boston, you don't rent a condo for a week in Framingham. Or if you want to consider life in Santa Fe, you don't spend a week visiting Albuquerque.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Jazuela

If you're thinking about buying *new* (as in, custom built just for you in a brand new area of the community) then ask for a Lifestyle visit in Brownwood, or Fenny if available. If you're hoping to buy either "pre-owned" or "in an established area with mature oaks and minimal new construction" then if you have a choice, ask for a rental in or near Sumter Landing.

We're at Brownwood for a few days, we leave tomorrow. Everything we wanted to see and experience between 40 and 60-minute golf-cart ride away, or a 20 minute drive. I really REALLY wanted to see a bunch of homes in Spanish Springs, some of the newer rehabilitated homes in Orange Blossom, and maybe a few things west of Buena Vista but north of 466. We were only able to see a few homes in 5 days because the back and forth was just too much. If we were able to stay near Sumter Landing, everything we would've wanted to do (including dinner and dancing in the Sumter Landing town square) would've been no more than 20 minutes by golf cart, no more than 5 minutes by car.

Are you lovin' it here???? I love it when a new person comes to The Villages. Isn't it great???

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Are you lovin' it here???? I love it when a new person comes to The Villages. Isn't it great???

We've visited before (for vacation) a couple of times. Though Florida isn't my first choice of a part of the country to live in (it's actually not even on my top 10 list), I absolutely LOVE the Villages.

Our visit was stressful, in part cause the parental units were with us a couple of days of the trip. They are not "active" seniors and get winded after walking around the corner, and get sore sitting in cars for any length of time.

So trying to see ANY homes near where we actually would want to live, was nearly impossible. We did get a rundown on the actual cost of living in TV (over and above the cost of the house itself), and were able to see what our home-buying dollars might pay for, if we were in a position to make an offer this week.

I"ll post a new thread on our thoughts, since it's off topic

[spring_chicken]

OP didn't say anything about buying, so I won't waste your time talking about realtors.
Be sure and visit each town square. If you stay somewhere central, like the Waterfront, it won't be too bad of a trip. But I wouldn't necessarily do it by golf cart because it's pretty confusing to a newcomer.

[Packer Fan]

Originally Posted by jansmiles@mac.com

I would like to visit The Villages in January. Any suggestions for me?

Here is my advice - Come in December instead - it will cost you half as much, if you can find something in January at all.
I have a rental available in December for 1900 for the month.
PM me if you are interested