[HimandMe]

Originally Posted by TomW

I've lived here full time for 6 years and the transition from Friendly Retirement Community to Urban Competitive Environment has been profound. More people competing for resources and a gradual passing of the generation that was raised with 'manners' to the influx the 'me first' people who seem to take satisfaction in discourtesy and rudeness. Still, I also see daily exhibitions of kindness and gentility and a lot of people trying to enjoy their retirement as they can.

It seems to take a village to do a lot of things these days but I wonder about the state of our "larger" village. Growing is good in many ways but that sense of Community and comradeship with our fellow residents seems to be slipping away. Hopefully, I'm wrong.

Life is change. The Villages will change but the tone has been set and the changes depend on each and every one of us. I choose to keep it open, friendly and treat my neighbor as myself and hope the majority agrees with me.

[Challenger]

Live in a CYV. Anyone living in our neighborhood must pass our home since we live near the entrance. Very friendly neighborhood, but now seeing a number of short term rentals. Renters are completely obvious- they speed in , don't look at anyone , don't wave , and don't interact with anyone in the neighborhood. I know this is a generaliation, but hope this trend doesn't continue to grow.

[Bonny]

Originally Posted by pgc4340

We have lived here for 20+ years, so have seen huge changes. The Villages has gone from small town charm where everyone knows your name to the unfriendly and rushed state of a larger city. The Villages is no longer the community were were elated to call home.

We have been here over 15 years. I am still elated to call the Villages my home. I think it's a great place with many wonderful people !!

[DianeM]

Times change and people change. I do agree that I hate the short term renters. One of my neighbor houses has different people every week. Kind of sucks.

[Bonny]

I have met many nice people who are short term renters here. They are very friendly. These renters spend a lot of money in our stores and restaurants.
My sister usually rents for a few weeks every year. They don't speed, they wave to people and they love to talk to people.

[vette]

Originally Posted by HimandMe

Life is change. The Villages will change but the tone has been set and the changes depend on each and every one of us. I choose to keep it open, friendly and treat my neighbor as myself and hope the majority agrees with me.

" More people competing for resources and a gradual passing of the generation that was raised with 'manners' to the influx the 'me first' people who seem to take satisfaction in discourtesy and rudeness"

IMHO, the spirit of community is nothing more than the sum of the spirits of each of it's inhabitants. And weather they are owners or renters, or full time or part time is not relevant. ME FIRST people will always negatively impact a sense of community, simply because they put their needs Above the needs of others. Perhaps when we encounter someone who is behaving in a Me First way, each of us should simply remind that person that TV is and inspires to be the world's friendliest town and that we expect people to behave that way while they are with us.

[buzzy]

the "me first" people are quickly followed by the "me only" people

[billethkid]

I think to have a good perspective one has to have been here for a minimum of 10-15 years.

I wonder how many would be happy with none of the shopping that exists at the corner of Rolling Acres and 441.
No Sam's club.
No Home Depot.
No Kohls.
And many of the national chain restaurants would have not been here yet.
Buena Vista did not go any further South than Arnold Palmer CC.
10 years ago there was no Arnold Palmer CC or golf course.
There was only one town center, Spanish Springs.
The population was around 30-35,000.

Just to name a few. Much of the success of TV has been due to the fact that it did reach a critical mass size that in fact began to draw national attention and chains.

Everything is relative. If you came from a town od less than 100,000 TV may not appear as friendly as your home town.
If you came from cities double, triple and more you think you have died and discovered heaven here in TV.

We have lived it for the past 11 years. We enjoy TV as muvh now as we ever did. We still have no problem getting to play golf anytime time we want. We have no problem getting into the many, many places to ear here in TV.

TV is sort of an ala carte smorgasboard. You can enjoy as much or as little as you want. With a little flexibility in expectation...not a lot just a little.....one can enjoy just about anything that has been presented as a negative.

There is no place else one can have such a selection of how to live ones daily life well into aging toward 100!

We all know that everybody cannot be made happy......but TV goes a long way in that direction!

[MMMark]

In the 2+ years we've lived here as full-timers, we've learned to pick our spots regarding traffic & activities. I respect the OP's concerns. This truly is a special place and we two 58 year-olds want to do nothing but enhance the area with our presence & respect each of our neighbors, be they renters or more permanent residents. There is plenty of "good" here for all of us, and growth prospects bring plusses & minuses. We'll focus on the former while managing (as best we can) the latter.

[rubicon]

" I got mine but I don't want you to have yours" and also " its a matter of attitude"

While respect these views I respectively disagree.

The key ingredient missing in the aforementioned two views can be summed up in one word "overbuilt". and unfortunately the build out will continue indefinitely because the developer stands to make huge profits from new and used sales, from the stores that occupy his domain, etc., while residents way of living "The Villages Lifestyle continues to get compressed. I do not see where a change of attitude will make lines any shorter or shortages and unavailable resources any less short or unavailable or traffic any less congested either on the road or multi modal paths. I don't see how attitude will change being bumped from a tee time. I purposely only golf 2-3 times a week because of the shortage of tee time. so free golf may be free but it doesn't matter if you can't get a tee time. Its like paying more for high speed internet but the band with cable lines, etc are over capacity and never reach your modem.

The emphasis from a 55+ retirement community to a vacation destination has also drastically altered this community.

some may view me as a pessimist but a pessimist is an optimist with experience

I lived in a lovely city southwest of Minneapolis that once was rated the best city in America for a number of years until.................

I am also a realist and so I just can't get my mind wrapped around the concept that the backups on Morse or crossing the entrance to Lake Sumter landing are figments of my imagination and worse yet they are not even disappearing in the middle of summer any longer.

C'est la vie

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by billethkid

I think to have a good perspective one has to have been here for a minimum of 10-15 years.

I wonder how many would be happy with none of the shopping that exists at the corner of Rolling Acres and 441.
No Sam's club.
No Home Depot.
No Kohls.
And many of the national chain restaurants would have not been here yet.
Buena Vista did not go any further South than Arnold Palmer CC.
10 years ago there was no Arnold Palmer CC or golf course.
There was only one town center, Spanish Springs.
The population was around 30-35,000.

Just to name a few. Much of the success of TV has been due to the fact that it did reach a critical mass size that in fact began to draw national attention and chains.

Everything is relative. If you came from a town od less than 100,000 TV may not appear as friendly as your home town.
If you came from cities double, triple and more you think you have died and discovered heaven here in TV.

We have lived it for the past 11 years. We enjoy TV as muvh now as we ever did. We still have no problem getting to play golf anytime time we want. We have no problem getting into the many, many places to ear here in TV.

TV is sort of an ala carte smorgasboard. You can enjoy as much or as little as you want. With a little flexibility in expectation...not a lot just a little.....one can enjoy just about anything that has been presented as a negative.

There is no place else one can have such a selection of how to live ones daily life well into aging toward 100!

We all know that everybody cannot be made happy......but TV goes a long way in that direction!

[Bavarian]

Originally Posted by buzzy

the "me first" people are quickly followed by the "me only" people

Who raised and installed values into the "me first" generation and then the "Me Only"?

Seems like each generation is getting worse in many ways. They don't now Civics as shown on TV interviews, and their Religion and they pass this along to the next generation.

[queasy27]

Originally Posted by MMMark

In the 2+ years we've lived here as full-timers, we've learned to pick our spots regarding traffic & activities. I respect the OP's concerns. This truly is a special place and we two 58 year-olds want to do nothing but enhance the area with our presence & respect each of our neighbors, be they renters or more permanent residents. There is plenty of "good" here for all of us, and growth prospects bring plusses & minuses. We'll focus on the former while managing (as best we can) the latter.

Well said. When I read posts from people who came for a visit, fell in love, and bought a house in a few days, I always wonder if they end up feeling differently after the initial giddiness subsides. People who have realistic expectations seem to settle in best, long term.

[Vladimir]

Originally Posted by billethkid

I think to have a good perspective one has to have been here for a minimum of 10-15 years.

I wonder how many would be happy with none of the shopping that exists at the corner of Rolling Acres and 441.
No Sam's club.
No Home Depot.
No Kohls.
And many of the national chain restaurants would have not been here yet.
Buena Vista did not go any further South than Arnold Palmer CC.
10 years ago there was no Arnold Palmer CC or golf course.
There was only one town center, Spanish Springs.
The population was around 30-35,000.

Just to name a few. Much of the success of TV has been due to the fact that it did reach a critical mass size that in fact began to draw national attention and chains.

Everything is relative. If you came from a town od less than 100,000 TV may not appear as friendly as your home town.
If you came from cities double, triple and more you think you have died and discovered heaven here in TV.

We have lived it for the past 11 years. We enjoy TV as muvh now as we ever did. We still have no problem getting to play golf anytime time we want. We have no problem getting into the many, many places to ear here in TV.

TV is sort of an ala carte smorgasboard. You can enjoy as much or as little as you want. With a little flexibility in expectation...not a lot just a little.....one can enjoy just about anything that has been presented as a negative.

There is no place else one can have such a selection of how to live ones daily life well into aging toward 100!

We all know that everybody cannot be made happy......but TV goes a long way in that direction!

Totally agree.
There are good and bad things alike when you live in a small community as well as when you live in a big community.

Personally I like the "energy" of a bigger village with so many intelligent, active, and successful people. Reaching a critical mass points to sustainability, more conveniences and a safer bet in investing to live here.

Yes, we live in The Villages but there are the smaller individual villages we live in and you build a sense of community/friendships around common core interests.

[asianthree]

We have not been in TV long. First trip 2007. Bought April 2010. I find January traffic not a big deal. Today it took me 46 minutes to travel 11 miles. It's orange barrel season up north. Even in the summer we can wait up to 2 hours for a table at most restaurants. We also travel up to an hour to eat at a restaurant. We live in the country. TV is like a breath of fresh air for us, find many with the sense of community.