[Janie123]

Originally Posted by alexthompson

My wife and I will be staying in The Villages for a Lifestyle Visit for a week during the holidays. We are not golf or pickleball people, but we love activities and clubs.

We will be in Florida for an additional week exploring.Where should we visit?

Nothing in FL is “like” The Villages… 5000+ clubs. As for outdoor activities, plenty of games to play besides Golf and Pickleball, shuffleboard, bocce, horseshoes, etc and no one has to have any experience to play. You can play those with a drink in your hand. I belong to the Habitat for Humanity club and volunteer time building houses and making sawdust. The adult pools have activities like water aerobics.

[MX rider]

Originally Posted by NoMo50

My wife and I weren't either, until we moved here. To my way of thinking, the key to maximizing your retirement lifestyle is to have options. There isn't another retirement community in the world that has the depth and breadth of available activities compared to The Villages.

100% NoMo50! You summed it up perfectly.
That's why we chose the Villages. You can stay as busy as you want. And the number of activities available for no cost is truly amazing.

For me, Golf, sand volleyball, softball and mountain biking are my go to sports. But there's so much more, too much to mention.
My wife is in the beginner pickleball program and loving it. She's always been very fit, but not into sports in general. But the social aspect that goes with it really appeals to her.

We looked at other places, but nowhere came close to what we have here. Plus, the fact that they keep everything nice, clean and the facilities are all top notch. If you want to stay active, this is the place!

But as I tell anyone that asks, it's not for everybody. Depends on how you want to spend your retirement.

There's a happy place for everyone, I hope you find yours. For us it's TV.

Have fun on your visit!

[TomPerry]

Originally Posted by alexthompson

My wife and I will be staying in The Villages for a Lifestyle Visit for a week during the holidays. We are not golf or pickleball people, but we love activities and clubs.

We will be in Florida for an additional week exploring.Where should we visit?

You can visit anywhere you want, but in my opinion, nowhere else can beat The Villages when it comes to availability of restaurants, golf, softball, Pickel ball, activities, clubs, entertainment, miles of walking & nature trails, miles of golf cart paths, and overall beauty and cleanliness. At least by coming to The Villages first, you will have the standard by which you can judge all the rest.

[sallyg]

Check out any of the Del Webb communities. Very nice and not so huge.

[Wondering]

Take from the greedy billionaires and give to the hard working less fortunate!

[Salty Dog]

Royal Highlands south of Leesburg about midway between Leesburg and Clermont. I've bought two homes there. One new and one preowned. There isn't anymore new builds there. There are 1500 homes. It's certainly no Villages, but it's much more laidback.

[Heytubes]

For getting around the area, either by golf cart or automobile, I recommend spending a one time charge of 6 or 7 bucks on The Villages GPS app. It has a listing and direction's to everything and everywhere in The Villages. There is also a free app, but not as inclusive. I settled in the north older area as more mature trees, restaurants as well as closer to medical facilities, plus, closer to Ocala restaurants as well as the World Equestrian Center which is a fascinating facility where events are held often. Either way, no where compares to The Villages if you want to feel like you’re on vacation everyday. Best to you!

Originally Posted by alexthompson

My wife and I will be staying in The Villages for a Lifestyle Visit for a week during the holidays. We are not golf or pickleball people, but we love activities and clubs.

We will be in Florida for an additional week exploring.Where should we visit?

Over the seven years we were looking we visited numerous communities in Florida, North and South Carolina. Most had many activities. For me it came down to a few items. Weather for all twelve months of the year, access to health care, continuing education including clubs and activities I had never tried.

It might be time well spent to write down what really is important to you folks and let that guide you. Then do a quick internet search for communities in an area that works for you, make a few calls and ask some questions. Instead of asking do you have a billiard club I would ask how many billiard clubs do you have. Thirty minutes spent could save you a week of your time and $100's or $1,000's of dollars. Much more efficient process than spending days & dollars someplace that will not work for you.

I really liked that I could just go to a different club if I didn't click with the first one. Most communities will have a club but not many clubs for a specific activity. As an example, there is 42 Art - Clay Clubs, 35 Billiard Clubs and 63 Bridge - Cards Clubs listed in The Villages spreadsheet supplied in an earlier response.

I hope it helps and I am sure you will find your spot. You may have already found it???

[KeithD]

Babcock range north of fort Myers

[justjim]

Very close to The Villages is Stonecrest and Spruce Creek South. Both are along U.S. 441/27 at the north east side of The Villages. They are smaller communities that have golf cart availability to shopping and you can also get into The Villages from there. I know of several that have moved from The Villages to Stonecrest and Spruce Creek South. Worth looking IMHO because they are close.

[MX rider]

Originally Posted by NoMo50

My wife and I weren't either, until we moved here. To my way of thinking, the key to maximizing your retirement lifestyle is to have options. There isn't another retirement community in the world that has the depth and breadth of available activities compared to The Villages.

Originally Posted by sallyg

Check out any of the Del Webb communities. Very nice and not so huge.

My sister in law and her husband live in Del Webb in Ocala. They like it, but it was way too boring for us. They thought the Villages was too busy. To each their own.

[bob47]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Isn't that a trailer park????

I can imagine that there are lots of folks there living very happy lives and enjoying their friends. Is it necessary to disparage the place?

[MidWestIA]

lots of places say they have them but contact them to see how many in it and do they ever meet

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by SusanStCatherine

Check out the 55places.com website for other communities. It's not 100% accurate since it says no new homes in Thb Villages. But it will give you an idea of the size of each. We looked at Solivita, Margaritaville, and a few others. Riverland by GL Homes in Port St Lucie seemed to come the closest to what The Villages offers from those we looked at. Hubby needed a big garage and that's why he wanted to buy here.

If you buy near a coast, your homeowners insurance will be extremely high. If you buy on the southwest gulf coast, it will be brutally hot in the summer but warmer in the winter than other areas of Florida. Good luck!

2023 was the HOTTEST year ever on RECORD! And climate scientists PREDICT increasing WARMING tor at least the next 8 years. Anywhere in Florida is going to be "brutally HOT" in the summer. That why we have so many snow birds, who descend on Florida AFTER the BRUTAL summer. Note: the chamber of commerce will NOT tell you that!

[wsachs]

Originally Posted by drdoug59

i really liked lakewood ranch, your close to world class beaches, culture, and high end, better quality restaurants. A mixed aged community. it is more high end than the villages with a median income approximately $50,000 higher than TV.
Check it out, median income there is $130K, a truly lovely place

Not very golf cart friendly, golf can cost a lot and you have to drive your car most places, restuarants, golf, Dr's, shopping, etc.