Talk of The Villages Florida

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-   -   What do you think about We were sold a bill of goods about Villages? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/what-do-you-think-about-we-were-sold-bill-goods-about-villages-360766/)

golfing eagles 08-19-2025 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruger2506 (Post 2454728)
Opinions are like ********. Spent 8 years researching FL and The Villages. Thanks for your useless opinion though.

So after 8 years researching The Villages, you ended up in a place you hate. Hmmm.

Ruger2506 08-19-2025 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2454731)
So after 8 years researching The Villages, you ended up in a place you hate. Hmmm.

Family man. Family is close. And FL schools are **** and the charter school isn't. So we gave it a whirl.

No thanks on the acre lots in local towns. We are going back to MN to large acreage where I can shoot my own meat, grown my own meat and veggies, don't have neighbors, etc. Turns out the snow and cold really isn't that bad. Despite MN's governor and income taxes, at least MN loves nature and protects it.

dewilson58 08-19-2025 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruger2506 (Post 2454728)
Opinions are like ********. Spent 8 years researching FL and The Villages. Thanks for your useless opinion though.

:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Eight years and didn't know:

Lot sizes

Garage sizes

HOA fees (there are none)

The HOA rule dictators (there are none)

The mismanagement of ponds and "wild lands"

Yes the Developers and their rampant destruction of wild lands disgusts me.


AMAZING................eight years and did know any of this prior to purchase.

:a20:

tophcfa 08-19-2025 12:13 PM

Interesting thread. I feel bad for the OP, been in those shoes. There are a few folks out there that are quick to put all kinds of nasty labels on someone who doesn’t buy into the Villages being 100% perfect, hook, line, and sinker. I absolutely love the Villages, and have committed a significant chunk of our retirement resources into our home there. When I’m up north, my next trip to our Villages home dominates my thoughts. When I’m at our Villages home, I am never looking forward to returning back north (except for the one time I needed quality health care). If it wasn’t for unavoidable northern responsibilities, accessibility to quality health care, and my wife’s insistence on spending time with the youth of our family (what’s up with women and kids? ), I would never leave. There is no other place in the world that affords me the lifestyle the Villages offers. Where else can I swim laps in 12 different beautiful outdoors sports pools surrounded by palm trees year round, play at 14 different Championships golf courses (12 north of 44 with 10 being 27 holes), ride a bike without dealing with hilly terrain, be able to go just about everywhere and do everything in a golf cart and not even need a car except on rare occasions, not have to worry about snow, ice, and freezing cold, go in our backyard pool, abutting a wildlife preserve, with my wife every night before bed, and enjoy more other amenities and entertainment than the day is long? The Villages is truly a unique and beautiful place, but like anywhere else, it’s not perfect. There is no doubt short term rentals like AIRBnB’s are a black eye on the community. It’s easy to disagree when you don’t live near one (or are one of the inconsiderate neighbors running one), but that could change tomorrow. They are certainly not what we signed up for when purchasing our home 10 years ago. As far as others using our amenities, I can only speak of the sports pools, because that’s what I use almost daily when at our Villages home (and I’m not an early morning person so my experience is more in the late afternoons going to dusk). In approximately 1,000 visits to the sports pools over the years, I have been required to show my ID approximately 40 times as they almost never check ID’s during lap and open swim times. Over half of the times my ID was checked it was during the early days of COVID when monitors diligently limited the number of swimmers allowed in the pools. Every other time my ID was checked (except one time) was when I showed up early during an organized water aerobics or Volleyball activity to lay claim on a swimming lane. The only time my ID was checked during lap swimming time was Monday, August 11, 2025 at Laurel Manor. I thanked the employee for finally checking my ID and told him I really wished someone would check my ID every time I went swimming. Over the years, I have seen numerous violations in the sports pools, including non -residents, guests, and children (all not allowed in the sports pools). I have also witnessed what appears to be homeless people sneaking in to use both the restrooms and showers, but not using the pool itself. In my opinion, one violation is too many. We pay good money towards our amenity fees and expect the rules to be enforced. I guess now, according to some, I’m a complainer. So be it.

golfing eagles 08-19-2025 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dewilson58 (Post 2454735)
:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Eight years and didn't know:

Lot sizes

Garage sizes

HOA fees (there are none)

The HOA rule dictators (there are none)

The mismanagement of ponds and "wild lands"

Yes the Developers and their rampant destruction of wild lands disgusts me.


AMAZING................eight years and did know any of this prior to purchase.

:a20:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruger2506 (Post 2454734)
Family man. Family is close. And FL schools are **** and the charter school isn't. So we gave it a whirl.

No thanks on the acre lots in local towns. We are going back to MN to large acreage where I can shoot my own meat, grown my own meat and veggies, don't have neighbors, etc. Turns out the snow and cold really isn't that bad. Despite MN's governor and income taxes, at least MN loves nature and protects it.

Actually, I get it. This is just a more extreme example of "Village Hatred Syndrome", which is the general umbrella over "Developer Hatred Syndrome". I hope he finds happiness in the arctic tundra.

PS: If MN loves nature and protects it, how come people get to "shoot their own meat"?

Ruger2506 08-19-2025 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2454738)
PS: If MN loves nature and protects it, how come people get to "shoot their own meat"?

America! It's a MN constitutional right! Just like in FL now (a FL constitutional right), except FL has no public lands to hunt, not comparatively anyhow. Thanks to developers.

Hunters are the #1 protector of natural lands and wild game.

Taltarzac725 08-19-2025 12:20 PM

We have been in the Villages about 20 years and a month. We moved from Palm Harbor, Florida which for a time was the bulls-eye of four hurricanes in 2004 but all four turned a bit. One was close shave with us getting horizontal rain for a little bit . We were at about twenty feet of elevation so did not have to worry a lot about storm surge. Tarpon Lake was only a block or two over from us. Gators galore. Even a crocodile a number of years back. Crocodile found in Florida lake


Think the Villages is a great place for certain people. Many of the people I have met over the years here did move away but some actually came back . A few moved to just outside the Villages.

Ruger2506 08-19-2025 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 2454738)
Actually, I get it. This is just a more extreme example of "Village Hatred Syndrome", which is the general umbrella over "Developer Hatred Syndrome". I hope he finds happiness in the arctic tundra.

It's amazing how many people in here get all upset when someone says they don't like The Villages or the developer. Like you guys are Morse Family or personally invested and getting personally attacked. Seems like people can't even have a conversation without someone implying there are an idiot as Dewilson does.

God forbid someone tries something new and decides they don't like it.

golfing eagles 08-19-2025 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruger2506 (Post 2454740)
America! It's a MN constitutional right! Just like in FL now (a FL constitutional right), except FL has no public lands to hunt, not comparatively anyhow. Thanks to developers.

Hunters are the #1 protector of natural lands and wild game.

Tell that to the 10-point buck head mounted on the lodge's wall :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

golfing eagles 08-19-2025 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tophcfa (Post 2454737)
Interesting thread. I feel bad for the OP, been in those shoes. There are a few folks out there that are quick to put all kinds of nasty labels on someone who doesn’t buy into the Villages being 100% perfect, hook, line, and sinker. I absolutely love the Villages, and have committed a significant chunk of our retirement resources into our home there. When I’m up north, my next trip to our Villages home dominates my thoughts. When I’m at our Villages home, I am never looking forward to returning back north (except for the one time I needed quality health care). If it wasn’t for unavoidable northern responsibilities, accessibility to quality health care, and my wife’s insistence on spending time with the youth of our family (what’s up with women and kids? ), I would never leave. There is no other place in the world that affords me the lifestyle the Villages offers. Where else can I swim laps in 12 different beautiful outdoors sports pools surrounded by palm trees year round, play at 14 different Championships golf courses (12 north of 44 with 10 being 27 holes), ride a bike without dealing with hilly terrain, be able to go just about everywhere and do everything in a golf cart and not even need a car except on rare occasions, not have to worry about snow, ice, and freezing cold, go in our backyard pool, abutting a wildlife preserve, with my wife every night before bed, and enjoy more other amenities and entertainment than the day is long? The Villages is truly a unique and beautiful place, but like anywhere else, it’s not perfect. There is no doubt short term rentals like AIRBnB’s are a black eye on the community. It’s easy to disagree when you don’t live near one (or are one of the inconsiderate neighbors running one), but that could change tomorrow. They are certainly not what we signed up for when purchasing our home 10 years ago. As far as others using our amenities, I can only speak of the sports pools, because that’s what I use almost daily when at our Villages home (and I’m not an early morning person so my experience is more in the late afternoons going to dusk). In approximately 1,000 visits to the sports pools over the years, I have been required to show my ID approximately 40 times as they almost never check ID’s during lap and open swim times. Over half of the times my ID was checked it was during the early days of COVID when monitors diligently limited the number of swimmers allowed in the pools. Every other time my ID was checked (except one time) was when I showed up early during an organized water aerobics or Volleyball activity to lay claim on a swimming lane. The only time my ID was checked during lap swimming time was Monday, August 11, 2025 at Laurel Manor. I thanked the employee for finally checking my ID and told him I really wished someone would check my ID every time I went swimming. Over the years, I have seen numerous violations in the sports pools, including non -residents, guests, and children (all not allowed in the sports pools). I have also witnessed what appears to be homeless people sneaking in to use both the restrooms and showers, but not using the pool itself. In my opinion, one violation is too many. We pay good money towards our amenity fees and expect the rules to be enforced. I guess now, according to some, I’m a complainer. So be it.

1,000,000 % agree. As I already posted, my tolerance is zero and one violation is too many

Bill14564 08-19-2025 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tophcfa (Post 2454737)
.... In my opinion, one violation is too many. We pay good money towards our amenity fees and expect the rules to be enforced. I guess now, according to some, I’m a complainer. So be it.

You pay good money towards the amenities and it is (mostly) used well. Zero violations would require fulltime monitors which are not part of the current funding/package/amenities. How much are you willing to pay for "one violation is too many?"

Let's say 100 pools sit near 100 pickleball courts. One person can't monitor both so that means 200 monitors. 200 employees, 12 hours per day, seven days per week, 52 weeks per year comes out to 873,600 man hours. $15/hour makes that $13,104,000 needed to fund those monitors. With the current amenity fee the VCCDD and SLCDD combined receive $156M in amenity fees. Therefore, the monitors would require an immediate increase of approximately 10% (or about $15 - $20).

As homeowners complain about CPI increases to their amenity fees, do you believe they would be happy about an additional $18 increase to have a warm body monitoring the pools and courts?

golfing eagles 08-19-2025 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruger2506 (Post 2454743)
It's amazing how many people in here get all upset when someone says they don't like The Villages or the developer. Like you guys are Morse Family or personally invested and getting personally attacked. Seems like people can't even have a conversation without someone implying there are an idiot as Dewilson does.

God forbid someone tries something new and decides they don't like it.

That fine, but the first post implied The Villages was poisoning the water with toxic chemicals, the HOA fees were high, and enforcement of deed restrictions was carried out by the Gestapo and everyone was Mrs. Kravitz. I think such a mischaracterization required a response

golfing eagles 08-19-2025 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2454748)
You pay good money towards the amenities and it is (mostly) used well. Zero violations would require fulltime monitors which are not part of the current funding/package/amenities. How much are you willing to pay for "one violation is too many?"

Let's say 100 pools sit near 100 pickleball courts. One person can't monitor both so that means 200 monitors. 200 employees, 12 hours per day, seven days per week, 52 weeks per year comes out to 873,600 man hours. $15/hour makes that $13,104,000 needed to fund those monitors. With the current amenity fee the VCCDD and SLCDD combined receive $156M in amenity fees. Therefore, the monitors would require an immediate increase of approximately 10% (or about $15 - $20).

As homeowners complain about CPI increases to their amenity fees, do you believe they would be happy about an additional $18 increase to have a warm body monitoring the pools and courts?

I'd be willing to pay my $18 and for 10 other residents as well. Still cheaper than the $650/month that my friend in Venice pays in HOA fees for a 5th floor condo with one pool and a gym the size of my lanai as their only amenities. And for full disclosure, in 12 years here I have never been to a pool, I don't even know how to open the gate, I don't play pickleball or tennis and rarely set foot on an exec course. But the whole idea of trespassers invading TV and not facing any consequences irks me to no end. PROSECUTE THEM TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW!

Chellybean 08-19-2025 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tophcfa (Post 2454737)
Interesting thread. I feel bad for the OP, been in those shoes. There are a few folks out there that are quick to put all kinds of nasty labels on someone who doesn’t buy into the Villages being 100% perfect, hook, line, and sinker. I absolutely love the Villages, and have committed a significant chunk of our retirement resources into our home there. When I’m up north, my next trip to our Villages home dominates my thoughts. When I’m at our Villages home, I am never looking forward to returning back north (except for the one time I needed quality health care). If it wasn’t for unavoidable northern responsibilities, accessibility to quality health care, and my wife’s insistence on spending time with the youth of our family (what’s up with women and kids? ), I would never leave. There is no other place in the world that affords me the lifestyle the Villages offers. Where else can I swim laps in 12 different beautiful outdoors sports pools surrounded by palm trees year round, play at 14 different Championships golf courses (12 north of 44 with 10 being 27 holes), ride a bike without dealing with hilly terrain, be able to go just about everywhere and do everything in a golf cart and not even need a car except on rare occasions, not have to worry about snow, ice, and freezing cold, go in our backyard pool, abutting a wildlife preserve, with my wife every night before bed, and enjoy more other amenities and entertainment than the day is long? The Villages is truly a unique and beautiful place, but like anywhere else, it’s not perfect. There is no doubt short term rentals like AIRBnB’s are a black eye on the community. It’s easy to disagree when you don’t live near one (or are one of the inconsiderate neighbors running one), but that could change tomorrow. They are certainly not what we signed up for when purchasing our home 10 years ago. As far as others using our amenities, I can only speak of the sports pools, because that’s what I use almost daily when at our Villages home (and I’m not an early morning person so my experience is more in the late afternoons going to dusk). In approximately 1,000 visits to the sports pools over the years, I have been required to show my ID approximately 40 times as they almost never check ID’s during lap and open swim times. Over half of the times my ID was checked it was during the early days of COVID when monitors diligently limited the number of swimmers allowed in the pools. Every other time my ID was checked (except one time) was when I showed up early during an organized water aerobics or Volleyball activity to lay claim on a swimming lane. The only time my ID was checked during lap swimming time was Monday, August 11, 2025 at Laurel Manor. I thanked the employee for finally checking my ID and told him I really wished someone would check my ID every time I went swimming. Over the years, I have seen numerous violations in the sports pools, including non -residents, guests, and children (all not allowed in the sports pools). I have also witnessed what appears to be homeless people sneaking in to use both the restrooms and showers, but not using the pool itself. In my opinion, one violation is too many. We pay good money towards our amenity fees and expect the rules to be enforced. I guess now, according to some, I’m a complainer. So be it.

Well said my friend;
no one talks about all the bad behavior either.Golf course patrons not respecting private property.

People walking there dogs on other neighborhoods and allowing there dogs to urinate and poop on other peoples property(some of use take care of our own grass.)

Multiuse path with inconsiderate golf carts not yielding to pedestrians.

Inconsiderate bad behavior at town squares and restaurants .

I can go on and on feel free to add to the list.
But i would be considered unhappy lol.
Some here have well over 10 thousand post, i don't know how they have time for anything else except attacks on others for there opinion?

golfing eagles 08-19-2025 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chellybean (Post 2454755)
Well said my friend;
no one talks about all the bad behavior either.Golf course patrons not respecting private property.

People walking there dogs on other neighborhoods and allowing there dogs to urinate and poop on other peoples property(some of use take care of our own grass.)

Multiuse path with inconsiderate golf carts not yielding to pedestrians.

Inconsiderate bad behavior at town squares and restaurants .

I can go on and on feel free to add to the list.
But i would be considered unhappy lol.
Some here have well over 10 thousand post, i don't know how they have time for anything else except attacks on others for there opinion?

I'll answer that for those with "over 10,000" posts. I have 13,776 posts in 3,813 days on TOTV, averaging 3.6/day. It doesn't take up much of my time. That's less posts than some people have on this thread alone. And 90% of mine are educational, the 10% that are "attacks" are well deserved.


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