[pooh]

Originally Posted by uujudy

BORED? Seriously? With another new adventure just waiting for them in the Thursday Recreation Guide or The Lifelong Learning Catalogue? How can this be?

Daryll, when you asked for the downside to living in The Villages my first thought was... There's too much to do, and not enough time!

Downside:
It's very easy to be overscheduled here. There are so many exciting new things to do & learn & explore that some nights I just fall into bed exhausted.
I have to keep a planner.
I have to set the alarm clock.
And then there are the expenses: I need tap dancing shoes, a jingly hip scarf for zumba, a new cute bathing suit, watercolor painting supplies and paper, numerous tote bags to carry all my things to all the different classes... and the list goes on.

I can understand being bored with the predictability of each day if you retired somewhere else, but I can't imagine where else they would choose to live that would give them so many opportunities for new adventures.

Don't forget, you have to take your weather radio to the fire station every week......

[jimbo2012]

Originally Posted by Ashton

the quality of construction JMHO

Care to elaborate on that comment before I build?

[Taltarzac725]

Most of the people I know who have moved from the Villages wanted to be closer to their family, or had moved into a neighborhood with bad neighbors and did not want to stay any longer in the Villages, or lost an important part of their family and could not take the daily reminders of their grief, or really missed the excitement of a major city like NY, Chicago or LA. Some also moved because of a promotion in their work life to some other city and state.

Think it depends where you go with respect to finding too many detractors with respect to your politics. Some Villagers do not seem all that interested in your politics, others can be.

I would like to see a Lionsgate movie in the Villages though and would like it if there were a quaility theater troupe.

[uujudy]

Originally Posted by pooh

Don't forget, you have to take your weather radio to the fire station every week......

OMG! Forgot to add that to my planner! Thanks for the reminder, Pooh!

[hdh1470]

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

Care to elaborate on that comment before I build?

I have found the quality much better then I have seen In new areas of chicago suburbs.Never spoke to anybody that had concerns.Even better then I saw in Boca Raton when we lived and worked their in early 80s.

[Russ_Boston]

Snakes? Haven't seen one yet. Maybe smashed on the road.

But I'm sure they are around. But not a big negative as far as I can tell.

[Bonny]

Originally Posted by Ashton

Snakes, sinkholes, extreme right wing owner, and we were not thrilled with the quality of construction JMHO

We have been here over 12 years. We have built to beautiful homes. I think the quality is great. We have made a lot of friends here & they say the same thing.

[jane032657]

The downfall for us is that we own a beautiful home there and we cannot move permanantly until around October. My complaint, it is too far away from Seattle so I cannot just come quickly for a visit!!! I cannot wait to be there and call it home. I am thrilled the malls are far away, that it is somewhat isolated, that there is more to do than there is time in a day, that the sunsets are breathtaking, that the people are smiling and living life. I am a great cook and so fine dining is at our house. If I get tired of Happy Hour in the town square we will do Happy Hour in our backyard while we look at the lake, the park and the birds. I have strong political opinions but they are mine and I do not care what others believe if they are good human beings and do not speak in terms of racism, sexism, or maliciousness of others. Every place has things that may not be to our liking, but no place has all the things to like that The Villages does.

[Happinow]

We've only been here about 7 weeks, so things are still pretty new to us. The only thing I can think of that may be a downside is you have to go a ways to get to a lot of places, but once you go, there's everything you could possibly want. We were used to going no more than 5-7 minutes away to get to everything and now if we want to go to 27/441 it takes us 15 or so minutes. I hardly call that "far" but just not what we are accustomed to. We are probably more "homebodies" than most so we built a pool and a very large lanai area so that we would have everything that we wanted right here. I feel good knowing that when, and if we get bored, we have a ton of activities to choose from. The Villages may not be for everyone, but it's the right place for us! Best of luck with your decision.

[keithwand]

We have been here 3 weeks since moving from Winter Park, FL where we moved to from MI in 2004.
So here goes
Negatives: Costco and Total Wine are 1 hour away.
Positives: Everything else.
Before visiting we thought "what are the positives?"
Then we visited and are living here 5 months later.

[eweissenbach]

I think that for one to be truly happy here, or anywhere for that matter, they have to evalute carefully if this is what they want. My wife and I love TV because we love all the activities available. We have lived for nine years on a lake in a rather isolated area and while the lake itself offers many activities, and we have all the water toys, pontoon, bass boat, waverunner, etc, there is only so much of that one can do. We have few resturaunts closer than an hour away and shopping is not handy, even groceries are 20 minutes away.

Our kids are all about an hour away and we see them often, but it takes some effort, not to mention gas. Because we have three grown children and six grandchildren who all live in the same area, we will never live full-time in TV. My wife would not be happy living anywhere that was a plane trip away from the kids and grandkids on a full-time basis, and I probably would not either. Many of the people I have heard express unhappiness here were upset about being far away from their family. Now I know many have managed to work that out to thier satisfaction, many others cannot. Someone who tended to be introverted and who did not enjoy meeting new people, or joining in activities with strangers, would be likely unhappy in TV. If you don't like to dance, play golf, listen to live music, ride around in open air carts then there are probably better choices for you.

Our plan is to purchase a place in TV and live about six months there and six months near our children. We are planning to puchase a place together with our good friends with whom we have shared rentals the last two years, to make it financially practical for all of us, not to mention we have a very compatible and synergistic relationship.

My advice is to evaluate what you want to accomplish in a move, and what kind of place might best offer that lifestyle. TV is paradise for those who like it here because there is no place that offers more of the kind of activities and, yes, lifestyle that they covet. However, if that lifestyle isn't your cup of tea, there may be many other places available that offer the things you are looking for.

[JoeC1947]

Downside.....1 hour happy hour at LSL and a 2 hour happy hour at SP.
As you can see, if that's all I have to complain about, then there really is no downside.

[asianthree]

takes us too long to drive down. wish we could be there more

[asianthree]

oh yea i hate paying for trash pickup when we are not there, and bright house needs to be available in all areas

[hulababy]

ok I'm going to be perfectly honest here. I've been here long enough now so I can explain to you why some may find it negative. Although I love the villages it is NOT for everyone. It is getting crowded!! Like a city. Some are NOT happy with waiting in lines to get in classes. The classes can get so crowded you may have to take a number to get in and then get turned away. Doesn't happen to me because I don't attend those type of classes but friends of mine tell me it does happen. The squares can get so crowded, parking can be difficult, chairs hard to come by.Restaurants, especially in winter can have very long wait lines. We need much more than they are keeping up with. We need more softball fields, gyms, movie theaters, a LARGE DANCE hall (which I don't think they are adding to the new square) We need a nice theater. Savannah is not comfortable. Our homes are close to each other. For me it's a positive, but some a negative. Kids are driving around in golf carts. Yesterday I saw four 10 yr olds driving around hanging out of it laughing. Accidents waiting to happen. Don't know what is wrong with some grandparents. Over all, I love it. I love the lifestyle, I love the people but I can see why some do leave. I would suggest to anyone to rent for a year or two and feel out the lifestyle and then decide whether it is for you or not. Good luck on your decision. Those are just some thoughts that immediately came to mind. And one very important thing to note: without all these wonderful volunteers to run the clubs we would not have the lifestyle we do. They are absolutely fantastic in what they do and offer us for entertainment and lifestyle!!