[NJblue]

A friend of mine is interested in moving to TV as a snowbird from Colorado, but his wife says that she has no interest in living in Florida. From what I gather, this is a typical view of many people, but then in a moment of weakness they stop by TV, sip the water, and their perceptions change. I was wondering how many people, when they were about 5 years before retirement would have imagined living in Florida or TV?

[SteveFromNY]

HAd the question been 6 years before, I would have answered differently. But in 2003 I did imagine myself in TV. That was about when I started looking at their website on a regular basis. Prior to that, I would have just said somewhere warmer, possibly not even FL.

[rshoffer]

I grew up and lived most of my life in Pa. From 1976-1985 I lived in Augusta, Georgia. After moving back to the rusbelt for 22 years, I was determined to get back to sunny Southern weather. I was definitely thinking that 5 years ago, but, I thought I'd end up back in Georgia. Instead.... in TV (why is obvious once you visit)

[Time for Tee]

We had a plan! We became Snowbirds in Calif. (Palm Springs) and bought property there which we had for 8 years. Our son was married at Disneyworld and we thought we would look at Fl. retirement areas for something to do since we had some free time. Came to T.V. by chance and said WOW!!
went back to Calif. (it was only March) and thought about what we would leave such as the beautiful mountain range, our new friends and dry climate, etc. Visited on a Lifestyle in the fall and then decided to put Calif. on the market. Bought the next July! We visit in Calif. as hubby does ski at Squaw Valley and get our "FIX" wirh the mountains.
We love TV and we never ever thought we would live in Central Florida!
Change is good.

[F16 1UB]

We looked at the Springhill area about 40 miles north of Tampa. Were all set and even put an offer on a house. Glad someone beat us to the punch. Then friends from Pompano Beach FL said they were moving to TV and we should check it out. Looked, studied, and lived on TV homes site for 3 years. Visited TV twice. Did I mention the 2nd time was to buy? Now if we can ever sell the house in KY we'll be able to enjoy our home in Hadley.

F16

[MMC24]

We had investigated several other communities and had settled on one in AZ. We were receiving Where to Retire Magazine and saw a small ad about TV and then saw a commercial on the golf channel and decided to check it out. End of story!! This is the best place on Earth.

[Peachie]

We had purchased a lot on a golf course in the Piedmont area of SC. It was gorgeous but not nearly as wonderful as life in The Villages. Lot was sold and we are invested in The Villages, what a great idea!!

[graciegirl]

Five years ago living anywhere in Florida was not even on my radar screen. My parents had lived in the Venice area and I didn't like their life style at all. It was hot, the house was not interesting, they mainly socialized at if not the largest, close to the largest Elks Club in Florida. I could not understand why anyone would leave the beauty of Ohio for what I deemed. (sorry) the tawdriness of Florida.

My husband had talked to people who were raving about the golf at some place called The Villages, Florida. Well, that really turned me off, if my husband Sweetie, has a teeny tiny fault, he golfed WAY too much in our life time to suit me. I did a search back then and I found a website that showed homes not very interesting to me and the graphics were kind of " country" and nothing pushed my hot button. (I am a horrible graphics snob) Things have changed quite a bit since then.

The only place in Florida that I truly loved and returned to time and time again was Disney World. It was beautiful, pristine, something new was happening all the time, it was a fantasy come true and beyond dreams to me. We went even after the children and grandchildren had grown up.

You know what I am going to say don't you?

I came. I drank. I fell in love.

They somehow nailed one of their toughest sells by not selling me at all.

Boy am I glad I did. I would have completely missed Paradise. (AND Disney World for adults!)

[Frangyomory]

For ten years before we both retired, we knewe we wanted to live in the Villages, actually, Joe knew. I wanted to check out a lot of places but Joe knew it was the Villages. We got here and I was sold. We never left.

[784caroline]

After having lived most of our adult working life in N Virginia just outside of Washington DC, our goal 5 years from retirement was to get out of the rat race and traffic congestion of N Va where it could take you 1 hour or more to travel 10-15 miles. That said we looked in Williamsburg (friends live there), Hilton Head (loved the low country living and we vacationed here alot), North Carolina (just alot of retirement properties), and finally we never dreamed of living in FLorida (came here on a lark from Hilton head during the summer .. TV was recomneded to us and we were open minded to see what communities had).

WE bought on our first visit..no other community could compare to amenities, the style of house, and to be honest with you when we drove around people just seemed to be having fun it if it was on the square, playing tennis, or this odd game called pickelball, and at the country clubs for lunch/dinner. The 5 day preview package was a great concept allowing us time to see TV and to realize that you were buying more than simply a house but a new retirment lifestyle.

[Bob45]

My wife Linda and I Both retired the end of June 2007. We bought a motor home and a Jeep wrangler to tow a few years before retirement. The plan was to travel 6 to 8 of the cooler months in the southern and western states and return to our home in Ohio for the summer. As luck would have it Linda broke her leg and it took all winter to heal. So we stayed home last winter. As soon as she was able to travel we jumped in the car and visited friends in Florida. One of our stops was The Villages. Need I say more? We are coming down in a few days for 3 weeks. We will be looking to buy. I never thought I would retire in Florida. My Dad did and I said "not for me". Must have been the cool aid.
Bob

[Mintjulep]

We lived in central NC (Piedmont area). I always assumed we'd retire to the mountains near Asheville where I'd lived in the 70's and 80's, or near Charleston, SC where my son lives.
But saw a commercial on Fox about TV and thought we'd check it out. The rest is history.... WE ARE HERE!!! And LOVE it!!!

[gfmucci]

My wife wanted to retire to a cooler climate than what Florida offered. So, on a whim we bought a condo in the mountains of North Carolina. Then on another whim, on a trip back from visiting Mount Dora we stopped off at Spanish Springs. The intrigue with TV deepened over the following several years.

We answered a number of weighted preference surveys we created for ourselves - each time the results favored TV over North Carolina.

The three main factors that changed our minds are:

The ready-made compatible social network in TV compared to the pre-established, relatively closed social network in a small mountain town, however gorgeous that town may be, and

How livable is a temperate climate in winter compared to a subtropical climate in summer? In the mountains, not only are winter nights cold, but the days are, too. In central Florida, the summer days are hot, but the evenings are very pleasant.

The depth of the activities and amenities and the high quality and level of maintenance of everything.

[JohnN]

We always knew we'd want to retire in Florida, I'd been visiting here on business and pleasure for 20 years.

While exploring 55+ communites, I asked a Del Webb sales rep in Stone Creek about their biggest competitors. He mentioned The Villages and said
"people either love it or hate it, and they must be doing something right because it's so big". Right then we decided that we wanted to find out

- do we love it or hate it??

We loved it.