Oh yes, that was definitely the reason, I was hoping to get a dialogue going to try and educate these people. In the end, it was their loss not ours.

I proudly tell people here in Florida that I live in The Villages. Outside of Florida, where most people have not heard of The Villages, I just say I’m from Florida. If someone asks where in Florida, then I’ll narrow it down to Central Florida near Orlando.

I am surprised at the number of people that have heard of The Villages, when outside Florida, I tell them that is where I live.

I say The Villages with immense pride. When anyone asks how I deal with the hurricanes, I tell them TV has such phenomenal water management, we have less damage than the counties surrounding us, and in other states. And by the time I get through detailing all the reasons, they want me to shut up, or they’re looking around to buy a house.

I say Wildwood (truth) and they ask where in is that in Texas :-)

I'm in the Lady Lake part of The Villages, so I always just say Lady Lake, and say it's about an hour North of Orlando if anyone inquires further. I never volunteer that I live in The Villages, I do think there are some bad perceptions of it.

I am new to the villages but have not seen any negative reactions toward me by locals. Quite the contrary. Since many in the area are in services or trades, I feel seen as a valuable new customer.

As to people you encounter while traveling, I find most people have heard of the villages. A few people may look down on the villages because it’s so affordable, but by and large I think the impressions are favorable. The swinger stories that captured public imagination a couple of years ago, I think most people realize are far fetched. It’s an easy and funny subject for jokes though and will live on for that reason indefinitely.

But where do I tell people I live? I still say my home state of Tennessee since we still own property there and are still splitting time. It’s hard to sever those ties.

After so many negative responses when we mentioned TV, we just started to respond that we live in "Central Fl." As for locals not liking us...everywhere I've ever lived, the locals didn't care for those that moved to the area and added to traffic and building.

You’d think after this many years (decades), and with how HUGE the Villages has become, we’d now be considered the locals. I’m just wondering who these “locals” are who look down on us with such disdain? Personally, hubby and I say we’re retired in Central FL one hour north of Disney World (since we are Disney fans/passholders). The convo doesn’t usually go beyond that, but if it does we happily say The Villages.

Ever think that some locals have a bad impression of TV because of how some villager treated them?

Granted a few villagers don't speak for most, but it can sometimes only take one bad experience.

The Villages. It's about an hour north of Orlando.

My wife and I spent over 20 years overwintering in The Villages.
If, in our travels outside the bubble, we were asked where we were staying, we always said The Villages.
We said we chose the place, because of all the wife swapping, debauchery, swinging parties, and the preponderance of gourmet restaurants!

I just say I would violate my Witness Protection agreement and jeopardize my family if I revealed that

Wasn't the gamma quadrant run by the Dominion, which would make us shape shifting liquid life forms that have to spend x number of hours in a bucket every day to regenerate???????

If I get the STDs and swingers question I just deal with it. I tell them, "No, it's an old rumor, but I understand some porn sites are still spreading that false information. So, where did you read about that?"