Not full time yet, but golf is the reason.

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We're from Michigan. It's a beautiful state and I loved it there, but we were tired of cold weather. Also, we love to cruise. Now we can cruise without paying airfare.
Kept our summer place in Michigan for the first year, but didn't go up cause we were so busy here so we sold it.
If we do go up, it's only for 5 or 6 days. Didn't need a summer place for that. :D Sooooo, in 1999, said see ya Michigan.

We are native Texans but the last 10 years before moving here we were in North Georgia.(moved because of husbands work and stayed on 8 more years because it was beautiful and we made great friends) I guess that move made us accustomed to being away from family. We go back to Texas (DFW area) for 6 weeks every year. The traffic is unbearable, things are not close and convient and living in a "normal" neighborhood leaves very little opportunity to socialize. The family is always on the go and we spent all of our time driving up and down the interstate to participate in their activities. Here we have a calm, quiet and active life of our own. And yes, even with Snowbirds here, there is no traffic.

Exactly! We too are from Michigan, Clawson, Troy, and Port Sanilac. We are in Port Sanilac now, and it's for sale.

Weather, year round activities we like, explore a new State, closer to cruises, short plane ride to PA if we need to go there, new friends while keeping old friends (funny how they spend more time in FL these days, more activities for grandkids at the moment. Another factor is where we lived before was all the same, every year activities were determined by dates and weather....got boring. We lived there for 69 years and knew every road, every place to eat, every entertainemt venue. Good weather was from June to mid Sept then sucked the rest of the year. Our friends were friends for the same amount of time and all of us fell into the same routine.....it was time for a change. We have been here for 3 years.

Weather was not a prime factor for us because what you lose in winter you gain in summer. Both in my home town in Central New York and my adopted town southwest of the Twin cities living was easy from May through October.
We the Twin Cities and loved loved their Winter Carnival

We began looking for a retirement community in 1999. I had settled on living in Charelston SC until I researched their tax situation. Never gave Florida a glance until I researched taxes.

I will let you know when/if I actually retire. Why am I here?

• I was able to keep a job I enjoy and work remote
• My Dad was here
• I hate temporary greens during Massachusetts winters
• Stacking 2+ cords of wood was getting old (or was that me)
• I could not do the things I enjoy in the cold/sleet/snow. I can do those things in the summer heat.

I likely forgot others...

Will I retire here? Time will tell...

Weather here is definitely better than most months in the far, northwest Suburbs of Chicago. Our taxes were quadruple the amount here. Covenants in our (originally) very nice neighborhood were not being enforced and it became so lax that we had above-ground swimming pools being built in violation. The violent crime rate in the whole area is still increasing rapidly, in spite of the very strict "gun control" laws. Final straw was the ever-increasing flow of illegal immigrants. Most of the complaints about The Villages are petty in comparison to what we endured while watching Illinois property values erode. We had never considered The Villages, or any place in Florida for retirement, but in 2009 we happened to hear about TV and came for the "lifestyle" program. After one more visit we were hooked. We miss the closer proximity to our families, but find that the great people here compensate for that. Now, visits with family are more special to us and it seems that we have the best of both worlds.

Demographics- Certain areas were being destroyed.
Snow
Golf all year
nice people

Same here and the taxes and fees were even more fun than the weather and the heating bills [ 9 months of the year ] !

And the above was only exceeded by the privilege of living in a
totalitarian Nanny -State run by communists who prey on those few who actually work .

Lived in Sarasota for 25 years. It is a beautiful area with beaches and shopping but I was looking for an active adult community. I moved to The Villages 2 years ago and absolutely love the choices of activities and the wonderful people we have here. I feel very safe here and appreciate how well the grounds are taken care of. Love the Bubble!

We moved to Tampa in a corporate move 20 yrs. ago.

Moved out of Tampa because:
Traffic
Crowding
High taxes
Families, not many retirees
Not as much to do

Would never go back to NY or NJ.

The snow/ice/cold of the winters and the volatile springtime weather with the threat of tornadoes. Besides, both of us love to play golf.

Well it cannot be taxes, they are higher. It can't be weather, it's worse. It isn't cost of living - it's more. It's not geographical considerations, FL is flat, and well, boring.

Demographics, not being marginalized. Activities trump everything.

I moved because the pollution in Houston was effecting my health. Still really miss Texas.