[Minnesotalyn]

I know you all picked Florida to retire, but did you look to other places? Where else did you look, and why did you pick Florida?

[ricthemic]

1.Warm winter weather.

2.Boston to Orlando 2.5 hours with many daily competitive cost effective flights.

3.Considered AZ but six hour limited direct flights and not even remotely close to an ocean made FL the choice.

[another Linda]

I used to say I hated Florida but ...
I used to say I'd never end up in a "retirement" ghetto but ...
I used to say I'd never play golf but ...

Well how'd we end up here? in TV? on the golf courses? And why the heck do we love it? A mystery.

As ricthemic says, easy to get to, relatively inexpensive, warm, plus fun, friendly, active, and on and on. No, we never seriously considered Arizona, the Carribean, or other warm spots.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Minnesotalyn

I know you all picked Florida to retire, but did you look to other places? Where else did you look, and why did you pick Florida?

I'd be willing to bet that most of us did our homework and considered other alternatives before purchasing in TV. We personally considered Arizona, South Carolina, and other Florida locations.

Once we spent a few days in TV we were besotted! And I think purchase prices and amenities are very reasonable. Shuttle service from Orlando into TV was a huge bonus for us as Fireboy commutes from Canada during the winter when we're in the Bubble. The shuttle service makes picking up company easy peasy.

There is just nowhere else that remotely compares to TV.

[gary42651]

We didn`t pick Florida, we picked the lifestyle offered at the Villages

[Niels]

I originally picked the central Florida area as my retirement destination in the early 1980's when I visited here a couple of times. I enjoy going to some of the unique theme parks that the central Florida area has to offer and like the warm weather. A reasonable cost of living and reasonably priced flights to anywhere in the country helped cement the pick.

I never looked anywhere other than the central Florida area. However, I did spend numerous vacations over a few year period trying to find the right neighborhood to live in. TV was further away from Orlando than I wanted to be but I decided to visit anyway since their website and brochure sounded so interesting. After our visit we decided to do a lifestyle preview and then we were hooked.

[tpop1]

Originally Posted by Minnesotalyn

I know you all picked Florida to retire, but did you look to other places? Where else did you look, and why did you pick Florida?

50 Connecticut Winters....too cold too long!!!
3 Myrtle Beach Winters...better, but still too cold!!!

Got a temporary assignment in Tampa and realiized one January morning that I was going to work in my shirtsleeves.

It was a no brainer!!!

9 Winters in Sarasota and 2 weeks in TV after our closing!!!

Can't wait to get back there Nov. 7th!!

[Campbell soup]

I guess the question should be, why would you pick another state other then Florida to retire in?

Sunshine.....Sunshine.........Sunshine...

The Villages .....The Villages....The Villages.

We did our homework and there is no doubt in our minds TV is the best deal around.

Come on down! It is FUN here!

[pooh]

Never in my wildest imagination did I think I'd be living in Florida. Hubby and I left a rather ideal climate in San Diego county in California....but that area was becoming less desirable for us after living there for 30 years. Too much traffic, a constant din from the freeway, constant tie-ups on the freeways and thus extra time needed to go to anything.

Our son and his family live in Florida and during one of our visits, hubby asked if I'd like to take a ride to see The Villages. He had seen commercials on tv, in magazines, etc. "I"m not living with a bunch of old folks," said I. Well, we visited, met with a sales rep and toured the place. Came back about a week later and told the sales rep to start looking for a house for us. We've been here for 3 years and don't regret our move even one teeny, tiny little bit. This place is unique and after being away, we both give off a relaxing sigh when we drive back into the community.

Warm weather.
Lower Taxes
Lifestyle of the villages.

Looked at other Atlantic States but found nothing that compared to the vilages.

[jeffy]

Originally Posted by gary42651

We didn`t pick Florida, we picked the lifestyle offered at the Villages

jeffy

[obxgal]

We orginally retired to the Outerbanks of North Carolina in 95, which was great. Then when the tourist trade picked up and it got more, and more crowded over the summer months, it was no longer enjoyable. Golf prices got to be totally outragious and traffic a nightmare. Not to mention we occasionlly got snow!!
Saw TV on the golf channel, did the lifestyle preview and the rest is history. Moved here a little over 2 years and loving it.

[Freeda]

We never seriously considered any location except for Florida, for the reasons mentioned below. We originally thought we'd probably want to live on one of the intercoastal areas in Florida. (When we came here the first time, it was only because I knew my husband - my fiance at the time - had given some thought to TV because of some marketing materials he'd been sent and that he had shown me, and so on a trip south down I-75 I saw the sign for TV as we were passing through the area; and so I suggested we stop and take a look. I was sure it would be a 'Stepford wives', 'nothing going on' - type community (I know, I know - silly me - stop yelling! - I can hardly believe now that that was my thinking) and I just wanted to be able to have him cross TV off the list so we could get serious about finding a place on the intercoastal.

But that one visit to TV unexpectedly captivated us. We were looking to the left and TV came at us from the right and just blind-sided us!!!! Three hours of being shown around and we were ready to move here.

Reasons to live in Florida:
Beautiful, warm weather, lots of sunshine - healthier, and more fun. I think we will as a population group live longer because of the climate and sunshine here.

Near the oceans - I have been obsessed with beaches, the ocean, and beach sunsets since childhood; however, I like living in TV because it is nearly equal distance from both coasts; so we travel all over the state to the beaches on both sides, Key West and even in the panhandle; if I lived on one coast I doubt that I would often bother to visit the other side. And I think we appreciate the beaches more because we don't live there all the time - when we go it is special. For us here in TV the beaches that people spend thousands of dollars to come and visit are simply a short drive away. Then, we have TV with all of its unique magic to come home to.

No state income tax.

No fluoride in the water here in TV.

Availability of Disney plus so much more in Orlando, and sophisticated large cities when we need a 'city' fix, want the occasional day at a large mall, the fun of casinos, etc. - Florida is a great combination of the uniquely laid-back, relaxed, diverse, and fulfilling life that we love here in TV; yet all of the excitement and glam of large cities that is a fun occasional change of pace, or fascinating historic areas such as St. Augustine, are still a reasonable distance away. Florida just offers so much to do and see.

Amazing golf courses galore for my wonderful husband Doug, who is an avid golfer, and has loved the sport since he started playing at age 8.

Great air flight hubs in Orlando, also in Tampa, as we like to travel domestically and overseas.

'Jolie's Goody Two Shoes' shoe store in St. Armand's Circle. A girl has to have her priorities.

The awesome pools especially the country club pools.

Where else would you find so much karaoke?

[Yoda]

The Villages.

Yoda

[mac9]

We had considered AR until we visited there in June. Don't believe that it doesn't feel as warm due to lack of humidity. 110 degrees is 110 degrees! We also considered Cabo, the Domincan and Belize, but, since we both have some health problems, we were afraid that medical care would be a problem. Three years ago we toured central and south FL. TV was our last stop and we've been here ever since. No regrets at all!