Originally Posted by Susanmr (Post 2322532)

The historical side of TV is great for people who have trouble making new friends.
The older manufactured homes have lanais in the front or side which allows you to see your neighborhood while enjoying the fresh air. Wish your neighbors good morning as they walk past. Also there is the historical side social club which is great for newcomers. And all the clubs elsewhere are in the here as well. We love it here. Our neighborhood is a mixture of older retirees and younger with some like me not yet retired. And we have less intrusive rules than elsewhere. As well as extended pool hours that other villages don't enjoy, and a spa, that other villages don't enjoy.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2322470)

Sumter Landing area is definitely beautiful. I personally like the Odell circle and Bonita area just south of the Square, around Mallory.

The prices are much higher, but if I were to move into any place south of Sumter, that's about as far south as I'd go. Zero interest in anything past Colony. Zero interest in Brownwood and points south.

Another possibility if you can afford it would be across from the Polo Grounds off Buena Vista Blvd. A major downside to that area, is that's when they started going nuts with the "kissing lanais." The lanais are mostly in the back of the houses, and just barely 10 feet away from the neighbor's. So you have ZERO privacy, and no fences or privacy shrubs allowed. Trying to enjoy your morning cuppa on the lanai is not much fun if you have to deal with Morty smoking his morning cigar 11 feet away from you in an upwind.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2322634)

Wildwood is a town.

Remember The Villages spans across the corners of two counties, and occupies most of a third county. These counties all have more than one town or city in them, and The Villages has real estate in several. The Historic side of The Villages occupies the town of Lady Lake, in Lake County. There's a section of The Villages that occupies a big chunk of Fruitland Park, a different town. The Village of Collier, I believe, is fully within the city of Wildwood, in Sumter County.

And so on.

Originally Posted by mraines (Post 2322054)

I live in a site built house on the historical side and I love it here. There is more individuality in the homes and lots of trees. We have 4 pools on this side, golf, bocce, tennis, pickleball and horseshoes.
There is no place I need to go that I cannot get to by golf cart. This is why I live here. It is close to shopping, doctors and restaurants. Good luck in your choice.

Originally Posted by Fuzzyjourneyfan (Post 2322446)

I live up north in Chatham and love it. I'm only 58 and have lived here for over two years. It's very quiet up here, and the neighbors are great. Many are older, but people move in and out, so that will change with time. As for me, I enjoy living around older people. My friends are from the clubs that I joined, so my friends live all over the place in the Villages. Up north, the traffic is very light--another benefit. We have an incredible (and fairly new) rec center here called First Responders. I go there daily. It's my favorite rec center, and it's on a very large piece of property, so they have a lot to do there. My wife and I were also drawn to the northern villages. Everyone is different. Trust your gut and go with it.

P.S. There are a few homes for sale on my street. You should check them out. My neighbor's house is move-in ready and beautiful. Message me if you want more information.

Originally Posted by Topspinmo (Post 2322642)

And the best billiard tables in villages, Diamonds! Not cheap residential tables in rest of villages. Diamonds are commercial models and will hold up to all play villages tables get. The skinny rail residential tables pockets break down plus majority ball rolls to inside off both long rails, can’t fix that IMO. IMO people in charge don’t know difference between residential /recreational tables vs commercial grade.

Originally Posted by Shipping up to Boston (Post 2322650)

Not to get too far off thread but great memories as a kid watching ABC Wide World of Sports ?...on a Saturday featuring Willie Mosconi and Minnesota Fats rivalry. Good tv at the time

Originally Posted by JMintzer (Post 2322151)

Your friends are Hawkins is correct... Hawkins is the best place to live FOR THEM...

Everyone feels the same thing about where they live... For some, it the Historic area. For others, it's anywhere north of 466. For me? It'a "between 466A and 44"...

Look around. Like others have said, rent for a month (if possible). You'll soon find the place that fits you best...

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2322398)

Most of the drug addicts and petty criminals in the north area don't live in The Villages at all. Crime is still very low, just as it is very low throughout The Villages. There are drug addicts and petty criminals in the Wildwood area of The Villages, and some guy who'd been living in one of the Lakeside Cottages at Sumter Landing was terrorizing the neighborhood for a good long time.

You had an entire homeless encampment under one of the southern area bridges for awhile, and squatters in a house south of Sumter somewhere just last year.

As for survivability of the homes - let's see. There was a tornado several years back that destroyed a couple of houses south of Spanish Springs. No homes were damaged in the old section that day. Hurricanes have blown through and flooded areas of The Villages, including the old section, but none of the homes in the old section had significant damage or need to be replaced. There've been lightning-strike fires in homes in the southern areas, that haven't happened in the old section. Sinkholes caused a couple of houses in the southern section to be condemned. That hasn't happened in the old section.

The southern areas seem to get boil water warnings every couple of months. The old area gets them a couple of times a year.

Most of the manufactured homes here, have been here since the mid-1980's. They're still standing, they're still in great shape, and the owners maintain and update them as needed. In fact, the windows in MY manufactured are probably better than the ones in yours. I have double-hung, double-paned, e-gas whatever Andersen windows. We also have a metal roof, which means our house is significantly less likely to be damaged by lightning than yours is.

Originally Posted by motherflippinpicker (Post 2322640)

Hi. Thank you the information on kissing lanais. I really don't want to have that and you painted a very good picture for me. Very appreciated!

Originally Posted by John Mayes (Post 2322659)

Hmmmmm…..I live south of 44. Been here three years and have never received a “boil water” alert.

Originally Posted by JMintzer (Post 2322669)

There's a lot of misinformation being given out on this thread...

Originally Posted by motherflippinpicker (Post 2322155)

I like the less busy aspect but I do want to be able to make friends. It's very hard for me to make friends, I'm kind of shy and perceived as standoffish or snooty but that's so far from the truth, I just don't know how to jump in. 😄

If there aren't many activities in the north, maybe we should consider moving further south but it sounds like there's enough of everything. My husband was very excited about the archery range in the north.

Check out the weekly Rec Guide (District.org) to see the activities that you can participate in daily. You'll also meet people hanging out at your neighborhood pool. I've made some very good 'pool' friends-both snowbirds and fulltimers.

There is a lot of positive feedback about the North, which makes me very happy.

Originally Posted by motherflippinpicker (Post 2321978)

Hello,

Our home sold and we are finally moving to TV. To say we are excited is an understatement. We are house shopping this weekend.

My husband and I very much love the original area for its hills, large yards, mature landscaping and the beautiful pool and we love the style of the well maintained manufactured homes, as they are all different. My concern is that this area will eventually be phased out by TV.

Does anyone know if this has ever been a concern?

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter (Post 2322685)

Have you given any thought to renting for some period of time? You have so many questions that really should have been asked earlier than a couple days before you house buying weekend.
As you can tell you are getting mixed messages……not sure how that can all be sorted out.
Also as noted, not all info is factual.