[Miboater]

We bought here 2 1/2 years ago and go back and forth to our Michigan home throughout the year. The Villages checked most of the boxes of what we wanted our retirement to look like and now we are in the process of selling our Michigan home to be here full time. Do we love everything here? No, but we are loving the life we are enjoying and try to avoid the things we don't.

It reminds me when my Dad had to sell his house and move into a assisted living retirement place. He loved his independence and would not move in with me or my brothers as we tried. It was a very nice place and when I would visit him he was happy but there were plenty of people there who were just miserable. I told him then that people get grumpy when they get old. I'll always remember that he told me that these were the same people that were miserable when they were younger and now just have more time to focus on how miserable they are. He lived a long and happy life focusing on the positive when he had every opportunity to dwell on the negatives like losing his wife, my Mom, when she was 59. I try to be enjoy my life wherever I am and hopefully will enjoy the remaining time just like he did.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

I agree. I did ask. I don’t agree with most of it, but I will defend your right to say it to the death (I am a veteran). Woke is the opposite btw as they don’t want free speech. The one thing I will comment on is the diversity baloney. Since I was born in 1963 and am multiethnic myself, I noticed racism before it was popular too. There is less in TV than anywhere. Nobody cares about skin color and I sure don’t. I love going to Mexico (my mother’s homeland) and no diversity there. Love going to Italy. None there. Heck, just as much diversity in TV as in most places on earth. Lots of diversity in LA and NY and they are a mess. I like clean, crime free, good weather, low taxes, lots to do, and pleasant people who don’t judge you. That’s the villages to a tee and why I love it.
You sound unhappy here. Curious why you don’t move back up North? Many do for various reasons. You should live where it makes you happy in retirement especially
Thanks for sharing.

By diversity I mean - I like seeing variety. I don't like my flowerbed to be all pink, or all white. I don't like my food to be all steak and potatoes. I don't like my neighbors houses to all look the same. A color-blind person can't really appreciate the color red, if the color blue looks brown to them. I need that variety - that DIVERSITY of sensory input, from places, foods, smells, people, colors, even religions and philosophies - I like my world to be three-dimensional and not a 2-D carbon-copy of my personal ideals.

It has to do with sensory stimulation, not emotional attachment to specific people or types or propaganda.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Nellmack

I appreciate your detailed honesty. I found myself agreeing with many of your comments (garage in the front of the house - yuck) even though I don't live in TV (possibly in the future). I would very much like to read what you DO like about TV (using that same honesty

The landscaping is gorgeous and well-maintained. The amenities are plentiful, truly there is something for everyone and if you're bored, it's because you choose to be bored here. The areas of the "squares" and immediate perimeter are laid out to make you feel as though you're in an entirely different part of the country - a la Epcot Center without the rides. The people, for the most part, are (at least publicly) very lovely and if you're lucky you'll find a neighborhood where the neighbors are truly neighborly.

Driveway parties - what an awesome concept! Not unique to The Villages, but there are a lot of them here.

Being able to take the golf cart EVERYWHERE - that's one of my great pleasures in The Villages. I had it figured out last year, WHY it was so awesome. When you're in a car, you observe your surroundings, you observe the world on the other side of your car door. In a golf cart, you are an active participant of that world. It's thrilling, because you're RIGHT THERE. You're not just watching it. Even for something as mundane as going to the dentist's office - the process of getting there is FUN when you're in a golf cart. That can affect your entire mood, and I truly think it's one very important reason why so many people are happy here in The Villages.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

By diversity I mean - I like seeing variety. I don't like my flowerbed to be all pink, or all white. I don't like my food to be all steak and potatoes. I don't like my neighbors houses to all look the same. A color-blind person can't really appreciate the color red, if the color blue looks brown to them. I need that variety - that DIVERSITY of sensory input, from places, foods, smells, people, colors, even religions and philosophies - I like my world to be three-dimensional and not a 2-D carbon-copy of my personal ideals.

It has to do with sensory stimulation, not emotional attachment to specific people or types or propaganda.

Perhaps a lot of your views may be colored by the overwhelming voter majority. I rather like that part, myself.

[MrFlorida]

Love the Florida weather, so glad The Villages are here. Wouldn't live anywhere else.

[Switter]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

It’s possible to get the impression from certain posts on TOTV that some people are less than happy and content to be living in TV. Though no community is “perfect”, The Villages is a one-of-a-kind community beyond compare in my opinion. I feel so fortunate and blessed first of all to been able to have retired early in life, and secondly to be able to reside in such a beautiful and vibrant community, with mostly highly positive residents and neighbors. For me, it only take one trip outside “the bubble” to realize how special TV is.

I am 58 and not retired (remote worker). I moved here August 2023. I initially wasn't going to buy here, just staying in an Airbnb. After one week my mind was changed and I bought a place.

I don't go to the town Squares for the entertainment or anything like that, it's not my thing. What I like best about the villages are the sports pools for swimming laps, the endless multimodal paths for riding bike, and the beautifully manicured and well maintained grounds. Most of the people I've met here are nice, although quite a bit older than me. I don't really "hang around" people here but I do have coffee with a couple neighbors once a week. I don't participate in any of the clubs yet because I work full-time and most of them are during the day. I really like that the options are there though.

Summers are my favorite because there is less traffic and less people (thank you snowbirds!)

It's not for everyone though. My brother wasn't big on it, but he is the kind of person that wants acreage and a lot more privacy.

My biggest hurdle is storage, lol. The garages in the price range I was looking at are really small here.

All-in-all, for me The villages is awesome and I am very glad I purchased here. I just hope that the future costs involved in maintaining all this infrastructure doesn't get too expensive.

[roadrnnr]

Originally Posted by rjn5656

Love it. Would never be this active if we stayed up north.

We are escaping from VT in 2 weeks and I'll never forget what a guy said to me on our first Lifestyle Visit when I told him where I was visiting from, " You'll die a slow death in VT"

He was so right

[maistocars]

We wouldn't be anywhere else!

[Regorp]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

Pretty much everything you said, except "hate Florida". Florida, as a geographical area, is not my favorite place on Earth. But, it will do for the time I have left. 🫠

Everything about TV is awesome and so is Florida. Always enjoyed vacationing here, but now I can visit all those places I never had time in a week. Much better than our old state-Connecticut!! And we prefer heat to snow any day!!

[Birdrm]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

It’s possible to get the impression from certain posts on TOTV that some people are less than happy and content to be living in TV. Though no community is “perfect”, The Villages is a one-of-a-kind community beyond compare in my opinion. I feel so fortunate and blessed first of all to been able to have retired early in life, and secondly to be able to reside in such a beautiful and vibrant community, with mostly highly positive residents and neighbors. For me, it only take one trip outside “the bubble” to realize how special TV is.

Sorry, I can't really answer your question, I moved her a little over 2 years ago but still work full time so I only have the weekends to enjoy everything TV has to offer. But, I will say I am looking forward to that day I retire and want to do that right here in TV!

[Sandabern]

I moved here late last summer from the Midwest. I'm reasonably young (mid 50s), and I have friends who lived here and kept trying to get me to "try it". I was planning to move to Tampa and just happened to mention it to them. I told them I wasn't ready to move to "God's waiting room with a bunch of sexed up overaged weirdos".

I finally "tried it" and found out all the hype is mostly bad and doesn't come close to represent what a fantastic place this is. The people are the best part. Most everyone here is just great to be around. I have no regrets moving here whatsoever and Orlando is an hour away. So much to do to have fun in the sun. And the hype is nowhere near reality. Unless it's good hype and that's usually correct.

The only thing I'd change is that SOME of the sports are kind of "cliquish", but I'm reasonably young and athletic, so it hasn't been a problem for me to be "accepted" easily into the sports I've tried. But I've a few of the "experienced Villagers" make it a little (but not too) difficult on some of the new people who don't catch on right away and I don't think that's right. I've spoken up about it a few times, but it's the only thing I would change.

Originally Posted by Michael 61

It’s possible to get the impression from certain posts on TOTV that some people are less than happy and content to be living in TV. Though no community is “perfect”, The Villages is a one-of-a-kind community beyond compare in my opinion. I feel so fortunate and blessed first of all to been able to have retired early in life, and secondly to be able to reside in such a beautiful and vibrant community, with mostly highly positive residents and neighbors. For me, it only take one trip outside “the bubble” to realize how special TV is.

[cahvillage]

I have lived in The Villages for 20 years and would not want to live anywhere else....

[Shipping up to Boston]

Originally Posted by Packer Fan

Please be nice to OBB. She responded to my question about what she did not like. Open and honest communication is a good thing and she stated her opinion and really did not attack anyone just why she did not like certain things. We should applaud that not condemn it.

Totally agree
It’s one of the reasons I joined this forum. You have Villagers that tow the company brochure and pose in front of the happy banner at its entrance.....then you have those that bring their institutional knowledge, experiences and observations to the masses....good, bad or indifferent. Those are the residents I want to have a beer with.

[Velvet]

I love my Villages community. Have been visiting my relatives in TV since 1992 I have never felt different. I felt fortunate when my husband (who had lived in many many places) let us give TV a try, and then when he lived here, called it, “Living the dream”. I feel safe here, I don’t know if the lack of diversity, of age, of ethnicity, of religion etc contributes to the peace, whatever, the sum total of what makes up this place, is just right for me. Ok, so Publix is too expensive, we could have more sidewalks and so on, it is not heaven. But, I am proud of Florida, and the people who live here. Maybe there are better places, but it is here that I am truly happy.

[ckcapaul]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

It’s possible to get the impression from certain posts on TOTV that some people are less than happy and content to be living in TV. Though no community is “perfect”, The Villages is a one-of-a-kind community beyond compare in my opinion. I feel so fortunate and blessed first of all to been able to have retired early in life, and secondly to be able to reside in such a beautiful and vibrant community, with mostly highly positive residents and neighbors. For me, it only take one trip outside “the bubble” to realize how special TV is.

Yes we enjoy being here, found a great neighborhood. Winters in Mn don't let us do the activities we can do here. Plus as we get older worry about falling on the ice. We do go back for a few months in the summer.