[Tamsin]

Hello!

I have fallen down a rabbit hole of youtube videos about the Villages. I'm pretty sure this is where I want to spend snowbird season when I retire...and possibly move permanently when we're older.

The question is, how to get my husband on board? Knowing that you only get one chance to make a good first impression, when should we come??? The Villages is not exactly what he pictured for himself in retirement, but he does like to travel.

About us: African American couple in our early 50's from Buffalo, NY. I teach elementary school, husband is self-employed. I plan to retire in 4 years, he can work from anywhere.

1. Are you allowed to take Lifestyle visits if you're not 55 yet? I'll be 51 and my husband will be 54 this summer.
2. When you come on a lifestyle visit are you allowed to participate in club meetings and activities? I think if my husband attended some clubs based on his interests it might be more convincing.
3. Can you bring pets on a lifestyle visit? We have a standard poodle.
4. Can we bring our parents on the lifestyle visit? Is there a limit on how many people can come?
5. Given the info I've shared above, when do you think is the best time to visit?

Thanks for any help you can give!

[npwalters]

Originally Posted by Tamsin

Hello!

I have fallen down a rabbit hole of youtube videos about the Villages. I'm pretty sure this is where I want to spend snowbird season when I retire...and possibly move permanently when we're older.

The question is, how to get my husband on board? Knowing that you only get one chance to make a good first impression, when should we come??? The Villages is not exactly what he pictured for himself in retirement, but he does like to travel.

About us: African American couple in our early 50's from Buffalo, NY. I teach elementary school, husband is self-employed. I plan to retire in 4 years, he can work from anywhere.

1. Are you allowed to take Lifestyle visits if you're not 55 yet? I'll be 51 and my husband will be 54 this summer.
2. When you come on a lifestyle visit are you allowed to participate in club meetings and activities? I think if my husband attended some clubs based on his interests it might be more convincing.
3. Can you bring pets on a lifestyle visit? We have a standard poodle.
4. Can we bring our parents on the lifestyle visit? Is there a limit on how many people can come?
5. Given the info I've shared above, when do you think is the best time to visit?

Thanks for any help you can give!

This answer may not fit your agenda but I recommend you do your visit between January and May. You need to see TV in the busy season to determine if it's right for you. That was the deal I struck with my wife and well....here we are.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Tamsin

1. Are you allowed to take Lifestyle visits if you're not 55 yet? I'll be 51 and my husband will be 54 this summer.

Pretty sure they'll be fine with it, since one of you is 54.

2. When you come on a lifestyle visit are you allowed to participate in club meetings and activities? I think if my husband attended some clubs based on his interests it might be more convincing.

It depends on the activity and club. Many clubs have their meetings in the rec centers, and some have limited capacity. Such as yoga or other fitness clubs. There might be 100 members, and only 30 of them can fit in the room with their yoga mats. So they won't make it available to visitors, if that means they have to tell another member they can't go that day. Then the Archery ranges require that you take the basic "Learn to Shoot" lesson first, before you're allowed to use them. The Rec Center provides that at the range once a week. Plus you'd have to bring your own bow and arrows if you're not a member of the Archery Club. On the other hand, you can walk the Executive golf courses free, or pay a fee to use your golf cart. On the other -other- hand they might offer bingo, open to all, even though a specific club is hosting it. You'd have to check with the Rec Center news and listings.

3. Can you bring pets on a lifestyle visit? We have a standard poodle.

I don't know the answer to that.

4. Can we bring our parents on the lifestyle visit? Is there a limit on how many people can come?

The fee is double occupancy. But if you wanted your parents to visit for an overnight during your visit, they won't mind. But only two visitor passes per property, and each pass has the person's name on it. So you can't give your pass to someone else to use, and they won't be able to participate in any club-specific activities or go to any of the pools or use any other amenities.

5. Given the info I've shared above, when do you think is the best time to visit?

Definitely go during snowbird season, if you can. October or November are great, so you're not overwhelmed with the holiday crowds, but you still get a solid understanding of what it's like. If you want to have a second visit - Lifestyle if they offer a second, or just rent for a couple of weeks in one of the rentals, go during the summer - so you know what -that- is like.

[MSchad]

I’m from the other camp. I would recommend doing a life style visit during the late summer to get an idea of the heat/humidity as we did. Also, being less crowded, easier to get into activities and restaurants. Just easier to get around. You can always do a second life style visit during snowbird season.
One correction from a post above, you can not walk the executive golf courses for free. Life style visitors are each allowed 2 rounds of golf for free among other free perks. These rounds of golf include a no charge cart if they wish. Any more than 2 rounds and you pay guest rates whether you walk or use a golf cart, plus cart rental and/or trail fee for using your own cart.
When ever you decide to come, enjoy!!

[Papa_lecki]

You’re a teacher - so a summer visit would make sense. You can get a great feel of the area anytime of year. Yes, it’s more crowded during snow bird season, but it’s not bad

Come down with just you and husband, bring parents back if you get REALLY serious. You’ll be happy for the flexibility. Same for dog, leave at home, look at this as a vacation.

Your husband, if he at all wants an active retirement, will love it. There are things to do from golf to woodworking, and everything in between. Don’t worry about going to meetings, etc - just come and eat, drink and enjoy - dont over think it.

[Arctic Fox]

Originally Posted by Tamsin

I'm pretty sure this is where I want to spend snowbird season when I retire...and possibly move permanently when we're older...when do you think is the best time to visit?

In terms of numbers, which affects traffic and being able to get into restaurants and book tee times, The Villages is very different from winter to summer.

If you are going to start with just being a snowbird then you would be better off visiting at that time of year (avoid major holidays, though).

Once retired you can extend your stay at each end - the longer you are here, the more you get used to the summer heat and humidity.

[asianthree]

Buying under 55 is not an issue, 20% under 55 is the law. At our second house, next door was 45 & 40, both at home work. So they got to work, and play for the rest of the day.

Summer heat is a killer for us in TV, so that wasn’t an issue, we go north to the lake house until the leaves turn.

[SIRE1]

Other than your question of When to come, I would advise you to contact The Villages by phone and get the answers directly from them. Unfortunately, on this Forum, you may get a lot of different answers and some of them aren't necessarily correct or currently correct. Now, as far as When to come, I would suggest you come during the season that you think you might come if you find that The Villages is right for you. Based on the fact that you are from Buffalo, I suspect you would like to escape from winter so a winter Lifestyle would be a good opportunity to see what "winter" life is like in The Villages. But since you are a teacher, coming during your summer break is your idea, a "summer" Lifestyle visit would be recommended. Regardless, The Villages is an interesting place to be in any season.

My other recommendations to you, if you do a Lifestyle visit, plan to make sure you see ALL of The Villages, not just the new area where they will provide your place to stay. The Villages is REALLY BIG and the areas are quite different in the landscaping and amount of restaurants/stores. So see it all. Second, before you drink the kool-aid (i.e. fall in love with the place) and want to buy a house on your first visit, I recommend you plan to rent for a month or so. That really gives you an opportunity to determine if The Villages is right for you, and it will give you an opportunity to get to know the benefits and drawbacks to each of the areas (North, Middle, and South). Plus, there is no harm in renting each year without having to buy a house right now.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by asianthree

Buying under 55 is not an issue, 20% under 55 is the law. At our second house, next door was 45 & 40, both at home work. So they got to work, and play for the rest of the day.

Summer heat is a killer for us in TV, so that wasn’t an issue, we go north to the lake house until the leaves turn.

ANYONE can buy a home in the Villages. Buying and occupying are not synonymous. An emancipated 16-year-old can buy a house in the Villages if they have the money to pay for it. They can't live in it until they turn 19, but they can buy it. They can buy it for their grandparents to live in it and provide guaranteed vacation property for themselves.

The 80/20 rule is not enforceable in The Villages anymore, there are no checks and balances. The rule is that a minimum of 80% of all the homes must be occupied by at least 1 person 55 or older. The other 20% can be occupied by anyone of any age 19 or older.

But the Villages doesn't control all their properties; only the new sales, and sales of pre-owned IF the owner chooses to use the Villages Realty to represent them. All the non-Villages MLS realtors are not required to check potential owners for age, before selling the properties, since they're not employed by the Villages.

Someone once posted here something to the effect of "well as soon as they try to get a Villages ID for the amenities, the Villages will know they're not old enough." And the response to that is - correct. But by that time, the people have already purchased the property and moved in. They already LIVE there. You can't kick someone out of their own house. Again - there is no way to enforce this 80/20 rule in the Villages. You also get lots of people renting here who are under 55, but they get in on guest passes - which they can do for up to 30 days each. That is WHY we see so many couples living here who aren't 55 yet.

Meanwhile, MOST residents (notice I didn't say homeowners) are in fact 55 or older. There are some younger residents scattered throughout.

[Stu from NYC]

We cam for a few weekends and decided to rent for a month to see if this place was for us and where we wanted to put ourselves.

Physical activities you can join in but lots of clubs you need to join and pay dues. Have to ask case by case.

7 days is not nearly enough

[dtennent]

I would try renting for at least 1 month but 2-3 months would be better. Make sure that you get a copy of the Rec paper which comes out every Thursday. This paper covers activities going on in the different Rec Centers. Before you come down, try getting a subscription to The Daily Sun. While it is a bit of good times only/advertising for the developer, it also carries news about what is going on around the area.

Also, while it is hot in the summer, it is easier to shovel the sunshine off your driveway here than it is to shovel the snow in Buffalo

Good luck and enjoy this search for your next chapter in your life.

[ThirdOfFive]

I don't know if there is a "best" time for a lifestyle visit. I do know that making your reservation well in advance is recommended. Our lifestyle visit was six years ago, mid-September, and we made our reservation (as I recall) two months ahead. They fill up fast.

Regardless, a lifestyle visit at any time of year will barely scratch the surface of what TV actually is. To echo a couple of other posters, renting for a time (3 months if not more) will give you a better picture. We rented for a time following our lifestyle visit and I'm happy we did. It allowed us to see TV much more "up close and personal" than a mere week did, or ever possibly could. When we finally purchased and moved here we were under no illusions about what TV was, and what it had to offer. No unpleasant surprises.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Also to agree with most of what others are saying - a single 7-day visit isn't really enough. But rather than stay a whole month in one place - I'd suggest coming a few times, and staying somewhere different each time. Think of it as a vacation, but with an eye on potential for retirement.

That's what we did. Our first year visiting was with friends. I loved my friends, but hated The Villages. They were in a courtyard villa and everything looked so boxed in. We went to the town square for dinner, and it just seemed kitchy touristy, and not something I could ever see myself enjoying for "the rest of my life." The weather was - well I don't really know what the weather was like. We came in late spring, and spent most of our time inside, in air conditioning.

The second year we came on vacation and rented a patio villa, with a shade tree in the front yard, maybe three blocks away from the Amelia pool. It was actually kinda fun. I especially got a kick out of using the rented golf cart to get to the Piggly Wiggly (yes, there used to be one here somewhere). Until one day I got back to the parking lot and the golf cart was gone. I went back in, in a panic, bawling my eyes out because my husband was at the golf course and I had milk and other refrigeratables that I'd just paid for.

Turned out, there was another golf cart rental near where I remembered mine being parked. So someone helped me get in touch with the Golf Car store, and they found out who had that other one - and we realized that the keys were interchangeable and they took the wrong one. The golf car folks said I should just keep the one I had, and they made the changes on the contracts. It was easier than having everyone wait and arrange to meet to get the right cart to the right people.

The third time was a bigger house, some kind of generic ranch home but not a "designer" home. Maybe a Stetson? It was nice, a decent area somewhere around Sumter Square, west of Morse Blvd. Loved the water oaks. Didn't love the view of electric line towers on the golf course. Fourth visit was the official lifestyle visit down in the Fenney area somewhere. Huge house, my parents came for 2 of the 7 nights since they would be helping us finance if we made any purchases. We told the agent, though, that we wanted to see the older areas, not the newer areas, because the newer areas were a deal-breaker to me. I absolutely detested them. I still don't like them at all, almost 10 years later (we've been coming down here for many years, as guests of friends, vacationers, and potential buyers). That fourth visit was the one that let me accept the idea of living in The Villages. Not because it was a lifestyle visit, but because I was finally able to see a part of the Villages that I'd be willing to live in.

[Tamsin]

Thanks for all the answers everyone! Great advice!

[Dmrocano]

My husband had NO interest in TV but he came for a week to visit my sister and we bought a home.