[Rwirish]

June, July or August. No question the best time of the year. Too cold during the winter months.

[crash]

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!

I agree with this 100% and would add that 1 week is not long enough to determine if the prison or turnpike or blasting will affect where you buy. The average Villagers moves three times the umber one reason is kissing lanais (ones that back into each other).

[margaretmattson]

You can rent a home for an entire month, completely furnished with everything you need including a golf cart. You can have up to 4 people stay with you, some homeowners will allow pets.

It's all about pricing with rentals. May through September you can find a home as cheap as $1300 for the entire month. Just google "homes for rent the villages". You will be surprised how many options there are. During peak season, homes rent for $3500 or more per month.

During your stay, you will be given a guest card which you can use for all recreation including golf. The guest' I.d. is included in the month's rent.

With an ID, you can attend any club or organized activity including golf. In the summer months, it is not crowded and you can experience much more. However, during season the activities and clubs are full and you may not have the ability to participate.

Of course, you can stop by the sales office at anytime during your stay and ask to see homes. A village realtor will be happy to show you around.

[Chrusan]

Our visit was November 2022 and I can answer 2 questions…Yes you can bring your dog. We brought our golden doodle but there is a small fee. Yes additional people can come. We brought my sister who will be staying with us 1 month out of the year. There is also an additional fee for each person outside of you and your
husband. My sister was given a pass and was able to enjoy all the amenities with us.

Something to note…the golf cart that you are given to use during your stay is only a 2 seater. We rented a 4 seater from TV golf cart store. This worked out perfectly as we could all go places together or my sister could go off on her own to explore.

I hope you get to visit soon and fall in love like we did.

[beckylou152]

Come down anytime for a lifestyle visit. Ride the wheels off of your golf cart and get to know the lay of the land. I suggest October- November or April- May. It is a bit less crowded, not dark at 6pm, and the weather is fabulous. I suggest coming back if you like it and renting for a while. We rented for one month which helped us determine where we wanted to buy. We initially wanted to be by Lake Sumter landing, which is fabulous. But I’m a serious walker, and they have unlimited walking trails in the southern portion, so that tipped us to that area. I walk and bike the trails daily, so for me it was great! But I had to sacrifice easy access to some of the lovely northern amenities and mature landscaping (although we go up there by golf cart easily, just takes longer). For each person this decision is personal.for clubs, yes, you can join in many of them. Activities like Pickleball and water aerobics are first come first serve so you can join in. Most of all, have fun! It is an amazing place!

[drbmd03]

[QUOTE=OrangeBlossomBaby;2224127]Pretty sure they'll be fine with it, since one of you is 54.



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.

I am not sure where you got your information about the archery range.
There is a lifestyle visit at the archery range every Thursday morning from 10 to 11 but I’m not sure how do you sign up for it.
For normal villagers once you have taken the lesson you can go to the archery range ion Tuesday and Thursday between 10 and 12 and for women on Friday 10 to 12 and there is equipment you can use at the hut

[sallyg]

Plan on more than one visit. There is so much to see and do and the place keeps growing. December is my favorite month here. Not too busy with seasonal guests and the weather is gorgeous. It's also wise to check it out during the summer. If you haven't experienced Florida heat it is an eye-opener. Best of luck.

[MrFlorida]

Come in July or August, nice and warm then.

[azcindy]

Originally Posted by Tamsin

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

I recently watched a video by Angela Masson about her lifestyle visit a year ago where she mentioned they allowed a dog and you pay an additional fee:

Hello from the Villages in Florida - YouTube

I have two miniature poodles BTW!

Cindy

[Ponygirl]

Hi Tamsin

Good luck

I sent you a private message

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Meanwhile, I recommend you don't come at all for short term. There are WAY too many people who would prefer short-term rentals be abolished and are even mentioning the possibility of calling ICE when they see tenants come and go, just to teach them folks a lesson.

I mean unless you're white, speak English as your first language, only come with a single other person, dress well, don't make noise, don't walk your dog on their property, are both heterosexual. If you can't fit into that mold, best just rent somewhere else.

[Sully2023]

Check out the link below:

The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Active Adult 55+ Retirement Community

I would suggest you come in the middle of summer to experience the heat then again Oct - March to see how busy the villages can be.

All your questions should be answered by the villages regarding brining your animal, attending club events, family members etc.

Best wishes to you.

[Tamsin]

Originally Posted by sallyg

Plan on more than one visit. There is so much to see and do and the place keeps growing. December is my favorite month here. Not too busy with seasonal guests and the weather is gorgeous. It's also wise to check it out during the summer. If you haven't experienced Florida heat it is an eye-opener. Best of luck.

We used to take the kids to Disney the last week of August every year, so we've had a few experiences, but nothing long term.

I think I like the idea of doing the lifestyle visit in snowbird season and renting for a month during the summer.

If I hadn't already signed up to teach summer school for this summer, I'd have done it now. But I'm going to definitely look into it for next summer.

[Michael 61]

If you’re seriously thinking of making TV your future home, you need to treat your lifestyle visit as a potential place to relocate to, not necessarily just a nice vacation week.

I purposely did back-to back lifestyle visits last July and August, as high temps and humidity could have been a deal breaker to me as a year-long future resident (I found out though very hot, I survived the weather/climate fine.) Had I just did a lifestyle visit in the snowbird season of more temperate weather, I could have had buyers-remorse come summer time temps.

I also did a third visit in October where I rented a villa for two weeks in an established neighborhood, so I could compare the new builds of the lifestyle visits with the resales of a more established neighborhood.

Though I enjoyed the relaxing amenities of my lifestyle visits, I also did my homework:
1) where would my doctors/ hospital be?
2) are there sufficient restaurants that I would enjoy?
3) what are the grocery stores like?
4) where is the shopping? Quality of stores?
5) what are the gyms like?
6) where is the movie theatre?
7) how bad is the noise near the turnpike?
8) are the power lines that could be in view a deal-breaker?
9) location of new home sites - pros/cons - corner lots, walls, views or lack of views
10) how far does pickleball noise travel?
11) location of individual villages to amenities that are important to me
12) age demographics of certain areas of TV