[Stu from NYC]

Great place to live.

Only downside is quality of restaurants around here leave something to be desired

[ElDiabloJoe]

The OP has not returned to the thread, may have moved on in their search to other states and areas.

FWIW- We enjoy the best of both worlds. As native So Cal folks (L.A. and OC areas - last 17 years in Dana Point), we fled with our equity to East Tennessee. Enjoy the lake life near the Smokys. Great way to spend summer. Winter times are in The Villages, enjoying everything clean and pretty and well maintained - unlike all of SoCal.

Both states have zero income tax (unlike up to 13% in CA), and car registration in TN is about $45/year whether your car is a brand new 2025 or a 2005. No Smog checks! Sales tax was more in OC (about 10%) and about 8% in TN. Property tax is much lower in TN than CA but FL is about the same as CA. TN has no tax on investment income.

I don't know with what kind of equity and resources you are fleeing CA, but consider a small place in each and derive the best benefits of both.

PS - I've heard people say in both places that while the south is welcoming and friendly, that welcome is not with open arms if you voted to make CA the way it is. Neither FL nor TN want to be like CA. If you did vote that way, you may like IL or MI better.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by sowilts

Still have to pay trail fees.

Not if you walk. Otherwise, it's only a few bucks ($4.00)...

[Macevoyja]

I’m from PA where there is state income tax and 4.5% inheritance tax. Resident of Fl and love the villages.

[Luisa]

$400 in California to register car each year; same car in Florida $76. for 2 years. Highest energy bill in California over $500 in one month; highest in Florida $122 for one month.
They lock up shaving cream in California.

[Jerseybob]

Originally Posted by SoCalGal

How much is the monthly amenities fee?

HI, I think about $190/month. It includes an incredible amount of "lifestyle" events and locations. Currently, approx. 115 recreation centers, appox. 100 saltwater, community pools and over 100 miles of multi model pathways. With approx. 3, 500 clubs and organizations, it is not difficult to locate your interest, learn about an interest you have had and would like to explore, increase your skills in an area or share with others, your abilities in a common hobby etc..

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Luisa

$400 in California to register car each year; same car in Florida $76. for 2 years. Highest energy bill in California over $500 in one month; highest in Florida $122 for one month.
They lock up shaving cream in California.

Wow what a ripoff

[wisbad1]

Originally Posted by Danenew20242

Hello,
I am in California and just retired. I have found this unique place called "The Villages", so it sounds and looks very interesting, but I need your knowledge!

Is it really cheaper to live in The Villages or Fl in general? From the little I have been able to glean, there seems to be really no great monetary advantage, so why move there?

Thank you so very much for your time/efforts/comments and advice!!!!!

Beware, mostly Republicans and we love it

[dewilson58]

Dude..................doing a VS's.............could be 200 posts.



No comparison.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Katss

Whereabouts are you on CA? We live half time here, half time San Diego...hard to make the big commitment to FL, and life is pretty sweet as it is. Message me and we can hash it over!

Wow! Lucky you! We had to sell our SoCal home to buy here, and now that we have there’s no going back if we wanted to because of how high home prices and interest rates are now. Thankfully, we love it here, but I do miss the great weather, and our kids and toddler grandson. We visit them every 6 months or so for a week or two, and they all visit us individually once a year. Wish we could’ve kept our home there though.

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by NoMo50

I don't know anyone living in The Villages that moved here solely based on the cost of living. Folks come here for the lifestyle. If it happens to cost less to live here versus wherever you came from, that's a nice bonus. I was born and raised in SoCal, and it was a great place to grow up. But, the best move I ever made was back in 1977 when I put Kalifornia in my rearview mirror for good. You will find the vast majority of people in The Villages to be friendly and very open. But, one thing that is disliked HERE is when folks move away from THERE (pick any place) to come HERE, and then proceed to try and make HERE like it was THERE.

///

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Villagesgal

The Villages lifestyle is amazing. The homes are much more reasonable than most of Califirnia. We have no income tax, you are within an hours drive of the beach, over 3,000 clubs to join, tons of free golf, free swimming pools, tons of friends, cheap gas, cheaper food, and just a great place to live. Moved here from Florida would never go back. Come and rent a home here for a month in the summer and a month in the winter and then decide for yourself.

Um, you are in Florida, so how could you have moved from FL when you’re living here in The Villages?

[Nana2Teddy]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

Nana, we have a similar trajectory. I did my first lifestyle visit to The Villages in July 2022 and closed on my home in Richmond in December 2022. I’m a California native, living there through my mid 30s, then 20 years in Colorado. Like you, I moved here for the fabulous community that The Villages is, NOT because it is in Florida. With that being said, I’ve taken quite a liking to this state.

Michael, I’m very familiar with your journey and love your posts here, and your appearances on the Newcomers YouTube channel. We tried to buy a veranda in Richmond when we arrived in Nov 2022, but had no luck. On day three here after four tries in Richmond we saw an open house for a veranda in DeLuna and it ended up being perfect for us. We love it here! So glad it has been a great experience for you too. We are Disney fans so we go there often, but haven’t really seen much else in FL so far. Hopefully eventually. I’ve personally never been to any of the North Eastern states (nothing east of Michigan where my hubby grew up), so I’m hoping we get up there eventually now that we live so much closer. 😊

[Marty411]

Really liked the Forbes article. Great information and state comparisons.

Originally Posted by Nana2Teddy

I’m a native Californian who moved here full time in Nov 2022 after my husband retired. We came with Calif equity and bought a spacious home with cash. Our cost of living here is so much less than California. For me the only downsides are humidity and missing our 3 adult kids and 2 y/o grandson. Thankfully they visit us, and we can go out there for visits anytime we want. We would never live there again unless the kids moved us back to put us in a senior home, lol. Hopefully at 71 we have a bit more time ahead of us to enjoy The Villages. Oh, and we would never have moved to FL if The Villages didn’t exist. We moved here for The Villages lifestyle, not the FL lifestyle.

"Not for the FL lifestyle." -

Not sure what to make of a comment like that having lived in FL my entire adult life. The "Bubble" "lifestyle" is only so big. Eventually one has to leave T V.

For instance, going to the airport to go back to CA. Or even shopping for more than groceries. MAJOR MEDICAL episodes, one will find themselves in the midst of FL non-bubble as T V hospital can't handle ER open heart surgeries. What can one come up with that is "FL lifestyle"??

"Ya'll come back now" ??

Politics??

FL is a GREAT state, albeit a hot and humid cest pool at times. If one is fleeing CA to live cheaper, what happens in CA needs to STAY in CA. Florida doesn't need the CA lifestlye.

The Bubble IS FL and is for now free from lunacy.

2022? Was an especially great year in CA if I remember correctly. /s