[Andyb]

Cost of living is half that of California, due to “reasonable” policies.

[chuckpedrey]

For the most part Villager’s are God fearing, Bible believing, conservative people who treat their neighbors as their neighbor wants to be treated. We respect the law and believe that taking ANYTHING that does not belong to us is stealing. The majority of us are appalled by the Fake News and Fox News is piped into our town squares through The Villages radio station. We tend to ignore the progressive, left leaning residents who live here and privately pray that they would eventually decide to relocate to a blue state where more of their persuasion reside.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by La lamy

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Or you can keep your political views to yourself and not have to deal with a..holes that hate anyone that doesn't think like them.

Didn't say they were *my* political views, but thanks for lashing out. I don't appreciate being called an a..hole.

I certainly do not hate anyone that doesn't think like me. I just sit gobsmacked and slack-jawed about the absolute lack of common sense and the utter lack of understanding cause-and-effect. As in: You vote for X and three years later you're shocked that Y is happening. But "HATE?" that's awfully strong. You should be put in the penalty box for your post and personal profane insult to me, but we all know consequences are only reserved for one half the aisle.

[Federspiel]

Freedom

[jerryss]

We moved to the villages from Huntington Beach.

For us, we enjoy the lifestyle and cheaper costs. On the other hand, you can’t beat California weather and the great variety of food!

[Michael 61]

Originally Posted by Nana2Teddy

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. ������

I appreciate your posts as well Nana, and enjoy following you here on TOTV. I’ve been to Epcot twice (such an easy drive) since moving here, but need to branch out to the other parks as well. I’ve taken a few road trips outside the bubble (Clearwater, Sarasota, Tarpon Springs, Crystal River), and have taken a few of the Workman Bus Day trips (St Petersburg, Cape Canaveral, St Augustine). Now that I’m on the East Coast, I need to get up and explore the northeast states and upper mid-west as well. I just returned last week from a road trip through Amelia Island / Jekyll Island / Savannah / Charleston. Very enjoyable and an easy drive from TV.

[hmbfoxtail]

I was born and raised in California, and we escaped 15 years ago for Nevada. We'll it seems many more followed so we have now chosen Florida for weather and like-minded people in the political field. Two things, Florida offer that Nevada doesn't, is warm weather (a big deal for me as I have grown to detest cold and snow) and Florida supports law enforcement (my husband and I are both retired law enforcement) so it's very important to us to live in a place that actually supports law enforcement and holds criminals responsible and California is definitely not that place. California is a beautiful state but so is Florida. As someone mentioned no income tax in Florida, just as Nevada is no income tax.

[Karmanng]

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!!!!!

Cheaper to buy a home but it depends on the size and if you buy new you might as well buy pre owned as bond prices are thru the roof............everything else I find coming from Arizona is actully much much higher such as food costs in grocery stores gas is cheaper but overall its more driving so its a wash there everything else is much pricier too BUT homes in AZ are thru the roof for small places

[OhioBuckeye]

Lots of nice people but you see the same kind of people there as you do in any town or city. But overall a very nice little place to live!

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by sowilts

Still have to pay trail fees.

I walk. The exercise is good for me.

[luvdancin]

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!!!!!

I moved to The Villages from Temecula, CA. I researched warm weather retirement places like TX, AZ, etc. There is NO other place like The Villages to retire! If you are active, you will never be bored. Your only problem will be choosing what to do and where to go due to so many choices- every sport, every hobby, every club you can imagine! Temecula was dry heat, which I prefer. I literally wear ice around my neck in the summer here to survive. And I pretty much stay inside. Many people do sports in the summer here. I would have a heat stroke! But, I grew up in NY so heat beats cold anytime in my opinion. The Villages is
also great for people who lose a spouse or are single. You will never be alone, because there are groups for everything. Stay here for a week to check it out. I decided I decided to move here the second day I was here!

[Switter]

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!!!!!

I'm from Minnesota (a high tax state) and I feel property taxes here are a lot higher than I was expecting. I paid just over 300K for my house in The villages and my taxes will be about $5200 once I homestead. My place in Minnesota was worth about 450K and I paid about $5600. Gas is a lot cheaper but there are toll roads that you have to account for if you go to Orlando a lot.

The bond on the house I bought was already paid and it had a new roof put on, so that made a big difference. If you're buying a pre-existing house, make sure to check the age of the roof. Your insurance company could force you to replace the roof once it reaches 15 to 20 years old.

I think the amenity fees are very reasonable. Less than $200 a month and I get access to golf, swimming, and hundreds of miles multimodal paths for riding bike. The cost of owning and maintaining a private swimming pool is probably about $100 a month or more if you have someone service it. The pools here are great, especially the sports pools.

You'll want to read the deed restrictions in the area(s) that you're looking at. They are available at Village Community Development Districts. It might not hurt to look at the deed restrictions for all the districts to get a general idea of what they contain. You can even check the cost of utilities for a property on this web site. All you need is an address, no login or anything. You can look at anyone's utilities.

If you find a pre-existing home, make sure there's nothing on the property that is in violation of the deed restrictions. You'll be responsible for bringing it into compliance, regardless of who own the house before you.

There is a guy named Rusty who has a YouTube channel about the villages that talks about a lot of this stuff. He's very helpful.

Good luck in your decision.

[boxcarwilly]

Originally Posted by gmpmex

Yes, it's less expensive and many things to do I moved from California 3 years ago and as far as I am concerned this is the best place to live you have real professional doctors here not armatures.

"Armatures" are components in motors and generators.

[Runway48]

Originally Posted by 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.

Interesting combo of TN and FL. We are looking to leave L.I. and have been looking at Tellico Village in TN and the Villages. Both "TV" so I'll use TN and FL. The community is much more extensive in FL but so is the traffic. TN has true four seasons which I enjoy with mild winters similar to Durham NC where I lived for several years. I see a lot of complaints about medical in FL. TN doesn't have TOV type web site so difficult to compare, UT med center which is a well-regarded Med cntr is 30 min away. Lots are larger in TN and prop taxes are much lower, but houses are generally more expensive and nearly doubled during the pandemic. (As an aside, prop taxes on L.I. are more than 3X FL and 10 X TN.). Before the great pandemic exodus from the high population areas, TN was by far the better deal. I like to walk (hike) and the smokies are an attraction but as the hips and knees age level ground is OK, shade would be nice. Spent three months in FL this winter, did a lot of walking but difficult to find unpaved walking paths. I'm curious, which state are you officially a resident of. Thanks

[mraines]

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!!!!!

I lived in CA for 22 years but retired here in The Villages. I could not have afforded to stay in CA on my retirement and SS. I also had family nearby and have macular degeneration so I can get around by golf cart to any place I need to go. The drawback for me is the politics but if you are a Republican, it may not be a problem for you. Not sure if I can say that on here. There is also plenty to do here.