Hope to soon move to The Villages

Closed Thread
Thread Tools
  #16  
Old 03-13-2018, 08:52 AM
EPutnam1863 EPutnam1863 is offline
Veteran member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: MI, LA, IN, IL, MI (2), MA, NC, CA (2)A, FL, VA, RI, NH, OR (2), FL (2), WI (2), MN
Posts: 543
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldwingnut View Post
We lived in Florida for 7 years about an hours south of here. When we decided it was time to find our retirement location we looked at over a dozen different developments. All of them when The Villages was mentioned tried to compare themselves and say why they were better than The Villages. Most had some valid points on one or two items. When you look at the entire package of what is available here, none can come close.

A good many were less expensive than TV, some were more. TV was at about the 80th percentile for price, but at the top when you looked at all that was offered and available as far as activities and surrounding services.

If the initial price is the main concern, this is not the place. If you're looking for a place to settle down and die in your old age this isn't for you. If you're looking to live and have fun in your golden years, welcome to The Villages.
Agreed! It looks like you might be one of the few who really did some exploring. One problem though...our golden years can suddenly be filled with health issues.
  #17  
Old 03-13-2018, 09:14 AM
Lottoguy Lottoguy is offline
Gold member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,365
Thanks: 123
Thanked 553 Times in 221 Posts
Default

After we sold our house we rented in The Villages for three months in the summer. Took our time and closed in September. We didn't rush to any house or any certain Village. I think future buyers should first focus on the house they want then look for that house in The Village they want. If you decide to live here year around then buy a house and NOT one of the villas. Those are mostly for the seasonal owners and you will feel your in a ghost town when there are all away. My two cents...
  #18  
Old 03-13-2018, 09:33 AM
JerryLBell JerryLBell is offline
Veteran member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 727
Thanks: 0
Thanked 372 Times in 133 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by EPutnam1863 View Post
Yet it amazes me that it seems none of the TVers have bothered to explore other communities first before deciding on TV.
My wife and I visited TV a few years before we retired and were knocked out by it. We visited again the next year and it was just as good as remembered. The next year, we got serious. We visted retirement communities in the Carolinas (we lived in North Carolina for 20 years) and researched many in Florida. We made a trip to Florida specifically to visit 8 or 9 communities we'd narrowed it down to, hoping to find one that had the things we liked about The Villages in maybe a smaller environment and perhaps at a lower cost. Trouble is, nothing really compares. We decided on moving to The Villages on the ride home. We considered doing a lifestyle preview visit the next year but instead talked ourselves into buying a new house we had toured during our visit. That was one of the best decisions we ever made as the neighbors and neighborhood have been great and we love the house.

The Villages isn't for everybody. We talked to people in other communities who had moved from The Villages. They had their reasons, but they didn't resonate with us. We've been here for a year now as full-time residents and I still wake up with a smile every day, looking forward to the adventure that is The Villages.

I don't know that I would recommend renting here for a year just to see if you like living here. Look into the lifestyle preview or rent a house from individual owners or a week or a month. That should be enough to convince you one way or another. I would think you might want to rent for a year if you really want to be sure which exact neighborhood you want to move to or if you want to build a new house but can't wait until it's done to move here (not that they take a year to build houses here!).

If you've never lived in the South, the summers can be intimidating. We got used to them by living in North Carolina so we are OK with heat and humidity. The first summer can be a bit of a shock though. Just keep in mind that there is a ton of things to do here indoors as well as outdoors. You can still play golf, tennis, pickleball or whatever in the summer by doing so in the early evening and can still hit the square for dancing after the sun has gone down. Between those times, there are myriad clubs in the many recreation centers plus movie theaters, bowling alleys, etc., etc. It's actually pretty doable. Plus there are fewer people here then so it's easier to get into restaurants and everything else.

Good luck with wherever you end up deciding to live!
  #19  
Old 03-13-2018, 09:35 AM
fw102807
Guest
Posts: n/a
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lottoguy View Post
After we sold our house we rented in The Villages for three months in the summer. Took our time and closed in September. We didn't rush to any house or any certain Village. I think future buyers should first focus on the house they want then look for that house in The Village they want. If you decide to live here year around then buy a house and NOT one of the villas. Those are mostly for the seasonal owners and you will feel your in a ghost town when there are all away. My two cents...
Very untrue. We live in a CYV and most of our neighbors are full time residents. We, as for many of the CYV owners, selected the villas for our dogs.
  #20  
Old 03-13-2018, 11:24 AM
LI SNOWBIRD's Avatar
LI SNOWBIRD LI SNOWBIRD is offline
Gold member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,156
Thanks: 1
Thanked 51 Times in 33 Posts
Default

We came and visited with a realtor and bougfht the same day--drink the loo-aid
__________________
LI SNOWBIRD LI, Tall Trees
"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet."
Plato
  #21  
Old 04-03-2018, 10:55 AM
VillageIdiots VillageIdiots is offline
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 335
Thanks: 0
Thanked 32 Times in 16 Posts
Default

You will not likely need to rent for a year before deciding one way or the other. Your husband will either love it almost immediately, or decide it's a nice place to visit but wouldn't want to live there. If you have never even visited, you are basing a lot on the word of someone else. I often see and hear that TV "is not for everyone". For people who love it, it's hard to imagine why everyone would not love it. My parents moved to TV 6 or 7 years ago and we have visited many times and fell in love with the place from the first visit. Now we are at a point where we can make a move and that's where we are headed (in less than 2 weeks). To this day, I have a hard time describing the place, sufficiently, to people who have never been there. It's truly somewhere you have to physically see and experience to get the true picture of it, good or bad. I would definitely recommend renting first if you are fairly sure it's where you want to go. I have never done it but I think the Lifestyle visit program is a great, economical, no pressure, way to get a good flavor of TV, but is not long enough for most to really decide if it's where they want to be full time. Many come on the Lifestyle visit and commit to buying property before they leave. But it doesn't really give you enough time to take everything into consideration and make the best decision for yourself, in my opinion. Rent is super reasonable in the summer months. And if you can stand the summer heat and afternoon storms, then you can stand anything else weather related. We are renting for at least 2.5 months while we search for homes. It's not unusual, and in some cases it's even required, to contract to buy a home and close on it in 30 days. If you can't make up your mind or find something in that amount of time, it's usually fairly easy to extend your rental or find another one during the summer months. Finding places and renting them in the winter months is an entirely different story. For the place I'm renting starting this month, the rent for the same place in Jan - March is over triple per month what I'm paying for this time of year.
  #22  
Old 04-03-2018, 02:11 PM
CFrance's Avatar
CFrance CFrance is offline
Sage
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Tamarind Grove/Monpazier, France
Posts: 14,480
Thanks: 388
Thanked 1,922 Times in 783 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by EPutnam1863 View Post
Agreed! It looks like you might be one of the few who really did some exploring. One problem though...our golden years can suddenly be filled with health issues.
I would like to know how in the world you know that nobody but a few did any exploring. You don't live here, do you?

Even if you are somehow correct, how many people do you know that regret moving here? I can think of three former forum members.
__________________
It's harder to hate close up.
  #23  
Old 04-03-2018, 08:40 PM
Fraugoofy Fraugoofy is offline
Platinum member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,540
Thanks: 1
Thanked 11 Times in 9 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by USA2Elsewhere View Post
My name is Sherry. I am waiting for my info packet for The Villages. Hope I can "sell" my husband on it. He's willing to move only to please me and mom. He loves PA. Yuck! If I'm lucky enough to be able to get out of the depressing, frozen (half the year) North, we will need to rent first. Hoping it will be a 3 bedroom. My mother is living with us also. We don't know anyone in The Villages but an online friend told me her cousin visited someone there and loved it so much she sold her house with all the furniture and moved into The Villages.
Have a fantastic 3 bedroom home for you in the Village of Ashland. Can send pics and prices. Text me. Rae 920-265-8425

Sent from my SM-N920R4 using Tapatalk
  #24  
Old 04-03-2018, 08:42 PM
Clawdio45 Clawdio45 is offline
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 21
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Regarding the hot summer weather: We are from the Chicago area, and worried about the heat in TV in summer. Then someone asked us whether, during the winter in Chicago, were we into outdoor winter activities like snowmobiling, skiing, ice skating or such. No? Then what did we do when it's cold outside? Stay in, of course. Or at least, only go from a heated home, to a heated car, to a heated destination. So, flip that 180 degrees. If it's too hot, stay in. Go from your air conditioned home, to an air conditioned car, to an air conditioned destination. And then, in winter, when your friends back north are shoveling snow, you can shake your head and wonder why it took so long to decide to move.
  #25  
Old 04-04-2018, 09:12 AM
Lottoguy Lottoguy is offline
Gold member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,365
Thanks: 123
Thanked 553 Times in 221 Posts
Default

That's what we did too! Sold most of our furniture or gave it to people who needed something. Most people who move their furniture down here end up tossing it away when the get here. You will save tons of money by not hiring a mover. Just buy new or check out the multiple consignment shops when you get here.

Last edited by Lottoguy; 04-08-2018 at 09:27 AM.
  #26  
Old 04-04-2018, 09:22 AM
graciegirl's Avatar
graciegirl graciegirl is offline
Sage
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 40,004
Thanks: 4,850
Thanked 5,493 Times in 1,903 Posts
Send a message via AIM to graciegirl
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lottoguy View Post
That's what we did too! Sold most of our furniture or gave it to people who needed something. Most people who move their furniture down here end up tossing it away when the get here. You will save tons of money by not hiring a mover. Just by new or check out the multiple consignment shops when you get here.
Our first snow bird home we decorated all beachy and white and with some interesting recycled things from Bargains and Treasures and sold it furnished.

We brought our old stuff with us second house here. Our old stuff likes it here and with some pretty light blue greens on the walls and drapes, fits right in.. To each their own. I enjoy how people make their home beautiful.
Attached Thumbnails
The Villages Florida: Click image for larger version

Name:	000_8586.jpg
Views:	329
Size:	48.7 KB
ID:	74665   The Villages Florida: Click image for larger version

Name:	Hadley house..jpg
Views:	369
Size:	36.0 KB
ID:	74667  
Attached Images
laurel-valley-house-jpg 
__________________
It is better to laugh than to cry.

Last edited by graciegirl; 04-04-2018 at 09:47 AM.
  #27  
Old 04-04-2018, 09:26 AM
VillageIdiots VillageIdiots is offline
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 335
Thanks: 0
Thanked 32 Times in 16 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lottoguy View Post
That's what we did too! Sold most of our furniture or gave it to people who needed something. Most people who move their furniture down here end up tossing it away when the get here. You will save tons of money by not hiring a mover. Just by new or check out the multiple consignment shops when you get here.
Agree. That is what we are doing as well. By the time I start loading my rental truck next week, the largest piece of furniture I will have is a dining table. Other than that, a small recliner, a few small tables and everything else will be in boxes and bins. Not only does it make moving easier and less expensive, a lot of furniture people decorate with where they are from just doesn't go well with the style and design of the houses in TV. I can't count how many pre-owned homes I have gone to open houses at, or seen online, that are chocked full of furniture that just doesn't belong at all. We are basically moving our mattress sets for 3 bedrooms, a dining table, a recliner, and the rest I'll refer to as non-furniture items.

One of the first sales agents I talked to when I began going out looking at homes when I visited TV told me that there are 2 things most new villagers bring too much of with them - furniture and cars.
  #28  
Old 04-04-2018, 07:06 PM
2BNTV's Avatar
2BNTV 2BNTV is offline
Sage
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 10,712
Thanks: 1
Thanked 133 Times in 60 Posts
Default

All of us can talk until we are blue in the face but most people don't believe us, when we tell how wonderful it is here, until they visit. IMHO

I would rent in three month intervals in different areas,
as TV is a humongous place. Send for a map and you can see how big it is and where you might want to rent.

It' not for everyone but can 120,000 people be wrong?
__________________
"It doesn't cost "nuttin", to be nice". MOM

I just want to do the right thing! Uncle Joe, (my hero).
  #29  
Old 04-05-2018, 10:28 AM
valuemkt valuemkt is offline
Veteran member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: The Villages - Formerly Atlanta Endicott and Syracuse NY
Posts: 692
Thanks: 49
Thanked 661 Times in 214 Posts
Default

Syracuse had 4 inches of snow on the ground this morning .. My brother can't wait to visit next week. I gave him my 7.5HP John Deere blower when I moved from the Southern Tier (Endicott) to Atlanta 20 years ago and the smile still hasn't gone from my face. Now the Villages .. I learned to drive in multi foot snowstorms .. Driving and living in high temps with high humidity is a breeze compared to dark skies and frigid temps.
  #30  
Old 04-05-2018, 07:49 PM
patfla06 patfla06 is offline
Platinum member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,547
Thanks: 1,457
Thanked 589 Times in 190 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clawdio45 View Post
Regarding the hot summer weather: We are from the Chicago area, and worried about the heat in TV in summer. Then someone asked us whether, during the winter in Chicago, were we into outdoor winter activities like snowmobiling, skiing, ice skating or such. No? Then what did we do when it's cold outside? Stay in, of course. Or at least, only go from a heated home, to a heated car, to a heated destination. So, flip that 180 degrees. If it's too hot, stay in. Go from your air conditioned home, to an air conditioned car, to an air conditioned destination. And then, in winter, when your friends back north are shoveling snow, you can shake your head and wonder why it took so long to decide to move.
Great post!
I have lived in FLA 20 years and still not a fan of Summer.
We do exactly what you are saying - stay in when it is really hot.

What makes a huge difference is closing in and air conditioning our lanai.

Also getting up earlier to do activities in the morning.

My project this Summer is to clean out & organize my house.
At least it will be cool!
__________________
///
Closed Thread

Tags
villages, hope, move, furniture, moved

Thread Tools

You are viewing a new design of the TOTV site. Click here to revert to the old version.

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:06 PM.