[craftysandy]

Hi! I still have about 5 years to go until retirement but thought it's not too early to start looking at my options as to where to settle down after retirement! TV sure looks like a definite possibility! Florida sure looks more retirement friendly than New Jersey! Plus, you have palm trees!!! Maybe if I start getting to know TV through the forums, by the time we arrive, it will already feel like home! We hope to come for a Lifestyle visit sometime next year. Anyway..... hello to all you lucky people who have already made it to retirement! Cheers!

[Golfingnut]

We love it here more now than when we first came down and we loved it then. Stay on this TOTV site and you will learn about The Villages with pointers that will save you money and help you pick the perfect home and location for you. We have been here 2 years and without TOTV I have no doubt we would not be in the same house, but we are. Things we learned to keep in mind by talking on this site were, Direction of the sun in relation to the house, What different lots allow you to do now or later, best distance from town squares, location of noises/smells etc. When we first came down for a visit, we wanted to live on top of Spanish Springs Square in a Court Yard Villa. After TOTV for a few years, we decided on the middle of Lake Sumter County in a designer home.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

craftysandy, welcome to TV and TOTV!!! Lots to learn about regarding TV........and TOTV is a good place to find out about many of those things.

And it's NEVER too early to start planning for your retirement location!

Bill

[lanabanana73]

We are in a similar situation and I've been lurking around these boards for almost a year. We are renting a home for the month of October to get a real feel for life in TV and are very much looking forward to that. Go for visits as often as possible and test the waters! Good luck to you.

[asianthree]

Welcome we came to look in 2004 came back in 2008 and bought in 2010, we have 3 years till retirement, and are looking for our next home for that big step

[rmcpklinefelter]

After you make the big decision that this is the place for you to enjoy your retirement I'm sure you'll find the right home. We were never "townies" our entire married lives (37 years!) and had reservations about being able to find a house here in the villages with an open back yard. There are homes available that are on golf courses (not our style) preserves (also not our style) and pastures (happily, just our style!). That was our big concern and now we're so happy and settled here. Best of luck to you where ever you decide retire. I hope it's here.

[ducati1974]

I feel sorry for you that you discovered TV five years before retirement (as we did). The problem is that now that you have discovered it, this will be the longest five years of your life!! Do as we did and try renting a different style house for a month each winter (if you can swing the time off) in different areas and try to really learn all about the community to help you decide where you want to be and what style house you would want in retirement. We are lucky- our long wait is nearly over- we're moving to TV in December! Good Luck!

[In awe of TV]

I have about 5 more years to go (hopefully sooner) and I've been checking out TV since 2008!

With that said, the past few years have really flown by. Where did this summer go? Does time fly faster in TV?

[craftysandy]

Thanks for all the input! It will be a long five years, especially being that I've been with the same company for 32 years already! It's been a fun ride but I'm getting the itch to start a new ride! Hopefully I'll retire by 60, but no later than 62! I'm glad to see that TV is such an active community. I definitely want to stay active and healthy. I do get 6 weeks vacation each year, so maybe I can swing staying at TV for at least 2 weeks to get a feel for it. I'm hoping I'll be able to sell my NJ home and purchase a 2 bedroom, 2 bath home after I retire. Let's hope the housing market turns around a bit in the next 5 years!

[Yorio]

Ideal is to have several friends already living in TV like we did but if not, TOTV is the best advice column one can get. Even now, I found a gem or two every time I open which I can share with my friends who are not on TOTV. It took us 5 years before we made the final plunge or rather it took my wife 5 years to make up her mind. We finally did it in 2011 and we haven't regretted the choice we made including my wife. As other postings have indicated, it is wise to visit TV once a year at least preferably in different seasons. We did two turns with Life Style Package plus staying with our friends in other occasions. Although we didn't do it but we have met quite a few people who rented villas, cottages and designer homes in various Villages to see what they like. Staying with friends are great but to really sense what TV is like, you need to be on your own making sure you rent a golf cart. It's a whole different world out there from the golf cart. Good luck. Make sure you say hi! or good morning and smile when you are making your rounds. Who knows, you may make many friends even before you move here.

[cybermuda]

Originally Posted by craftysandy

Hi! I still have about 5 years to go until retirement but thought it's not too early to start looking at my options as to where to settle down after retirement

Buy in TV while prices are down;
rent it out in the high season to cover running costs;
move in full time when you retire

[dkrhardy]

Hi Sandy,
We started 5 years before I retired. We did the LSV and then rented for about 10 days or so 6 times more. We THOUGHT we had a handle on living here. Not so! There are so many things that change. We are only here for 3 weeks now and boy oh boy do we wish we had done things different. We wish that we had bought sooner so we could have stayed more than those few times that we did. I suppose that part of it is that I am a LOT more relaxed after retiring, but throw in this whole community and what a change. It was the very best thing that we could have done.
Don & Kaz

Ps Visit at different times of the year like we did. There are pluses and a few minuses for each season. Visitors (like we WERE) make things a bit crowded in the cooler months, and it does get hot in the warmer months. We lived in S Alabama before here, so heat isn't too tough on us.

[decodiana]

Craftysandy, I live in South Jersey also (Winslow Twp.) and can't wait until I can retire in about the same amount of time so that we can move to The Villages. We've have been down three times, two LSV and rented a CYV in May. Just love it there. Problem is I think about it just about everyday and it's making me crazy! We're looking at possibly a CYV or a smaller designer on a corner so we can add a pool. My advice? Go down as much as you can to experience the lifestyle, see the types of homes available (rent different models so you have a good idea of what you'll eventually want). Here's hoping we're both out of New Jersey BEFORE 5 years is up!

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by ducati1974

I feel sorry for you that you discovered TV five years before retirement (as we did). The problem is that now that you have discovered it, this will be the longest five years of your life!! Do as we did and try renting a different style house for a month each winter (if you can swing the time off) in different areas and try to really learn all about the community to help you decide where you want to be and what style house you would want in retirement. We are lucky- our long wait is nearly over- we're moving to TV in December! Good Luck!

No truer words were spoken:

to TOTV. Read the "nuts and bolts" by Zcaveman at the bottom of the "home" page. It's full of information.

One visit down and you'll never be the same.

[asianthree]

renting different house and village each time really helps