[lynxville]

I did the lifestyle visit, my luck it rained and was cold all three days. So I couldn't use the golf cart much. I did look at houses for sale with two different realtors. I thought for Florida homes they were overpriced but it is what it is. I live in Florida now in the winter, I am a recent widower, over 55 but not ancient. I am in excellent health so far and I am very active. I thought TV might fill the gap for my free time. But I just didn't get the fuzzy feeling about the place from my visit. I didn't notice friendly people while I was there. Maybe it was the cold weather.

I think I need to return for another visit. I thought TV looked like Atlantis, so I listed my home in Florida before I did the life style visit. Now I am not sure.

I looked at new and used homes. The new ones had the 30K bond, 134 entertainment but also had a 5000 annual fee for common area maintenance. Didn't like that at all. This info is from the realtor.

I stayed by Sumter Square and I was looking forward to the bands, but the weather didn't cooperate. After I left TV a friend said there is a nice bar in Sumter where lots of singles meet and greet. Wish I new that earlier.

Having regular showings on my house and I am getting nervous that it will sell and I don't have a place yet.

All my friends and relatives keep giving me different suggestions of what I should do. I am confused. I would like to kick this around and respectfully digest any other opinions. What most people that know me do not understand is that my life is different now and I want to do what is best for me.

[tommy steam]

Hold off on selling your home, don't rush into things if it does not feel right to you. You should come here and rent a place for a short while. This way you can get a feel for the area. There are tons of places to rent from a week to months .

[rjm1cc]

Slow down and take your time. There will always be homes to buy.
Look at a few communities before you make a decision.
You can do long term rentals inTV. Maybe sell and rent in TV as you look around.
The Villages 4 Rent, Rentals in The Villages

[MicheleE]

There are lots of variables to consider. Are homes selling quickly in your area? If you get an offer is it in your best interest to take it if you are considering a move somewhere? I am 53 and LOVE it here. Moved here and never looked back. There are quite a few singles here (though I am not) and there is a nice group of people on Talk of the Villages that are single and a gal named Diane has a lot of info on that group. Come back for another visit......it's also lonely when you don't know anyone here and don't have plans to do anything. Let people know when you are coming and try and make plans to meet up with people here. Good luck

[slipcovers]

$5000 annual common area maintenance fee???? Never heard of that.

[Polar Bear]

Originally Posted by slipcovers

$5000 annual common area maintenance fee???? Never heard of that.

Same here. Nothing like that in TV that I know of.

[Bruiser1]

Don't rush to this decision. I agree that three days in rainy season isn't a good barometer of the community.

If you are unsure perhaps a longer rental will help your decision.

As for activities for single people, there are many clubs and social groups to meet and greet new friends.(Two examples are The Village Single Baby Boomers or The Village Singles). The Single Baby Boomers for example have many functions depending on your interests (too many to name here).

As the song "Dancin' in the streets sang" -"there is music everywhere". For example Tomorrow (Wednesday before Thanksgiving) you may ask "Why wait till the weekend"
Go to Eisenhower Rec Center and be entertained by Flipside (rock n roll and a little bit of soul).

[Bonny]

As everyone said, take your time if you are not sure.
You should rent for a month and get a chance to see & experience everything.
We have lived here 14 1/2 years. We were here 1 hour and bought a lot to build. One of the best things we ever did.
If I was single, I would definitely live here.
Once you get involved a little, you would be surprised how many wonderful people you meet.

[Mikeod]

Our annual maintenance is about $500-600/yr. Looks like an extra zero typo to me.

[JRichm369]

My wife and I rented for the month of February 2014. The first two weeks things were overwhelming, then we got comfortable, I really do not see how anyone could in 7 days get a really good feel as to what life here is, and more so if the weather was bad.

[VT2TV]

Sounds like you found some of the negatives of The Villages. In all honesty, I was very surprised with the weather when we moved here. We spent 2 weeks in central Florida basically every mid Dec. for 25+ years, and I guess it was a total fluke, but there was maybe 2 or 3 years when the weather was even cool. It was usually mid 80's. Quite a shock the first year here. If you are from Florida, you obviously know that while the weather is really nice compared to many states in the winter, it does get much colder than a lot of people think. You said that you didn't find many friendly people here. The Villages has gotten so large that no matter how many times people say it, it does not have that "hometown feeling" here anymore-maybe it was like that years ago. We have been here 4 years, and I can tell a difference even in that time.
Having said all that, we do love this place, nowhere is perfect, and there are some truly wonderful people here. But it is just life that as the villages gets bigger and bigger, it is losing the feeling of small town, and you find more and more people just not being as friendly. You will make lots of friends though, and most of the Villages seem very close. I think it would be best to revisit the villages again-in the winter, before you decide to move here. It changes a lot during Oct/Nov through March/April. Although I had at least 10 store/restaurant workers tell me that this past summer was much busier than previous summers. Just my opinion...

[Steve & Deanna]

As others had posted, don't sell your house right off and rent for a few months in TV is great advice. If you found some unfriendly, it had to be the cold weather. Even a lot of people up north are not that friendly during cold weather. The $5K to $6K maintenance fee sounds steep but $500 to $600 is probably the norm and would be in your property taxes. Just driving around The Villages shows that maintenance fee off in our community. Good luck giving us a second try.

[justjim]

As others have mentioned, rent a furnished house or villa for three or four months and see how you like the lifestyle of The Villages. I have a feeling you will really like it!

The first time we visited TV it also rained for four days and three nights. It was not a pleasant visit. We came back later and the rest is history. Good luck to you.

[Fraugoofy]

We only live in our villa right now in the summer and we love it! It is slower and golf is cheaper. We can go to any restaurant and have great service. We have found really great people and crab grasses especially because I am considerably younger than my partner. All in all we love the villages and we don't pay any attention to the crab grasses...

[villagetinker]

Rent a house for a month or so, and get a real feel for TV. We had the opportunity to move into an entirely new development (village of Pinellas) and ended up with wonderful neighbors. I have seen occasional comments about moving into established neighborhoods. TV has LOTs to offer, my wife has taken up golfing (I am dangerous on a golf course), and wants to get into pickle ball, we both bowl, and I have been able to enjoy working on my cars and the house. The entertainment is great, movies, live in the squares, and live in several of the restaurants.
So, contact your realtor, mention your concerns and see if they can work with you. Contact either your TV realtor, or any of several people on ToTV advertising houses for rent, and stay for a month or so, you may never leave.......