Some Considerations
 

Some considerations are to spend (as you are) a month or so renting. When you see a home/location you are considering imagine at the time you are going to go to the market, drug store, bank, etc and how long would it take and how far are they. Go to the home in the evening and listen to see if you can hear a train. The net is to pretend you are living where you are considering and how happy would you be. I have a brother who lives in California and visits once in awhile. His observation was "it is just too good". He was right. It is too perfect. Not bad choice!:wave:

Definitely rent first and while you are here, make a list of priorities:
#bedrooms #baths
new or resale
Bond or no bond
carpet or no carpet
Kissing lanai or golf/water/field view
Walled courtyard or open grass or (there are a few) fenced yard
grass or no grass to maintain (no grass =CYV, as many have stones)
1 and 1/2 car garage or 2 car or 2 car and a golf cart garage
Manufactured home or stick built or block built
Vinyl siding or stucco
renovated kitchen/bath or are you open to renovating yourself
gas or electric appliances (some areas only have one of these options available)


Every home search involves a bit of compromise. Prioritize your choices with numerical values to guide your decisions.

It is my opinion that all villages offer something similar and there are no bad villages in TV! Calumet Grove does make me a bit nervous with recent sink holes, but you can google search sink hole locations (past) and see the map of where they have been. I would avoid a busy road (Morse, Buena Vista, Stillwater trail, etc.) directly behind my home as you will hear the road noise. We do have a prison in the south and a train in the north and that bothers some people and does not matter to others. Once you are renting, you can visit your potential neighborhood at any hour to get a feel for the noise and surroundings in the day to day life.

One thing not mentioned among the excellent suggestions..... GOLF! I don't know from your post if you are a golfer so it may or may not, be important to you. It IS important to me and thus we bought in Sanibel. If you look at the map of the villages, and particularly the map of golf courses you will notice some areas have decidedly more golf, particularly executive golf, than others. On the west of Canal street, which bisects the area between 466 and 466a, and south of Lake Miona, there are 9 executive courses with another three that are on both sides of Canal, and one on the east side totally. There are no executive courses east of Morse between 466 and 466a. Not necessarily a deal killer for east of Morse, but a bit less convenient to get to. Also, Just south of 466a there are three more executive courses on the west side of Buena Vista, and four just to the east of Morse. Now, if you are not a golfer or luke warm about the game this all means nothing to you. Also if you want a new home, this means nothing as there are no new homes available in the area described. However, if golf is a big deal as it is to me and many others, the villages close to 466a, are far more convenient than some others. The area described is also convenient to shopping. All villages have their advantages and disadvantages, and all are very desirable for many people, but if exec golf is a priority take a look at the map and you'll see what I mean.

Villages Rental
 

I responded to your request under a different forum.
You are wise to rent before you buy.

Our home is in the desirable Spanish Springs area in the village of DelMar. Minutes from the Village Square

2 bedroom/2 bath on the Chula Vista Golf Course.

Please call/text or email Jean
585 694 3279
jricciuto@rochester.rr.com

I look forward to hearing from you...

Thank you so much for all the words of wisdom. We are coming in our motorhome this week and staying at a campground while we look for storage for it and a rental. I'm excited to settle down as I've been living in a motorhome most of the time since 2011 and I'm ready to get off the road.

I would suggest that your lanai faces either east or north. This seems to be the most preferred direction by most Villagers. The sun is very brutal here in the summer. A south facing lanai will not get much use during those months. Although those with a pool don't mind facing south. I guess it keeps the water warmer for you.
Also make sure your not too close to the pickleball courts. They get lots of use and can drive you crazy with that sound. I saw one on the market for two years. I think that might have been the reason why.
12 Buying Tips For THE VILLAGES in FLORIDA - YouTube

Most people prefer to be near shopping and doctors. Some want to be real close to certain amenities. After 6 months or so, one does not frequent the squares all that often.

Make a list of "must haves" and "would like to have" for a home you want to buy. When you see a home of almost all of the "must haves", that is home for you.

There is no such thing as a bad village but I still say, one might find a villages they might prefer over others but that's just me.

It's a personal choice so it's up to you. :smiley:

Hi...I hope you received my messages...

I have a 2 bedroom 2 bath home on the Chula Vista Golf Course. I do have a golf cart available for an additional fee.

I'd be happy to give you more info..

Jean 585 694 3279 call or text...or email..jricciuto@rochester.rr.com

I have a house for you to rent- I sent you a PM. Everyone on here gives great advice. You will learn a lot from Renting for a few months.

I'm renting in TV for June, July, and August also. First time

We came here in April one year to rent for a month to see how we would like it. By April 9th we had put money down on a home to be built. 10 years later, we're still in the same house. Just dumb luck.

You have received many excellent thoughts and it appears to me that many relate to the kind of house you want to live in. For us, the house was secondary, as long as it met certain minimum requirements, and the location of the house relative to the activities we wanted to pursue was paramount. We had a list of clubs/activities we really wanted to do, so we looked at the Rec News to determine where those activities met, and determined where a central point to live might be. Then we searched in that area. We've been here 6 years now and are still active in most of the things we thought we would do although some have changed, and our central location (Village of St. Charles) has been perfect for us. So please keep that in mind while you are renting and looking for your home. The Villages is so big now that many activities are out of reach from some locations unless you are willing to spend a lot of time travelling. Best of luck in your search and welcome to TV!

The first time we came here we rented in the NW corner of the Villages. That location made travel by cart inconvient to many Southern locations.. Since your first visit will be to get to know the Villages, I would look to rent in the middle if you can. The Villages is a large place and the area between 466 and 466A would be a great place to access all areas easier.

My wife’s friend told her about TV for years, in one ear out the other, Mistake there is no place like it. We rented this past February and March in Rio Grand and loved the location between two town centers Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter. My wife had a constant smile on her face, we rented a golf cart from Lester Golf Cart (great people) and loved just riding around in it. We got our sense of direction by looking at homes from top to bottom and everything in between. She tells everyone that she knew she wanted to be in TV after three days, but didn’t tell me until we looked at 35 homes. We found a beautiful home that just needed some refreshing at a great price in Santo Domingo, keeping in mind we loved being close to all the stores and being between Spanish Springs and Lake Sumter. Maybe after a while we’ll become an “average” villager but not now.