[atcspaul]

Originally Posted by Bunny1

We too live in Kalamazoo, husband says jf you will be going through Atlanta during heavy traffic times we take the Beltway or you will be sitting in a mess. We bought in Villages last Jan! Love it!,

I think we are going to love it to. Bought villa in Sanibel. The Paige Villa's

[mitchbr47]

We have driven this 75 route the past 18 yeas to TV from metro Detroit and only once did we take the bypass around Atlanta.That was due to a horrific accident near Marietta. Yes avoid rush hour. Timing is everything. Use the HOV lanes when possible. There is a toll road express lane open the past few years. We never take it.

[atcspaul]

Thank you. I will be towing a 4x8 trailer with a few things in it to hold us over till moving company gets everything delivered. Hopefully I can use the hov with the trailer, I have been reading yes and no so need to research more. We are going to try driving straight thru, Really do not want to stop anywhere with all the craziness going on.

[jacksonbrown]

With regular travel from TV to western NC, we are firm believers in relying on both Google and Waze.

As discussed in the link shown above, both have their merits. Google captures the real-time GPS information from all the app's users, around the globe. That data includes your GPS location and your computer's (smart phone, iPad, tablet, etc.) machine address, tracking your progress as you travel.

From that, real-time algorithms are able to show traffic conditions and advise you of your "best" route, if you have declared a destination.

Waze works somewhat differently. Waze takes traffic data from user inputs and reports on accidents, speed traps, etc., merging it with satellite data.

Using both gives drivers the best choices.

BTW, going straight through downtown Atlanta on Interstates 75/85 is sometimes quicker.

[JerryLBell]

When my brother and his wife come down to visit from Michigan, they always take 75 through Georgia, including Atlanta. They just time it so that they come down on the weekend to avoid weekday traffic through any of the larger cities on I-75.

As a fellow Michigander, welcome to The Villages! If you're going to be here full time, be aware that summers take some getting used to but fall, spring and especially winter are great here! Try not to be too smug when talking to folks back home about how you are shoveling sunshine when they are shoveling snow! There are at least four social clubs for Michiganders here, too.

With the pandemic and all, social clubs and nightly live music are largely off the schedule at the moment so thins won't be as incredibly active as they once were. However, all this will come back in time. You can still golf, swim, bicycle, play pickleball and more. If you have to be "stuck at home", this is the place to do it.

Last, if you're from southern Michigan and have been eating Koegels hot dogs your whole life, there's bad news and good news. The bad news is that nobody in the south (we lived in North Carolina for 20 years before retiring) makes a hot dog worth eating. We've tried them all. The good news is that there are so many of us down here that Koegels sends a truck down twice a year and you can stock up on their products. We've already made Koegels converts of several of our friends and neighbors.

If you have any questions, this is a good site to get answers. Folks here helped me get a lot of good information before we made the move. Generally, Villagers are so happy to be here that they seem to like to share the joy by helping others. If you want to test that, just stop in one of the town squares with a map in your hands and a puzzled look on your face and you'll have someone asking to help you in manner of minutes. That was sure our experience!

[atcspaul]

Thank you. We spent the month of February at the villages and fell in love with it. As far as the heat I figure here we spend the winters inside with heat going and down their we will spend the summers with the a/c going. I think it will be a nice trade off. Thank you everyone for your great advice.

[Jima64]

just remember that you don't really have a strict timeframe to be in the Villages, do you? maybe drive off the freeway onto some 4 lane state highways along the way and see something other than Atlanta metro area.

[Mrprez]

We are driving south to TV next month. Our preferred route when traveling to FL from here is to take Hwy 441 to just south of Lake City, FL where we pick up I75. That cuts out all of the major bottlenecks like Knoxville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. It is 4 lane for most of the way with only short stretches of 2 lane. Less stressful and a more direct route.