[Dreamer61]

My husband and I are considering TV for permanent retirement. I've been checking y'all out for about a month now. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the amenities, activities and such which I think are great though! Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and will this feeling stay or diminish with time?? Thanks!

[jnieman]

You definitely have to pace yourself when you live here. Schedule some down time every week and stick to it. There is always so much to do and it is so tempting to do something every minute.

[shcisamax]

It is wonderful to have all the possibilities. But don't for a second think everyone is doing all of them What is great is it is all here so you can do whatever your heart desires or you can just hang and do nothing.

[maryh]

What's great about this place is all the choices you have. You learn early on that you can't do everything and you decide what you really want to do. It's great fun and offers so many more opportunities for folks our age.

[ijusluvit]

Originally Posted by Dreamer61

My husband and I are considering TV for permanent retirement. I've been checking y'all out for about a month now. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the amenities, activities and such which I think are great though! Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and will this feeling stay or diminish with time?? Thanks!

I think I know what you mean. I had this amazing experience. My heart stopped beating and they tell me I was actually dead. I saw brilliant light and amazing colors as I was carried through this beautiful tunnel. Suddenly, there were people all around me, laughing and welcoming me with open arms.

Moments later I awoke. I thought I might have gone to heaven and I wanted to go back!

But then I smiled. I knew it was just another dream about my life in TV.

[rjm1cc]

The villages are an easy place to rent a home for a week to months. Try renting for a couple of weeks or a month or two if you can.

[raynan]

I think the feeling of being overwhelmed happens to everyone especially if your building and picking a location. Then after you're in you try to do everything and go to the squares every night and meeting all these new people. We did it every night straight for 9 months and then we crashed and realized we're not on vacation and have to fit everything in......we actually live here and we slowed down. We now have wonderful friends in a great neighborhood and have been there for each other through some tough times and watch out for each other, support through good times and bad and have become quite close. My husband does his thing and I do mine but we do couples activities also. Pace yourself and enjoy!
Nancy

[Dreamer61]

Oh I'm so glad I'm not alone. Thanks for your reply Nancy. We're thinking of coming down this spring for our first visit! Do you have any advice for new inquire's?
Pam

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by Dreamer61

Oh I'm so glad I'm not alone. Thanks for your reply Nancy. We're thinking of coming down this spring for our first visit! Do you have any advice for new inquire's?
Pam

Dreamer61, As a wannabee who has rented in TV a few times in the past 2 years -- my suggestions are: take the trolley tour (it lasts about 1 hour) from the sales office at Lake Sumter Landing, rent a golf cart while you are in TV and just drive around. Visit the 3 squares -- Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter Landing and Brownwood, especially at night when there is dancing and music going on. Ask questions of TV residents -- most are very happy to tell you about their experiences with living in The Villages. If you have time, go to open houses, both new and preowned homes. Open houses are held daily, and are advertised in The Daily Sun, which is The Villages daily newspaper. Hope you enjoy your visit!

[raynan]

Try to do a Lifestyle Program visit. It may be booked for the spring but it's worth a try. A salesperson does not bug you and you get a place to stay, golf cart, bikes. Then if you're interested ask for a salesperson to show you around. Tony Trussler was ours and we've referred him to a lot of friends who've bought here since we did. Our first trip here we stayed with friends who bought 8 years ago. Then in 2010 we did a Lifestyle Program visit so we could get a feel of the place without friends bias. We asked for a salesperson on the 3rd day of this visit after he took us all over and showed us models, furnished and unfurnished and what was available. We had studied floor plans on The Villages - Florida's Friendliest Retirement Hometown - New Home Sales, Home Resales, Build Your Dream Home, Brownwood Paddock Square before we came so we did know a couple of models we would be interested in and that helped a lot in minimizing selection. Talk to people in restaurants, the squares, everyone is real friendly and will help you out and you'll get straight answers. I was on this site for 2 years learning so much and after moving here still use it everytime we need help for hairdresser, landscapers, doctors etc. Enjoy!

[OldDave]

Hi Dreamer. Nice to hear from you. I know exactly how you feel. We made our first visit last summer and rented a house for a month. We have scheduled the official Lifestyle visit for March for one week to see how things are in the busy season.

I would highly recommend you do what we did. Rent a house. There are hundreds available in the summer, and the prices range from reasonable to unbelieveably cheap. I've also found people will even negotiate a bit lower because it is difficult for them to rent in the summer. I'd stay even longer if you could.

We had the time to relax and go to events and see things (although I had a vision problem and saw two of everything on our visit). I do think this is a great way to enjoy the experience. My wife had never driven a golf cart and didn't want to. But with my vision problem I couldn't drive. It took about an hour and she was hooked. She must have put 200 miles on that thing and just loved it. The place is beautiful to see, and the golf cart is a great way to see it up close and more slowly. (The other drivers and crazy by the way.)

I do have some of the same feelings you express. It is a different animal. At least for someone from Kansas in the land of large ranch style homes, everyone is really packed together. Prices are higher than even developments right around there, but it offers things to do that from my research nowhere else in the country has. That is a part of what you're paying for. The good news is the price are still a bit weaker because of the downturn a couple of years ago. Although the homes there didn't lose their value like other places in Florida. They more just held there own.

So, do your research on the villages site, the rent by owner sites or ****. Take the time to phone the owner and get to feel good about them. Make sure it is in a nice location and go down and see what it feels like.

One thing. I'm not sure where you're from but many people worry about how hot it is there in the summer. In Kansas this summer it hit 113. So even the hottest days in the Villages were pretty nice to us, plus we rented a house with a pool.(We wouldn't bother with that next time because there are so many community pools and they aren't busy in the summer.)

Best of luck to you,

Dave

PS. Tony is our salesman too, and we really enjoyed him.

[Golfer in Sanibel]

Just remember you don't have to do everything. Just choose what you want from the vast number of options. Here I am, from Ohio, in my first January as a resident in TV. I golf, sail a RC sailboat, party, dance, walk, ride a bike, cart to shopping and entertainment and dinner, play pickleball and sit at the pool. If in Ohio I'd be doing nothing but watching snow and television. This is a great way to spend the rest of your life. There is nothing to stress or be overwhelmed about. Just do what you want.

[Uptown Girl]

Think of it as a continually abundant buffet table.... where you know you can choose as much or as little as you desire to place on your plate, as it appeals to you. You wouldn't typically take a big dollop of every offering all at once, as it would soon become a plate that's unappealing and hard to manage!

That's what is so nice here. If you explore an activity, you are not tethered for life. You get to pick and choose to visit it. (unless you commit to a team, for example)
If you try something and it's not to your taste (or level of energy) you just help yourself to a different offering when you are ready for more. See?

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by Dreamer61

My husband and I are considering TV for permanent retirement. I've been checking y'all out for about a month now. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the amenities, activities and such which I think are great though! Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and will this feeling stay or diminish with time?? Thanks!

I think your experiencing information overload. This happens when people find TV and get the feeling it's for them. I would agree that at least a LSV and or renting a home for month is the way to go. A week goes by fast, so a month would be ideal.

Being in TV and asking questions will resolve your thoughts more quickly as the beauty of TV cannot be described in a thousand words. You can as little or as much as you like.

I would take the trolley tour, visit the squares, go to the various restaurants and definitely drive a golf cart around TV.

Good luck in what you decide.

[asianthree]

You can always come and just sit on the lanai and do nothing