[Maryland Girl]

Originally Posted by angiefox10

When we went to The Villages furniture store (don't remember which one as there are two) they had our home and placed the furniture we were purchasing scaled in the rooms they were going to be. It was a GREAT help because I decided to not have a sofa and a love seat as I didn't want to take up all my living room with furniture, so I purchased two loveseats! No one sits in the center of the sofa anyway and the loveseats have recliners in them! They gave us a copy so we can see what we have purchased as we make our decisions as to what to bring.

Like you, I can't find a dining room set like the one I have here so we are taking it! I don't want to buy all new and I don't want to move a lot of stuff.

My thoughts... from someone who hasn't move in over 35 years is that trying to move stuff sometimes ruins it! So.... We will move as little as possible. It seems the more I think about packing things that may or may not make it... The more I think I want to buy....

When we asked about the above service, we were told they didn't have our stretched CYV floor plan. Anyway, it was fine for us to do it. We took our time and had a lot of discussion. That is funny and true that no one sits in the center of the sofa!

[jgbama]

We used the majority of previous recommendations to downsize and "dejunk". I think the hardest part has been our discussions here on what to bring, i.e. wife wants to bring a piano she hasn't touched in 5 years. (Hope she doesn't read this or I'm in trouble.) Since we don't have any really good stuff, I say get rid of it all. I don't want to bring anything I haven't touched in years, just to have it take up space in our TV home. Plus, we are talking about getting a "turn-key" place as well, provided we can find one that we can "live" with the furnishing to start. Then upgrade a piece at the time. That way we won't have another large outlay of cash for furniture, etc. We have to factor into our budget things like the sharp increase in property tax (ours in AL are really low), plus the CDD annual maintenance and the monthly amenities fee. We don't want to get there and find ourselves house and furniture poor and not be able to do the things we plan to do after moving to TV. Things like going to the Keys, frequent trips to Disneyworld, Tampa, getting two golf carts. Another thing is adding in the cost of golf (which I plan to do a lot); I work at a golf course here and play for free, so planning our budget is a bigger factor for me than paying to move stuff that may end up as clutter we'll have to get rid of down there. More work!

Pardon the long reply, but sometimes we can get too wrapped up in moving "stuff" and not balancing it out with budget planning once we move. Remember, we are buying into a lifestyle, not just a house. That will cost a little more, so keeping everything in prospective will help avoid those annoying "uh-ohs"!! They can ruin your day for sure. Having just turned 69, I want to get down and start "living" as quickly as possible!!

[tippyclubb]

Years ago I used a reputable ( so I thought ) moving company. It was the experience from h*ll. They broke the base on my marble dining room table and told me it was like that when they picked it up from my house. They lost my bed wall unit and I was never compensated for their incompetence.

I will use a pod to move clothes and all of our personal items but the furniture will be sold or given away. A new start in life, a new home, by all means I need new furniture. Its the perfect excuse. Lol !

[Pturner]

Mrsnjp,

Welcome to TOTV and soon Lower Paradise. Just think-- now you have all the justification you could want to buy new , so go for it and enjoy!

[mrsnjp]

Originally Posted by Pturner

Mrsnjp,

Welcome to TOTV and soon Lower Paradise. Just think-- now you have all the justification you could want to buy new , so go for it and enjoy!

Thanks, P.

mrnjp and I have been looking and lurking for about three years, now. We ordered the DVD, read the e-book, talked with friends already living in Virginia Trace...and well, long story-short, we decided some time ago that TV is the place for us without even having seen it. We're trying to plan a time to come down for a lifestyle visit, but the hubs and I both scan the CYV listings on a weekly basis...just in case something catches our eye. We'd probably have to be long-distance Villagers for a while, but we're definitely looking forward to transitioning from "wanna-be"s to frogs!

[natickdan]

Weighing the cost to hire professional movers to move your furniture to TV against buying new is not as black and white as it may seem. For some, it may make for financial sense to move their belongings and for others, it may not. Sentimental value is also a factor.Another factor is affordability.

We bought all new furniture for our home in TV. It was much more of a hassle than I had anticipated.

We just sold our home in MA and will be moving in to a 2 BR condo in the same town in MA next month. We donated and gave away most of our furniture to our adult children.

Moving can be very frustrating and for most of us, there really isn't a frustration free solution.

[GeorgeT]

We had a 3600 sq ft house in VT. We left a lot for the new owners and got rid of a lot when we got here. Al in all we have and need only about about 30% of what we used to own.
We also went from 2 cars to one car and two golf carts.

[taylor111947]

I'd like to add my experience to the conversation:

I've been here almost three months. I gave away most of my furniture to charity and family members arriving with my bedroom set (that went into the guest bedroom), my breakfast set, my patio furniture and some assorted pieces that will go into my den. I have had a wonderful time shopping for new furniture to fit my new lifestyle. Many of the stores here have a lot of instock items and delivery was pretty quick for the most part. One thing I found is that there are a limited number of stores to shop from and you might find your neighbor has the same furniture set as you. I still have some pieces to add, but I'm not in any hurry. My neighbors, who moved in three days after I did, are still unpacking, having to rent a storage unit and struggling to get their house in shape.

You don't have to buy new - there are many used furniture/consignment shops full of furniture at reasonable prices. But think about where it came from - mostly people who brought too much with them. So maybe there is a lesson there.