I wasn't about to give Maine 6% of my hard earned retirement...
I stay here 6 1/2 months and spend 5 1/2 months on a lake in Maine

The question for us WE ...can we take the summer heat away from the grandkids? We answered NO even though the financial considerations can be very compelling.

I lived here 4 years and then became a resident legally. I am still a snowbird on a 6 month: 6 month rotation. Thinking of spending more time here. It is harder and harder to sign up for clssses up north when I can only complete half of the term. The more friends I make here the more I want to be in contact with them. Only reason I still go back are a property and heirloom furniture , a son and my travel companion goes back. I am sure I will phase out the hometown over the next few years. It will not be easy.

No brainer for us. Too many worries owning 2 places. All our friends up north are either dead or moved. Taxes ridiculous, traffic unbearable, and humidity awful. Been here full time 10 years. Love it. Only my opinion. Maybe if I had a place in the mountains or on a lake, with lots of friends and family near, I would feel differently. Strictly an individual decision.

We rented for only 2 yrs. before we bought. We looked just like all of the people in the sales office, excited, bubbly. What most people don't know is they don't watch for the right areas to buy in, they're all just so over whelmed with everything here. You will learn the pro's & con's here just like any other place. Don't take me wrong it is a Disneyland for retirees. The Villages realtors are pushing Fenny, they're under cutting the older side of the Villages to sell the 50,000 new homes that are going to be built there & the people that have the preowned are getting stuck with there home because they want a little more for them. Just remember to ask TV realtors about, Higher property taxes, Bonds & Aminities. Probably won't be any entertainment for about 4 or 5 more yrs. unless you drive your car to at least Brownwood, no grocery stores close. Nice place to live but snowbirds making TV their permanent home will learn all the pro's & con's real quick. I know someone will disagree with me, but not everybody lives the same lifestyle, have more or less money, different interest. Enjoy your new Disneyland!

The expense and Hassel of keeping two homes, very time consuming as well. Getting older and wanted more free time in one location.

Similar situation here, we have a live in up north during the winter months, that gives peace of mind to us here during our stay. Once our situation changes with our live in there’s a 99% change we’ll sell up north and move here permanently. Still have an extended family up north and I can see us possibly renting a home near the ocean for a month or two during the summer.

We started out as snowbirds but the frozen tundra kept our attention ALL that 1st winter---always checking on things with who was watching the house etc. It seemed very cumbersome to worry about whether the snow was shoveled on time, if the furnace was working etc. We flew home end of April to find the car we'd left wouldn't start. Probably should have had someone start that and drive it around the block a few times while we were gone. Also the power must have gone out and re-started at some point. Found that the fridge (which we thought we'd emptied was not) and some chicken had thawed and the smell was horrible. Had to clean and reclean that thing to get rid of the odor (bleach and don't remember what else). We had already decided we'd be making our permanent residency here as the cost of living was cheaper (taxes etc) and we didn't want the burden of two places any longer. PLUS we felt you don't truly connect being seasonal and "LIFE" goes on in both places while one is gone, so you feel somewhat discombobulated trying to "re-group" again. Just our experience. Oh...and our kids were scattered (not in the same area) plus the "littles" weren't little any longer and off in different directions. LIFE does change!!!

You made a great analysis Bay Kid! Don't take me wrong, it is a nice place to live. But not everything here is cracked up to be what they said. I play golf, golf is free on the Executive courses but if you want to play the Championship course you have to join or pay 45 to $55. dollars to play them. In the summer you can play them for $7. if you can stand to play in the heat or be lucky enough to get a tee time before 10:00am. I bet I've had at least 5 people tell me that live on the old side (orange blossom) that when they moved here 15 or 20 yrs. ago you lived like a millionaire, now you've got to be a millionaire to live here. (inflation) That's a little overboard but you can buy anything that you buy in TV less outside the bubble. Everybody has thier:popcorn: opinion of TV, because everybody doesn't live like the next person. Oh, by the way we're moving to Texas in April. I will miss the people here & the lifestyle but we have our reasons too!

Got tired of looking for something only to remember that it's in the other house :-)

After many long years of being a snowbird it got to be too much to keep up two homes and the traffic going back and forth was terrible together with the fact that we got older and wanted to settle down. Did appreciate the time I got to spend the summers up north in the cool weather. Snowbirds who own homes in The Villages have to bear all the expenses that full timers do and should not be looked down upon.

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We bought here in TV in 2016, with the intention of selling our NE PA home, which we loved, so we became snowbirds for the past 2 yrs. Paying double taxes, insurances, etc. became counter-productive and, last October we sold our PA home...in one week for full price...and now this is our only home. We have not looked back and don't miss PA! We will go back to visit in early Fall, and I know I will be eager to get back to our Village home and lifestyle! Glad we made this decision!!

I did for 8 years. But I knew from the start I wanted to retire here. Just had to wait for the right time.

Tax savings