It's official! Reservations made, flight booked, rental car all set. We'll be starting out for a couple days in West Palm Beach, then it's on to the Villages for six nights! We arrive at TV on Jan 17th.! Can't wait to see what it's all about!

Good for you! You will love TV!

Good for you! After your visit, post your impressions of TV!

Welcome to TV! Rent a golf cart and get the full experience!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hello, I am booked for the Lifestyle thing for 4 days at the end of January but I'm not clear on what the visit includes. ie how much golf. Can someone enlighten me?

many thanks

Golf is scheduled by computer. I believe the sales staff has some tee times reserved for potential owners. Be sure to ask someone before you get here.

So, here we are!
 

Here we sit, in our Courtyard Villa, decompressing after our first day in TV! Despite all the reading, research, questions and answers, this place intimidates the snot out of me! In only the best way... We spent a good part of the day getting lost, of course! And as expected, some friendly Villagers were quick with directions and help. And the Villages App turned out to be a life saver! I know there must be a downside here, but I haven't found it yet!
More to come....

Geo - where did they put you up? We are coming in April and we're wondering what area of the villages would be our home base. Thanks, and looking forward to your posts!

Gary

If you're in Alden Bungalows, when you exit the gate look straight across the highway (Powell Rd) and the big brick building is MVP Health Club. My wife and I will both be there this morning taking classes, as we do every weekday morning. Stop by at the front desk and they'll give you a free tour, if you're interested they'll give you a 3 day pass.

Just past MVP on the same road a couple of doors down, is McAlister's Deli. They've been open about 2 years and have great sandwiches. They get packed starting about 11:45, we eat there one day a week. The 'club sandwiches' are really good, or if you want something warm the French Dip sandwich is good. The potato salad and fruit cup are good sides, don't get the cole slaw. The sweet tea is also good, free refills.

You probably discovered this by now, but you can go north on Powell Rd and in about 1-1/2 miles you'll hit a red light which is 466A, you turn right and it brings you into the heart of TV. On the corner at the light is the Winn Dixie shopping Center, so if you want some groceries, you have that place and the Publix which is just south of the Alden Bungalows.

recommend you rent a place in villages and stay for awhile to get a good idea if its for you and where to buy. My place in St Simon/Bellaire is taken thru April...but available for rest of year. Min stay...one month--prefer longer

We've stopped into McAlister's for a light meal, found it to be very good. We've been doing a lot of open houses, trying to get a handle on what kinds of homes we like, and what areas we prefer. We are in Alden Bungaloes, which I believe are extended Courtyard Villas. Way too big for my taste, we seem to be gravitating toward Patio or regular Courtyard Villas, mainly due to size. With the volume ceilings, even an 1100 sf villa seems spacious. At any rate, we have a lot more researching and visiting to do. Love the entertainment at the squares at night. Good band at Sumter last night, and they had a pretty good crowd.
We were intending to make a number of trips to different areas of Florida, to try to determine where we wanted to retire. We started off in Destin/Ft Walton Beach for a couple days, then came here. I have been looking for the negative about this place, and cannot find it. We've pretty much written off the idea of any place else in Florida, and will likely be focusing all our research and efforts right here.
Boy, that cool-aid tastes great!!

I'm glad you liked McAlister's. We try and eat lunch there at least once a week. Ft. Walton is nice, I lived in Pensacola for six years back in the late 70's early 80's. If they had a retirement community we would of probably retired there. If someone is looking for a conservative, clean, friendly and reasonable place with beautiful beaches, then Pensacola is the place.

You mention 1100 sq, if looking at CYV's then look for a Durham or before 2012 it would be a Woodlawn. We live in a 2011 built Woodlawn and it's 1150 sf. It's 2BR 2 BA masonry and with the privacy fence we like it a lot. One thing to keep in mind, it's 1-1/2 car garages can limit you on what you might have. We have a small car and one golf cart and it barely fits. Big cars or trucks will have to sit in the driveway. Now a lot of CYV's built in the Brownwood area are available with a 2 car garage, but you'll pay more for those. Enjoy your stay.

We did a 10 day visit last April just to check it out. By day 6, we bought a Patio villa. We love everything about the Villages, we love our villa and it's location , but do caution about the size of the garage. It's a little tight for a car a, golf cart, two bikes, etc, etc. we see ourselves upsizing in the future, not necessarily for living space, but for storage. We are not here full time yet, but hope to be very soon. Enjoy your stay and welcome to paradise!

A standard patio villa, (1190 sq ft), 2B, 2B will have a garage that fits a car and a golf cart.

Keep on looking and you will find a home that suits your needs. :smiley:

These are all great suggestions. We finally bought on our sixth visit. We had gotten an overall layout of the land by taking the Trolley, which was most enjoyable and full of little interesting tidbits. With each visit, we had an agenda. Since we have dogs, we decided to check out all the dog parks, llocated both within the villages, and the private ones located outside. The Atlas Canine Recreation Center is the newest in TV if you have a furry pal. Close by, take a tranquil walk in the Sharon Rose Wichens Preserve.

Good luck and enjoy your visit!