“Far away” is relative. And keep in mind, it’s very crowded where all the main happenings are. We enjoy visiting those areas but would wanna live there. Like our more laid back quiet neighborhood. All depends on what you like.

On arrival and check-in you’ll be greeted by a sales rep. They will give you two options, guided tours on one of the three Villages trolley tours and visiting new models or pre-owned listings with him/her. You can turn down either invitation or spend as much time with the rep as you choose. The rep will provide contact information for your use after you go home. If you don’t call, you’ll never hear from the rep again. It’s the ultimate “The Villages Lifestyle sells itself” program.

Otherwise, you have as much time as you’d like to do whatever you wish during your Villages vacation.

One forewarning, do some research and planning in advance. The Villages is now longer from north to south than the City of Chicago. Definitely don’t make your Lifestyle visit too short, there’s LOTS to see and experience.

Unless you plan to move in the next six months, I would wait. TV at the moment is nothing like it is during normal times. I took a 7 day LSV in April 2011, to show how fast it has grown, at that time there were no homes below 466A, none at all. In fact Buena Vista didn't even connect to 466A, much less cross over and take you to Brownwood.

We stayed at LSL (Lake Sumter Landing) in a $500,000 cottage at the foot of the Morse Bridge and a 200 yard walk to the square. The first evening was a market night, we walked over to the square and checked out all the vendors. It was still snowbird season, so the square was packed. The band started play at 5pm, I have no memory of who it even was. It was like going to a carnival or a fair.

My salesman Tony Trussler, I had told over the phone weeks before arriving we were interested in villas and cottages. We speed a half day going through new masonry CYVs in Pennecamp, new cottages in Tamarind Grove and new patio villas in Buttonwood. We had decided we were going with either a masonry CYV or patio villa.

The agent also reserved a teetime for me at the Cane Garden Championship course, where I played 18 holes with a person was a seasonal renter for many years and a couple who lived here fulltime. It was a good opportunity to ask questions and was very enjoyable. I also played the executive course Heron, where I played with a couple who were also on a LSV.

We went to the movies once, tickets courtesy of the LSV. We went to SS square and LSL everyday (Brownwood didn't exit) and checked what was going on. I looked at golf carts at TV store at LSL. We ate at a few local places, we made one mistake, we ate at Golden Corral on Easter. They had the biggest crowd I ever seen. The line was around the parking lot. Once inside and after paying and getting your food, you had to wait until a table was available. It was a real nightmare.

When our 7 days were up, we wished it was a permanent stay, and I didn't want to go home. We drove to Sanford and boarded the Autotrain while our car rode in the back. The train arrived 18 hours later just outside Washington, DC, and then back to reality.

To give you some idea of what I mean, here's is Brownwood during normal times after 5pm when Rocky & the Rollers is playing.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.town...size=750%2C519

Here is how a square looks now, LSL

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4dVjzWBvWfc/hqdefault.jpg

the brokers are there to SELL ! your experience will depend on the assigned broker - remember they are NOT Realtors. we came last yr - 2 rounds of golf @ championship courses ea - community pool - use of golf cart - looked @ 10 houses & left
now we're coming down wed to buy but not w/tv brokers
having just accepted a contract on our home in no atlanta, we've discovered creative-thinking, intelligent, competent, ambitious, aggressive professional brokers/Realtors are rare. i expect no different in tv - we've already discussed our wants/needs w/6 - 3 tv & 3 others - only 1 stood out which is what we expected

We did the lifestyle package in 2018 and it was a good way to see if you are really interested in the area and you can check out the Villages lifestyle. A salesperson will be assigned to you and will schedule a few hours to show you around, figure out your interests, show you properties that fit your interests. They had us stay in a courtyard villa near Sumter Landing. We had use of a golf cart, two bicycles, got a temporary villages ID, movie passes, etc. the villa we had was 3 bedroom/2 bath and we had family visit us and stay with us in the villa. We enjoyed the stay and it helped to confirm for us that we really wanted to buy here. If you choose to take advantage it really will let you sample the lifestyle. (Golf, squares, etc.) However, that was before Covid-19, so I am not sure how it all works now. As things open back up, it may be a similar experience.

Lifestyle program is a great experience. The house will be in immaculate condition. Even the cutlery drawer will be laid out with everything in line. Try the golf cart, use the pass. The salesman will not push too hard, but they will steer you toward the new build areas. As somebody pointed out? The refrigerator will come with lots of kool-aid.
If you like cleanliness and order, then TV is for you. If you like a bit of chaos and some litter in the streets, look somewhere else.

Try Remax - Freedom on 466A, owner is a Vet, knows her stuff and will not steer you into buying new like TV sales reps will, no matter what you’d prefer.

In 2011 Buena Vista DID connect to 466A, I lived in Buttonwood but you are correct there was nothing south of that

Given the current situation, I don't think your lifestyle experience will be anything like it used to be (and hopefully will be again soon!) It was awesome when we did it. Free entrance to most every thing, all rec centers were opened, so you could go play whatever group activities were going on, both inside and outside. The entertainment at the squares aren't happening, and the street vendors and Saturday markets aren't happening at this point. Some restaurants are opened with limited seating. It just won't be the same. Hopefully, they have greatly reduced the price. You will (or should I say, should) be getting a Villages real estate agent to drive you around to various models. Hopefully they will take you to areas other than 'south of hwy 44'. You probably won't get the true feel of the town centers, which will be sad, BUT, you should be able to play golf on certain course. They included 2 bicycles and a golf cart in our lovely 3/2 bungalo, which was fenced in, so we could bring our dog. I'd say, take advantage of it, but just know you want get the true feel of everything that is offered here. If they don't include an agent, our guy was Jim Amidei , and he is awesome 352 572 8747. He is very patient. Many folks buy within 1-3 days, seeing less than 6-7 houses. We had specific needs, and he worked with us for about 8 months, to make sure we found what we needed/wanted. Best of luck to you.

If you come now for lifestyle you will be in Alden Bungalows across Powell from Brownwood just north of 44. Friends were just here and what they got was pretty much hard sell on new developments south of 44. The sales rep will show you other homes for sale then try to have you drink the kool-aid. Yes you get golf and other things (movies have just reopened), restaurants are open 50% so think about it. Great way if you don’t know anyone here to get the “experience” and make sure this is the 55+ community you want to live in

Do you think I would of wrote that if it was not correct? What month did you move to Buttonwood? My LSV was in April 2011 and after looking in Buttonwood and Tamarind Grove, I drove to the end of St. Charles with the intentions of going to Colony. I can tell you for a fact, that in April 2011 when you went to the end of St. Charles the only option you had was to go around the Turtle Mound traffic circle and exit north onto Buena Vista or back onto St. Charles where you came. There were concrete barriers blocking off Buena Vista to southbound traffic at the circle. That's a REAL Fact, I did it, I was here, I bought in Tamarind Grove in April 2011. However by June when we made the permanent move, it had opened to 466A. The first homes south of 466A were models built on Braddy Ct in Sanibel, I went to the first open house to see them in August.

The Villages visit
 

I did the Lifestyle experience 2 times. I was put in a beautiful 3 bedroom house, given a pair of bikes and a golf cart. Your visit will be problem free and your experiences will help you decide if you want to live in Te Villages; closing july 2020 :-)

Thanks everyone! This first visit will definitely be a very preliminary one. We've never been to TV or any other over 55 active adult community before. We currently have 3 dogs (the oldest is a 13 1/2 year old Golden), we still have a kid in HS and we haven't retired, yet. We would like to plan our first visit around September to get the lay of the land. If things are reopened by then, a Lifestyle Visit would be great. If things are still in the process of opening back up, we may opt to stay in a hotel (Spanish Springs?) and do a Lifestyle Visit next year in one of the villas w/golf cart because we really want to be able to take advantage of everything TV has to offer. By the time we actually would move to TV, we will have 2 dogs, one kid graduated from college, one kid in college. We already live in Florida about 5 1/2 or 6 hours from TV, so we should be able to experience TV a few times before we commit. Thanks again for all of the very helpful responses.

Thank you all for the very helpful and informative responses. We are definitely interested in doing a Lifestyle Visit and will get one planned once things start to reopen and we can take full advantage of the many varied amenities within TV. Overall, this seems like a really nice and welcoming community and the idea of spending our days playing golf, hiking trails, swimming in pools, fitness and other classes, hanging out in the town squares sounds like a lot of fun.

Absolutely not necessary unless you are ready to buy on that lifestyle visit.