In the Midwest, it depends on where you live. I live in suburban Chicago, a fairly high cost of living area, especially property tax wise. In the northwest suburbs of Cook County, a single family home is minimum $180K (and that would most likely be an older, "fixer upper" home) I believe Illinois property taxes are the 2nd most expensive in the U.S. My dad lives in a smaller city in eastern Iowa. The cost of housing and property taxes are much lower . . . you can still get an older single family home in eastern Iowa for under $130K.

Property taxes are a big concern for me, especially looking down the road 10 years. Illinois property taxes will eventually price the state out of the market for me. Wherever I end up in my golden years, cost of living, property taxes and snow free climate will be key factors.

As far as the size of The Villages, I have lived in the Chicago area for 37 years, so dealing with traffic and crowds is nothing new for me. I can understand though, why some long-time Villagers may be less than happy with the expansion of TV, especially the growth/expansion in the past decade.

Value is the operative word. Is it worth it for some people? When my children were younger I moved into an area in Fairfax County VA that was way over my budget. I could afford the house but that was about it. I moved there because that particular area had an excellent school system. The sacrifices were worth it. Same with TV. There are less expensive places, but I know this is the best place to be. I would rather live in a modest house in TV than a larger one someplace else and I have talked with others who feel the same way. For us, we want to be out of the house and more active. Will this be our last house? I do not know. I do know this move is right at this time in our lives. Thursday cannot come soon enough.

Hurry home. We'll leave the light on for ya.

I believe you are already seeing the percentage of private sector retirees buying into the Villages dropping with public sector and military increasing. Pension plans and medical coverage are the two drivers. Private sector is in big trouble. IMO

Where do I go to see this data?

Things are as they are-perhaps not as they should be
 

Even defined benefit pensions. I had a friend who was a bit older than I was at the time I knew him. He was a member of the lithographers union and had devoted most of his working life to the company he worked for. Today, much of what they did is obsolete or done overseas. With less and less work and fewer and fewer members, he received a note that they regret they were cutting his pension by 30%.

What do you need to have? All you need to know is exactly how long you and your wife will live. What your healthcare costs will be, what the rate of inflation will be for the rest of your life, what the return on your investments will be and we can calculate exactly what you must have. Immediate trouble is we do not know any of the needed information. The stock market only goes up-EXCEPT WHEN IT DOESN'T. Our government tells us they want 2% inflation-WHY? The reason is truly simple-so that they can devalue the real value of the TWENTY TRILLION DOLLARS they are overdrawn, First of all IN HISTORY, they have never been able to control inflation that well.

At 2% inflation. long term in about 30 years you will need two dollars to buy what a dollar buys today,

RE: 15% in IRAs
 

We did the same for 45 years. I lost touch with my friend who always made fun of how hard I worked and how frugal-OK let's be honest CHEAP I was/am. I lost touch with my."friend" because he, on the verge of having his home with several mortgages on it foreclosed on.

My friend-he is now living on welfare, food stamps and medicaid. WE/I ARE STILL PAYING HIS BILLS EVERY APRIL 15TH. Who is smart? I sometimes wonder.

Remember, a friend in need........

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I do not have specific data for The Villages, that is why I said I believe. That said I was part of that private sector who lost medical coverage and a large part of their pension after 34 years with no recourse. So please don’t attempt to educate me on private vs public sector unless of course the private sector is where your 40 plus years of work was spent. If so I’d be glad to swap notes with you. I think you might discover the private sector is in deep s””t if you care to look, no data needed.

Common knowledge, no need to reference.


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The developers continue to purchase more land to build upon. They are smart and successful. I am with them. Come on down!