[beady]

Any words of wisdom on leaving grandkids and moving to TV full time. Sure would appreciate any insight.

[coljudge]

I have the same concerns. We plan to be full-timers in a couple of years. But with two grandchildren in California and two here on Long Island, we won't be close to all of them no matter what we do. When we move to TV full time they will just have to come and visit us. Although we do plan to travel frequently once we're not working and have the time to do that. I warned my daughter-in-law that we might just camp in their finished basement during the summer. I wasn't serious, I wouldn't to that to her.

[SteveFromNY]

The only way my wife would consider moving to TV was if we also kept a place up north near the grand daughters (2 of them). So we are selling the "big" house where we lived for 24 yrs and buying a small apartment style condo here as a place to go when we need to see them. I suspect in a few years when they're older and grandma and grandpa are just 2 fleeting "Hi's!" as they speed by on there way somewhere we'll make the choice to full-time in TV. We'll see.

[Frank2]

Whenever you feel the need for your grands...just send them airline tickets for the next holiday or when they have time off. Also, it's a good place to visit during the summer months.

I understand it's not the same as visiting every weekend but it does work, and you can retire here with the rest of us lucky people.

[Villages Kahuna]

Here's the thought process we went thru...

• Once they find out you live only about an hour from Disneyworld and the other Orlando theme parks, they forget all about all those visits to Grandma's house up north.

[br]

• The plane fares from Orlando to northern cities are really cheap. We're flying north for one reason or another four times in the next six months. And on two occasions, we simply sent plane tickets for them to visit us. It's a lot cheaper than owning a second house.

[br]

• As the grandkids grow toward their teen-age years, they get so busy with activities and sports that they have less and less time for grandparents. A week-long visit from them in TV or a vacation with them at another location is far better "quality time" than simply living close.

[Avista]

We have 5 grandchildren, and we are close to them. True, we don't live near them, but love to have them visit. Usually they come one at a time, so we can give them a lot of individual attention. Another thing we have done with our teen grandchildren is travel in Europe. We have taken them on tours through Europe, weeks in London, and just last March took our 16 year old granddaughter to Ireland for 2 weeks. We stayed with family part of the time, and she was able to meet her Irish family members. Then we took her to Surry England and introduced her to more family. In other words, lots of ways to be close to your grandchildren without living right on top of them.

[villager99]

grandkids and old friends were my reasons for snowbirding between maine and tv my first 5 years but eventually i came to see the wisdom in moving to tv fulltime and visiting maine a few times a year or having kids and friends visit me here.
everone loves a florida beach vacation and i love whale watching and hanging out at the lakes in maine. so it works out well
.tv is my present and future and family get togethers are special regardless of which state they take place in.

[samhass]

Kahuna, you said it best. Move to TV and the kids and grands will visit often!

[beady]

Thank you all for your comments. I know that moving to TV is the right thing for us to do. I am very excited about becoming a full time home owner. Leaving the grands is the only stumbling block in a very happy plan for the very near future.

I have friends who are already reserving time to visit , so I will assume the kids and grands will follow suit. It's just an adjustment I am going to have to make.

[nONIE]

Osh,

You can do it! Really you can.

Just kidding, I know this is a very personal decision and only you can make it. it certainly is an emotional tug of war, I agree.

[beady]

Osh,

As I said in an earlier post (pre-moving) it was a real stumbling block to leave the kiddo's.
Well, we are here now and I am loving this lifestyle.
One thing that makes it a lot easier is setting up a web-cam on your computer. I see and talk to the grand boys and girls every Sunday morning. It is such fun for all of us and so simple to do. 040 040
Look forward to meeting you soon. :bigthumbsup:

[lm01]

We left and told the grandkids that they are coming down in 2 weeks. We left and they did come down to help set things up, like thier guest bedrooms. Everything worked out fine.

[Indy-Guy]

Grand kids are great to be around and we all miss them. In fact there were times when we lived near them that we wished we could spend more time with them they are so busy with their own lives as they should be.

What I don't miss about the grand kids are those colds that they would give us. We have been here a year and they have visited many times and we didn't have to share them with anyone. Two of them were here for 10 days over Christmas when they arrived one of them had a cold and I got my first cold in over a year.

Yes we miss the grand kids but not the colds that they give us. Does anyone else find that they have less colds?

[villages07]

indy guy... a little off the main topic, but, to reply to your question....in about 15 mos here full time, neither one of us has caught a cold....compared with 1 or 2 colds each as a rule 'back north'. I have heard similar anecdotes from other recent Villages transplants.

Lack of kids and their germs is no doubt one factor along with the temperate climate and just overall happier and stress-less lifestyle.

[jerseygirl008]

Kahuna and Avista: Great advice and thought process. It's exactly how I have thought it through. I'm not there yet,so. . . these dialogues are very helpful to those of us planning to move to TV. Thanks so much.