Sun is the issue
 

We made sure that our lanai faced east when we bought our home. Only gets morning sun and not the brutal afternoon heart.

wind
 

We are too far inland hurricanes lose power I was here 2017 for IRMA cat 5 - news gets hyped to holy heck saying we'd get gusts to 100-115
NWS - Leesburg Airport
11 4:53 SE 38 G 59
11 3:53 SE 43 G 69
NWS - Spanish Springs The Villages
11 5:50 E 31 G 43
11 5:30 E 33 G 51
11 5:10 E 32 G 54
11 4:50 E 36 G 51

These are some of the funniest posts I have read in a long time. I have a west facing lanai with a fantastic golf view and some of the most spectacular sunsets ever. Yes, the afternoon sun can be hot, so you adjust accordingly. I garden and my west facing plants are doing very well, thank you, probably because I plant according to the exposure and not against it. I had an east facing lanai once that faced a neighbor. Did not do much for me. You can only make the right choice if it appeals to you when you see it. Happy hunting!

Great point. My house faces south. It is one of the best choices I made when choosing my home. My lanai, with its northern exposure, never gets the hot sun that affects so many.

We live at Linden. Sun comes up in the front and sets in the back. Easy to West. Most winds are from the south. Beautiful sun rise and sun sets. Of course hurricanes don't follow rules. Sumter calls our home a stay in place shelter. USAA insurance rep said our roof is designed to withstand high winds. Block home. My Brother lives 5 minutes away and will shelter here.

Not sure about the winds, but If you will be a snowbird, a house with the lanai on the south side will give you the warmth of the sun during the winter. Not sure if that’s desirable in the summer months.
A Snowbird

Agree, see many people that live by us in their carts looking at the beautiful sunsets outside in the heat. Plus we have a solid wall on the south side of the lanai and i also told them to set our home back 12 feet in order to have a cart garage. No eight foot fence in the back.

I agree generally with the other answers here. For winds, try to get a house with hip roof all the way around (no gables), block and stucco will be better than stick built and sided. Facing direction will make no difference for winds but makes a difference for the sun - try to get a house with the lanai facing east if you can because you will get a nice warming sun in the cool mornings and shade in the hot afternoons.

I get a kick out of the statements "We are too far inland to worry about hurricanes" We are currently in NC and we are farther inland than The Villages and we did lose a roof (shingles only) to a hurricane. But then we have hundreds of acres of farmland around us so nothing to block the wind. But then again, I always say " Never say never". All in all after being there for a couple of stays and looking at construction practices I wouldn't worry too much about storm shutters. Just the basic practice of bringing patio furniture and smaller flower pots etc in when a storm is coming. East facing lania would be a must for me. Hot is HOT no matter how you sugar coat it. Good luck with your home search.

Everyone's house here in TV is the best. None of my friends made a mistake picking their house. They even researched the best location. They did their due diligence. Yet on average they moved three times.

I live or will be in LINDEN taylor villas, not a block home and lanai faces west but on the more north side.......will I have issues with plants heat and winds? Majority of the house is next to another

Lots of good comments and suggestions. You also might want to take a (sunny) day or so and drive around various parts of TV at different times of the day to see for yourself examples of east facing fronts, west facing lanais (and vice versa), factor in the effect of shade
trees, etc., mature landscaping versus new (barren) construction, etc. We wanted an east facing house with west facing back yard and lanai (with no neighbors) and shade trees in the back that lose leaves in winter and provide shade and protection in summer. We were lucky and found what we desired — all of the above and a house with a hip roof. And no “live oaks”, no palms, 3 chinese elms* in a row along the back that provide shade in summer. (*Fairly easy to maintain). Good luck. Pic shows house and roof structures for easy identification.
https://www.lyonsroofing.com/images/...of-diagram.jpg

I would debate the theory that we live too far inland in TV to suffer major wind damage from a hurricane. Sure, the distance from the two coasts would mitigate the winds somewhat but to what degree would depend on a number of factors, including storm size, strength, direction and speed. As for which direction is best for your home to face, I doubt that matters. I once experienced a hurricane that was just offshore and paralleling the coast off Georgia. I had 21 trees in my backyard that fell but was surprised to see they fell toward the house (east). That means the easterly winds as the storm approached did little damage compared to the westerly winds after the storm passed.

Without the availability of a corner lot house that has windows on 3 sides and met our location parameters, our priority became interior illumination by natural light, resulting in our purchase of a house facing west that has the lanai facing east. This orientation gives us great ambient lighting throughout the daylight hours, making it “bright and cheerful” inside the house.

My wife and I have lived in Florida since 1984. We enjoy a south facing lanai. The primary reason is that in the winter, the house blocks the cool/cold north wind and the sun keeps things warmer on that side of the house, so it's pleasant sitting there when the front of the house is cool/cold and blustery.

In the summer, the sun is too high in the sky to make much difference one way or the other, you're shaded either way. You get more rain in the lanai facing south, that's the trade-off. Rain rarely comes from the north here.

There is no advantage one way or another regarding hurricanes as to which way your house faces, in my opinion.