Wondering if any of you have any personal knowledge/info/experience on The Villages in Florida? Thanks in advance

I've driven through it several times. The homes are extremely close together and the area is congested. There are nice shopping centers and I guess most of the homes are within a mile or two of the shopping.

Basically people either love or hate all the Del Webb communities here in Florida. I've always heard the Villages was extremely overpriced. But I guess it just depends what you want.

Thanks Podie. That's the kind of info I'm looking for. Hopefully, more ST'ers will have some first-hand info, too.

The Villages is one of my customers, so I know a bit about them.

If you are a person who really likes to be busy and social in retirement, then it can be a great place. They have choices of homes, condos and apartments and once on their complex (which covers over 100 square miles) you don't have to leave. Everything is in the Villages.. banks, supermarkets, furniture stores, pharmacies, Starbucks, bowling alley, just name it. The area is actually so conducive to staying on property that each new home owner gets a golf cart to drive around the town.

There are two settlements, Spanish Springs and
Sumter Landing. Spanish Springs is more like an old town with its shopping center and downtown area. Sumter Landing is based around a lake that is man made but made to resemble a seaport town.

For me, too "plastic" and I like my privacy. We live about an hour South of it. It is located in Central Florida and be aware, there are some nasty Thunderstorms that roll through the Lake County area solely due to the higher elevation of the county (they do have hills in Florida and they are all in Lake County).

Those who like it, love it. Those who don't like it, hate it. Don't get me wrong, it has a lot to offer and they do offer tours and such of the properties. Not cheap though but there are a lot of NYer's there. I know this first hand as I catch that accent a lot when I am up there for business...

Hope this helps.
Doug

quote:

Hope this helps.

Doug - that helps a lot! You've given us a lot of information that is very interesting and helpful.

We have friends who have a home in The Villages and they recently wrote this to us about it:
"You will think that we live in heaven. My husband says that we have so much fun down here that we must be sucking all the life from the world. Each day, and this is not an exaggeration, we thank God for the blessings of our being able to be here."
(hmmmmmmm......I guess that means they like it )

We'll have to plan a trip down there to check it out. My husband and I are approaching retirement age and are just starting to explore options.

We've always thought of ourselves as dyed-in-the-wool NY'ers but the thought of a more leisure-oriented, active lifestyle is very attractive to us both.

The place is neat but a little too "Stepford" for my tastes.

I have been great at planning my own entertainment for years so I guess that is why it does not appeal to us. However, for all the folks who live there, it certainly DOES appeal to all of them.

Give it a look, if you enjoy that type of living, it is wonderful.

Doug

As a former NY'r ,Florida is a little bit of heaven especially if you live near the beach. The Villages is ok but I agree with Doug too Stepford plus the storms in the summer are fierce.I like Solavita much better. There is a new retirement area called Heritage Isles in Viera that is quite nice and not as crowded.Viera is about 55 min southeast from Orlando.It's a fairly new planned community with it seems many NY'ers. A short drive to the beach.
Ida

Thanks Ida and Doug.

My husband and I have always assumed we'd stay in New York even after retirement and maybe we will but we just got back from a visit to some friends and family in Florida and we were surprised to find that we liked it so much.

The only times we were in Florida before were for two vacations in the Keys - lots of fun but definitely not a "retirement location" for us.

The couple we know who have a home in The Villages are very close family friends and their enthusiasm for the location is what has us thinking along those lines.

We won't really know how we feel about it until we actually get there and check it out. We got an info packet from The Villages and some of it is very hokey but certain things about it are very appealing.

We'll have to check out other options/locations - like the ones you mention, Ida.

I'm so confused (I guess "confused" isn't really the correct word) but my mind is going off in directions I never anticipated.

I'm 56, my husband is 59. We feel much younger. Other than saving $$ for retirement, we've never really given it much thought. We've been in our current home since 1979 and have done a lot of work on it to make it "just right."

But....

A recent trip to Florida got us thinking about relocating. Neither of us would miss NYC winters. Both of us would love the healthy, active, outdoor lifestyle we observed while we were down there.

And....big confession I don't drive. That's one of the reasons I've always liked being a "city girl." I know my way around and can get just about anywhere on either public transportation or cabs. I think that's one of the reasons The Villages sounds good to me.

Wherever we end up, we want to simplify our lives and have little upkeep involved with our residence.

We'd love easy access to a pool, a health club, a spa, jogging trails, a library, adult-ed courses, among other things.

Any other STers in a similar situation or with thoughts on this?

Maybe it's time for a new thread on this subject. I'd love to hear ideas.

Annie,

When I lived in NY I also didn't drive, I learned when we moved to Calif and I had no choice at all. Granted I was in my mid 20's . If you do move down ,driving is easy down here in Fla and you could easily get a license.There is so much to see and do and I think you would feel like a prisoner is you were confined to say The Villages only.You are only 56, I'm 56 too ,feel 25 and all the time on the go. You should see the age of our drivers down here...some are 90plus. We relocated 5 yrs ago and never looked back on those cold winters up north! Go for it!!!!!!!! Ida

You are so right about the driving, Ida. But it's been so long for me that I've kind of developed a phobia about it I know I am being ridiculous

By the way, my middle name is Ida (Anna Ida) - my godmother's name was Ida (pronounced the Italian way: Eeeda)

Annie,
Mine is Ida Catherine Anna ..that's whats on my birth certificate.My parents named me after my 2 grandmothers and Anna the name my dad really wanted.

I am telling you even you could drive down here. Mt friend who's from LI had a phobia about it and started driving in May and she is doing great. She is 61 !!!

Just reading through all of these messages on The Villages. We went there on a vacation and fell in love with the life style and met so many wonderful people. We actually bought a home there but have not moved down there yet due to some medical issues. Wondering if anyone has had any experience with doctors in that area? We are considering selling our home there and staying in NY ...unless we can find good doctors in that area (this is one thing we had not checked into at the time)
Any help on this would be appreciated
Thanks
Nettie

Nettie, I'm so sorry and wish I could help you.

Instead of selling your house down there (especially since you liked the lifestyle so much), couldn't you rent it out for the time being so that it will still be there for you?

Nettie,

There are good physicians in the Orlando area depending on the specialty you need. After leaving NJ ,I was a little worried about healthcare here in Fla but as a nurse working here now in the Oncology field (even if it's only PT) I now know there are are good docs.Orlando regional Med Ctr is a good hosp, and Tampa has Moffitt. Hope I can be of some help.

Ida

Nettie,

The closest hospital is in Leesburg and it part of the Florida Hospital Chain. They are quite good and the new facility just completed up there is state of the art. However, as for doctors, I don't know too much about them but you do have access to some major facilities here in Florida... The Mayo Clinic is in Jacksonville and it is one of the best.

There ARE good physicians here but you will have to rely on friends and others to find them. In Florida, because of the average age (which is mostly seniors) we do have a LOT of doctors in the state. I am sure if you ask the staff at the Villages, they can give you some places to start.

Doug

We have friends that have just moved to Baldwin Park, which is part of Orlando (I think?) and really enjoy it there. There are all kinds of homes, from apartments and businesses with homes above to palatial homes. It is a planned community and will have all the stores needed for a community. It was the first time we had seen something like that and we were astonished. If you like the Orlando area, you might be interested in investigating properties like that. Good luck. I know it is so hard making decisions about where to live.

Brahmama,

Baldwin Park is built on the old Naval Training Station in Orlando. It is less than 2 miles from my home and it is GROSSLY overpriced. The downtown retail area has yet to bloom after 2 years and those retailers are failing (except for Pizzeria Valdiano) due to lack of foot traffic. Most Baldwin Park-ers shop in Winter Park where I live as it is close to Winter Park which is the Orlando area's premier place. Granted, we are overpriced real estate as well but we do have great services. Why live close to Winter Park and pay the same money in Baldwin Park when you can live in Winter Park itself?

In getting back to the original question, we do have GREAT doctors in the Orlando area and I use a few of them. If you decide on the Orlando area for physicians, let me know as I can make some recommendations for you. We are patients of a great physician directly across the street from Winter Park Hospital (part of the Florida hospital group).

With "planned" communities like The Villages, Baldwin Park, Viera, Reunion, Celebration and the list goes on, they build the town, the homes and add the people. Some are better than others and, in my opinion, The Villages is the premier as it is 50 and older with NO children. The others mentioned are just communities but none offer what The Villages does for a retiree... activity and services.

You can private email or private message me if you want more info.

Doug

For people with grandkids, does the community frown on residents bringing down their kids and grandkids?

In other words : Are the residents 'anti-children'?

Before moving to Florida, you should check out the insurance situation. Some areas are getting very expensive for homeowners insurance. We think the taxes are pretty bad but it depends on where you are living now. I would suggest you rent for a season and then decide if you like it. A tourist area can be a nightmare during the season. We lived in Boca and starting around Thanksgiving through Easter, the streets were jammed and you could hardly get into a good restaurant. Of course, the weather was wonderful and the flowers are lovely but you have decide if that makes up for the congestion.

quote:

I would suggest you rent for a season and then decide if you like it.

That's excellent advice and probably what we'll end up doing for a bit to get our feet wet and see if this is really what we want. (Not specifically just The Villages, but a move to Florida.)

We'd be happy to say goodbye to snowy, icy, cold winters but we would miss certain things.

We love our little house that we've done so much to but we'd also miss the diversity of NY and the easy access to all sorts of ethnic (Italian, especially) foods and ingredients. Just up the block from me is a great little Italian gourmet grocery/deli where I can get just about any imported Italian food or ingredient.

Sometimes, I'll read on ST about folks purchasing this type of stuff in Italy and lugging it home and I think to myself: "why would they do that, it's so easy to find here." Then, I remind myself, it's easy for me to find here because of where I live.

Last May, we visited relatives in Italy who sent us home with packages of pasta, seasonings, ingredients, candies, coffee, etc. as gifts. Eddie and I were thrilled, not only with their thoughtfulness, but also because we were looking forward to trying these "special treats." Well, the next time we went to our little neighborhood Italian shop, most of these items were right there on their shelves. We know we're lucky to have this and would probably miss it a lot.

I wonder if we could afford to keep our home and just rent in FL for the winter months. We've got lots of thinking to do but fortunately this is at least 3 years off into the future. (these are my happy, confused and in need of a comforting pat on the head faces - all the moods I go through when I consider our options)

Annie,

Living here in the Winters here is wonderful and there is no snow, ice and other stuff BUT for right now, hurricane season, it can be pretty stressful and no matter what anyone tells you, there is NO safe area from a hurricane in this state. We are only 150 miles from coast to coast so even inland like Orlando where I live is still threatened.

On another note, we are getting more ethnic things, especially Italian, down here. There is a great supermarket in Boca, from Milano, and a new gourmet market is opening here in Winter Park in October. There are other places in the Sarasota area as well. However, it will never equal the availability of NYC!

Renting is affordable during the Winter months, just do some research. You can also get rentals for the summer months as well if you want to see what it is like in the "off season". Many love it in the Winter but hate it in the Summer when the heat is on, the thunderstorms come through every day and the National Hurricane Center is marked as a FAVORITE on Internet Explorer!

Doug

From the point of view of size and to avoid that whole 'plastic' feel of a created town, like The Villages, I'd suggest you take a look at Mt. Dora.
Mt. Dora is a wonderful little New England like town set down in the middle of FL.
Over the decades it has attracted a very high percentage of academic types, artists, etc from the Ivy League area of the north east.
There is a lot of cultural stimulation in the town, and it doesn't have that cookie cutter look.

Deborah, thanks for suggesting Mt. Dora. It sounds like a special town.

I'm glad ST'ers are still occasionally checking out this thread, I'm open to all suggestions and ideas...

I am in awe of folks like Barb & Art, Valerie & Bryan, MariaV, Jane & family, who have the courage to pick up and make the move to a foreign land (specifically, Italy, where I feel my heart is).

I can't even figure out a retirement maneuver.

Part of the problem is that Eddie and I really love our home; I just think that it's a great big world out there and we should explore all options (and I hate winter! ).

Thanks all, for your input