39. Often the best design services from nurseries and contractors also come with the highest price tags for a complete package. I live in Florida, about 230 miles southeast of the Villages and a million miles away in mind-set. It will require a filtered supply, but this is an easy conversion, especially if you combine it with a landscaping project. A program was established to pick up recyclables once per week. The choice between new and existing will probably become clearer as you work your way through the 50 Things topics in more detail. Re The Nihilism of the Golden Years, by Michelle Cottle (Sunday Review, March 6): Ms. Cottle, your opinion piece about the Villages is one-sided and biased. Ron DeSantis launched a tour to promote his newly published book with a series of speeches around the state on Feb. 28a tour that lets him campaign for a . Those people that are social, friendly, courteous, respectful, outgoing, and positive will think theyve arrived in heaven when they move to The Villages. I never call anyone names. Our site uses cookies. Plenty of things to do. The pros of living in The Villages include: The cons of living in The Villages include: Many people have differing opinions about the Villages after visiting, lived the experience, or heard rumors, resulting in mixed reviews. Dont retire focus on a 1st career extension or pursue a 2nd career live where you must Move to a mid-sized university town Sell everything; rent when/where you want; travel; be a free spirit Stay where you are in the same home, staying connected to the community; enhance with volunteerism if appropriate If medical needs dictate retire close to a world-class hospital Retire to Costa Rica, a Caribbean island, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Australia, etc Buy a downsize home in your current community in a non-age-targeted neighborhood Move close to other friends that have retired and adopt their lifestyle Live most or all of the year on a cruise ship set up for retirees Move to an age-targeted (or age restricted) community in your current local Move to a secluded, quiet location in the mountains, on a lake, etc Retire on a boat and sail the world or cruise the rivers and waterways Move close to one or more kids pick whatever housing is available and convenient Move to a quaint small town close to a resort, back in the area where you were born, etc Maintain some sort of small home base and spend most of the time traveling the world Move to an age-targeted or age-restricted community within a short drive from family Live on the beach, or close to one Create a retirement scenario focused heavily on your hobby passion (cars, painting, boating, golf, etc) Move to an upscale traditional country club development Buy a small farm, orchard, winery, bed-and-breakfast, etc. Hybrid formula based on seasonal/snowbird migration patterns Live in the big city Sell the house/buy a RV/move with the seasons Move to a sunbelt active-adult/age-restricted community, Terminology and phrases sometimes used to describe The Villages (both positive and negative connotations): Age Restricted (over 55 restricted rather than simply age targeted) Master Planned Active Adult Community Deed Restricted Over 55 Retirement Community Disney for Adults Fantasyland Gateway to Disneyworld Adult Playground Living in a bubble on the reservation in the compound on campus Clustered CDDs not a town/city/municipality Build a hometown where your dreams come true Benevolent Dictatorship (Developer Dominant) Company Town (Developer/Friends/Family ownership and control) Golf Cart Community Buy the lifestyle, not the house Live like a millionaire on a ________ (fill in tight budget, pension, fixed income, limited resources, social security check, etc) Dont necessarily like Florida but love The Villages Gated Community (gates in The Villages are primarily for traffic control, not security) Leisureville (note book by this name) The Stepford Wives, Pleasantville, The Truman Show (movies) Retirement Utopia Living like being on permanent vacation The fastest growing and largest community of its type in the world. The only exceptions are the part-time homeowners that are seasonal residents where their personalization satisfaction quotient has been satisfied at their permanent home (or 2nd home) elsewhere. Get ideas first; dont jump in with one approach or the other without thinking it through. Zillow has 395 homes for sale in The Villages FL. Home arrangement on the lot and setbacks. Lived here 5 years. Lt from 2 differt police departments: Kansas& New Mexico. A Tampa Bay Times inquiry on the 38,000-member Facebook group, "The Villages Word of Mouth," was revealing. Others may look at it like an infringement on their personal space. We are currently in transition relative to Developer organizational leadership and profit generation models. The median home price for listings in the Villages in 2021 is $364,200 according to Realtor.com, well above the national average. Usually, there are three routes: buy a new home, build from scratch, or buy a resale through the developer. If you actually get your medium to larger projects completed in 60 to 90 days consider yourself to be very lucky. Annual celebrations include Yoga, Mardi Gras, and the 4th of July. Gutters and downspouts are popular and often considered necessary on the homes where basements are prevalent further north. In Florida, there are about 1,600 special districts with approximately 600 classified as CDDs. Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: featured. The CDD form of government has a long term viewpoint, good annual budgeting processes, and a reasonable way for property owners to be involved. THE VILLAGES, Fla. (WCJB) - Governor Ron DeSantis may have taken the first step toward running for the White House Tuesday night in North Central Florida. Also I should mention the well stock at the bars is a horrible watered down generic so disgusting that drinking straight scotch sounds very appealing. Being able to choose where you live is part of freedom, not socialism. But, if you plan to travel from one end of The Villages to the other with golf course and night driving included, most electric carts may struggle to make the grade, especially as the batteries age. There are generally no substantial attachment points provided by the manufacturers (except for LSVs). The Villages is America's premier Active Adult Retirement Community located in sunny central Florida. It would be worthwhile to get out a piece of paper and create a list sorted into must-have and nice-to-have columns. Social clubs present the opportunity for residents with like-minded interests to gather and participate in group activities. After six years homeowner representatives are elected to CDD boards. Talk to lots of folks and do a little research. One of the ways that this is being done is to publish criticisms of whole communities like the Villages. The Villages property tax rate is 0.930% so a $370,000 home will have about $3,441 in property taxes per year. you may form several opinions. Seven out of none holes have water hazards, making this course extremely tough. The lanes specifically funnel the golf cart traffic out into the main lane of the street with the licensed vehicular traffic ahead of intersections. If they have been consciously looking elsewhere they may be overcome by the feeling that theyve arrived and there is no need to keep looking. Remember, youre not a kid anymore. Some dont even operate out of a pickup truck but out of the trunk of an old beater car. If you decide to purchase close to The Polo field dont forget the impact of the PA system sound carry. You may find that you could actually earn more on your savings by substituting some low yielding investment money for the higher interest bond loan principle. There are no guarantees anything will change, especially if there are past precedence decisions or Developer policies in play. want to go to happy hour? One possible explanation is that they simply didnt know The Villages existed when they made their initial retirement location decision. Please dont take offense; a few might strike a controversial or negative nerve; this is intentional as a way to firm up your retirement choice commitment. Floridas weather may also be a deciding factor if someone wants to live in The Villages, as it can be unbearably hot and humid. Be courteous, respectful, and drive safely, whether youre in the car or the cart. "The Villages is a place that is so honed towards perfection that it cannot uphold that perfection, it's just not possible," Valerie Blankenbyl told news.com.au.. She spent time living in the community shooting her documentary The Bubble, which is screened this week at Sydney Antenna film festival.. And she likens it to the Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show, about a man trapped in a . Be careful of construction quality with your choices, all plantation shutters and/or blinds are not created equal. Haven't regretted it yet. Maybe it is because The Villages has become so large that some people are simply overwhelmed. Dont just assume that your landscape maintenance contractor will be able to keep your yard looking great based on a bad edging approach. In particular, the Villages are infamous for their golf courses and golf carts, where residents enjoy state-of-the-art facilities. You can get hurt fairly easily if youre not careful. Most contractors never seem to complete a project when they say they will. Or, with the growth of electronic billing and recordkeeping you may find that you need very little file space after all. After living in the 55+ retirement . What I hate most is the weather. We are very pumped about coming down to learn of all the possible home choices. Often people think they can live with the homes as-delivered, but ultimately they have to add a wood trim look that is more in keeping with what theyre used to. Their justification is most Villagers are vaccinated and if you want to wear a mask go for it but masks are not mandated. Just arrange and use your room spaces in ways that fit your new habits and lifestyle, not necessarily based on what you thought was necessary before. They target blue collar 9-5 factory types in NE U.S. and Midwest. It was originally written by The Villages resident Parker Sykes in 2011, updated by him in 2013, and updated/edited by me various times since then. 15. After creating your own personalized list of options youll have to apply your own decision-making criteria and weighting factors to narrow down the choices. And, of course in the social networking/texting/Skype world we live in today, family and friends are already in what seems like continuous daily communication with each other anyway. Some would chose to make choices that could cut back on those attractive qualities of The Villages we all enjoy. One thing you cant absolutely be sure of is what type of neighbor youll have, not just now, but when/if the neighbors home changes hands over time. This one is another tough one. If it works out you may have one of the most attractive streets in The Villages. Det. Of course if your home is too close to a major thoroughfare you may be substituting convenience for privacy, noise and distractions. Florida not only has bugs but insects too that may put your home at risk, such as termites. This form is submitted to the ARC and an approval/denial comes back, most often with minor suggestions for changes. However, there are more people that fail to properly plan for the personalization and customization phase that seems to routinely follow the initial home purchase honeymoon period. It plays over 6,800 yards and has 18-holes. This may be worth considering even though you initially may feel that part of the reason to move to Florida is to enjoy the outdoors. Which they r all on and enjoying while they golf! Remember, they act as sellers agents, not buyers agents. Since they have 15 digit VIN numbers just like automobiles the insurance companies are generally unable to provide lower cost insurance options. People moving to The Villages must accept that the Developer has been very successful, and has made substantial profits through a variety of mechanisms. Its important to create a list of maybe three to six alternatives. When the IRS bond issue is resolved south of 466 we will have this approach Villages-wide. Make sure that before you buy your decision is well thought out. You might even want to perform some of the work yourself by planting certain plants and shrubs later. Those of you wanting to do a thorough job of recycling need to ask questions, study the charts, and try to be diligent in sorting. The space requirements and cost are more manageable, and for some the usefulness is excellent, especially for those that benefit from the therapeutic effects. The Developer has been inundated with these over the years and tends to often discount the message. Costs can be $200 to $500, maybe more, depending on an individual budget for dining out. Villages management is not responsible for community supervision and have no authority to mandate masking. They are focused on consistent appearances and/or environmentally responsible practices. A Bank. Most of the people I know got their shots in February and March when they were first available around the country. Maybe the Phase I draw of the family and friends hampered their evaluation of Phase II/Phase III alternatives? Get this type of knowledge from others who used this contractor and who actually provided lots of customer oversight. But, I would argue that most 55+ communities in Florida have a safety profile similar to that of The Villages, and many of them, including On Top of the World might even be safer to live in because they have actual security . If you could separate these two things you might come out ahead. Click Here. favorite_border 4. I may have to locate a church out of the village for a multi-generational atmosphere. The reason that The Villages has such a sparkling display of lifestyle is because its actually socialist/communist existence. One unique approach is to use an in-ground vault and an above-ground spa dropped down below grade into the vault. These re-assessments will occur in conjunction with the building permit process. It holds more than 100,000 residents in an area bigger than Manhattan. All in all, you need to drive very, very defensively when living in The Villages. Around 5 to 9 pm every day, there are events and performances, free of charge, with nightly entertainment at each of the three Town Squares. Thanks for the update. I completely agree with Frank. 09:08 AM. For example some homeowners prefer that their yard be cut with a walk behind mower. While some retirees find they would like to be close to their family or lifelong friends in the event of failing health, they may also recognize that an adequate health care infrastructure needs to be close to their Phase III residence, if possible. This size and scale wasn't accomplished by accident. They had a house built at The Villages, and shared that house with both of their mothers for many years. We have lived in Del Webbs original retirement community for 3 fantastic years now. Most seat belt installations will perform some function based on minor accidents, but more substantial mounting systems will be better able to handle more significant accidents and larger frame individuals. What a concept. A favorite golf legend, Chi Chi Rodriguez, this 27-hole course has bunkers on every hole, with water on fourteen holes. A question to ask yourself is whether you are looking for a large number of acquaintances or a few close friends? What are other sources of noise? Beauty and health amenities are available, and popular rating spots such as Five Guys and Dunkin Donuts. This is obviously open to debate and there is no single answer. Be especially aware of the major stretch options that are offered with some home plan and lot combinations. Share. Lastly, the Villages provides golf instruction at its golf academy, with both group and private lessons. I bet you never considered music to be a detractor? Clarifying reason I left The Villages. Brownwood Paddock Square features Tommy Bahama, with other miscellaneous services such as financial groups, banks, and insurance. You shouldnt trust someone who gives you a one sentence bid proposal, runs their jobs without supervision-planning-coordination resources, and acts defensively when asked questions about the bid scope, progress, or work quality. Im not sure why The Villages continues to have the irrigation contractors install the raised pipe spray heads in the shrub areas around your house. Residents of The Villages Support One Political Party. While only about 4% of people living in The Villages rent, there are a few homes and apartments available for lease. You might find The Villages a little overpowering after living in the quiet "boonies". Most people that have done the minimum say using acrylic windows only without HVAC provisions get some increased use of the space, but not necessarily energy efficient full use. Threatening letters sent through the mail to a man and his family (a felony). The neighborhood social scene should also be considered when buying a home. Compare The Villages crime data to other cities, states, and neighborhoods in the U.S. on NeighborhoodScout. Some people are never at home; they eat out most meals and spend their time on the golf course, the softball field, the pickelball court, or at social/club engagements. Get some professional advice first and/or get ideas from lots of your neighbors. I didnt think this up I read it somewhere. 36. Then why plant these? If they do they will have a much more rewarding experience living here. Before we get into the 50 Things you should think about before/after buying a home in The Villages, lets briefly explore your retirement location decision-making process. Each golf course is specially designed, with beautiful terrain, and presents challenges to golfers of all levels. There have been rumors of nefarious activity at The Villages, increasing the STD rate in the community. 10. Those that are so inclined can use a spreadsheet and actually use a weighted number decision-making approach. The houses are also some of the worst construction I have ever seen.. Be aware that home specs and option packages continue to change in response to buyers needs, and The Villages policies. On some large projects progress payments may make sense. If you actively work this approach it is suggested that you work on a single, double, or even third tier of pricing, quality, and service. 10,000 boomers retire every day and some move to FL. Stash your filing cabinet in a closet for your paper records. When people retired to diverse locations with lots of younger people they may have initially felt it would help keep them feeling (and acting) young but what some realized is that many of the younger people had kids to raise and friends their own age that dominated their time. The short answer is yes but you are taking a risk. Threatening hand gestures, not just the one finger salute. There is even a chance internal surges are generated when large appliance motors are switched on and off inside of your home. Maybe store collector cars off-site, reduce your dependence on multiple vehicles, or work hard on your home choice/lot selection to maximize your garage space (difficult, but sometimes doable). Note that many seat belt installations are not well engineered. You want to move in quickly and your windows need to be covered for privacy. Other products are lower value, and in some cases shouldnt really even be included in the recyclables. Use common sense. In Part Two of their three part Anniversary Blog, Jerry and Linda discuss the negative aspects of The Villages, Florida. There is also a Community Improvement Council (CIC). If you happen to have a birdcage you may assume that you can put the grill inside not a good idea. Home orientation: face north, south, east, or west? 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