Col. Klink
Recycles dryer sheets
I think that is over at the Margaritaville >55 place
Indeed, I hear that the Margaritaville over by Daytona is smokin!
I signed up for a lifestyle visit to the villages in a few weeks...
- Thread starter rayinpenn
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Indeed, I hear that the Margaritaville over by Daytona is smokin!
Ok guys the visit is still a couple weeks away.. the nice lady who booked it for me pointed out April is less expensive and we have flexibility so .. when we go -I’ll post my experience. A couple of thoughts about personal preference.
1. I hate the cold I love noting more then sitting outside with a good book and the old pooch at my feet. For me it is a little slice of heaven. For the first time in my life I get cold..
2. I walk for exercise and I prefer that to indoor stuff.
3. I am going just to see the villages to see for myself and I recognize there are other communities and options.. ill look into them too. We are in no rush
Everyone has a different idea on what they like and don’t like. I think Im pretty easy to please and have always found a way to make the most of every situation. I do however recognize that needs and wants change I don’t need to be near work anymore.
The options are endless and like HadeNuff suggested renting first seems like a prudent way to test the water...
Yesterday we had a relatively warm sunny day (well 40s anyway, no wind). I sat in the sun on the front steps with the pooch and soaked up some sun. Cabin fever therapy...
My shallots and leeks are starting to pop up (maybe some gardening with help with my cabin fever). I planted some early girl tomatoes to go into the green house in April.
1. I hate the cold I love noting more then sitting outside with a good book and the old pooch at my feet. For me it is a little slice of heaven. For the first time in my life I get cold..
2. I walk for exercise and I prefer that to indoor stuff.
3. I am going just to see the villages to see for myself and I recognize there are other communities and options.. ill look into them too. We are in no rush
Everyone has a different idea on what they like and don’t like. I think Im pretty easy to please and have always found a way to make the most of every situation. I do however recognize that needs and wants change I don’t need to be near work anymore.
The options are endless and like HadeNuff suggested renting first seems like a prudent way to test the water...
Yesterday we had a relatively warm sunny day (well 40s anyway, no wind). I sat in the sun on the front steps with the pooch and soaked up some sun. Cabin fever therapy...
My shallots and leeks are starting to pop up (maybe some gardening with help with my cabin fever). I planted some early girl tomatoes to go into the green house in April.
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Well, my first ever "snowbird" winter is over. I have braved, and survived, the snowbird traffic back to my lakeside home in the Finger Lakes in NY State.
Ever since I first learned of The Villages when my friends bought a home there about 12 years ago, there has been a part of me that has been tempted. After spending 3 months there I can say I really liked wintering there, and in fact will be spending 4 months there next winter. Also, DW who was less than enthusiastic about the whole deal really enjoyed it.
I can also say that I'm less enthusiastic about buying a place there than I ever have been.
There are definite signs of "growing pains" in my estimation. Unless they hurry up and build some more golf courses, and pickleball courts, and some of the other shared amenities of which they brag, the congestion at those amenities, and along the roads and cart paths to and from those amenities, will choke the fun out of the experience.
I can easily envision the experience developing into one I might be happy to walk away from at a certain point in time, either because I'm getting too old to enjoy the shared amenities, or because they are just too crowded for my taste, and might also be happy to not be invested in a home there when I decide I've had enough.
Now I have to get used to cool weather again. April in Western NY is not particularly warm.
Ever since I first learned of The Villages when my friends bought a home there about 12 years ago, there has been a part of me that has been tempted. After spending 3 months there I can say I really liked wintering there, and in fact will be spending 4 months there next winter. Also, DW who was less than enthusiastic about the whole deal really enjoyed it.
I can also say that I'm less enthusiastic about buying a place there than I ever have been.
There are definite signs of "growing pains" in my estimation. Unless they hurry up and build some more golf courses, and pickleball courts, and some of the other shared amenities of which they brag, the congestion at those amenities, and along the roads and cart paths to and from those amenities, will choke the fun out of the experience.
I can easily envision the experience developing into one I might be happy to walk away from at a certain point in time, either because I'm getting too old to enjoy the shared amenities, or because they are just too crowded for my taste, and might also be happy to not be invested in a home there when I decide I've had enough.
Now I have to get used to cool weather again. April in Western NY is not particularly warm.
HadEnuff
Thanks for sharing a longer term view of the villages - very helpful. I’ll follow up on your concerns as they seem pretty relevant to me. I do not want to be fighting the crowds ...
My 4 night ‘lifestyle visit’ to the villages is a few days away. Even if we loved it - I’m certain we would rent for a season or 2 before considering buying. [Last night we were being treated to dinner and it took my wife and SIL 10 minutes to choose what to drink and another 10 for an entree.] . The Mrs and her sister have fair complexions and are not big sun people but. neither are they 2 ft of fresh snow people.
The good thing about retirement is there’s no need to rush...right?
We have two sets of SILs in Sarasota where we are now and my sister is 1 hour and a bit away. There’s no doubt my wife’ sisters want us here - they are pointing out what they consider to be negatives: Warmer then Sarasota, the hail in the forecast the other day, “is it as breezy there?” Kind of funny actually.
Sarasota has a building boom underway new developments and $500K villa’s are growing like oranges in the summer sun. They are beautiful - high ceilings, crown moldings, stone countertops, giant sliders out to pool with a incredible stonework all caged in to keep the creatures and bugs out. Yet a poisonous snake did manage to get in the SIL’s pool.
Lots to see and ponder on...
Thanks for sharing a longer term view of the villages - very helpful. I’ll follow up on your concerns as they seem pretty relevant to me. I do not want to be fighting the crowds ...
My 4 night ‘lifestyle visit’ to the villages is a few days away. Even if we loved it - I’m certain we would rent for a season or 2 before considering buying. [Last night we were being treated to dinner and it took my wife and SIL 10 minutes to choose what to drink and another 10 for an entree.] . The Mrs and her sister have fair complexions and are not big sun people but. neither are they 2 ft of fresh snow people.
The good thing about retirement is there’s no need to rush...right?
We have two sets of SILs in Sarasota where we are now and my sister is 1 hour and a bit away. There’s no doubt my wife’ sisters want us here - they are pointing out what they consider to be negatives: Warmer then Sarasota, the hail in the forecast the other day, “is it as breezy there?” Kind of funny actually.
Sarasota has a building boom underway new developments and $500K villa’s are growing like oranges in the summer sun. They are beautiful - high ceilings, crown moldings, stone countertops, giant sliders out to pool with a incredible stonework all caged in to keep the creatures and bugs out. Yet a poisonous snake did manage to get in the SIL’s pool.
Lots to see and ponder on...
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You nailed it! Great place to visit during winter, not so great investment. As I said, TV doesn't build out the 'ammenities' of the newest developed "village" until surrounding residential lots are X% sold out. Plus, you are essentially buying into a family run co-op, sure it doesn't start with a T but the interest is always in profits for the developers. Never more so evident than in TV. With that said, they can get things done quick as there isn't as much red tape as the public sector, but customizations are tough during build-out and the regs are run by a company with more experience than any association in the country. The family owns damn near 1/3 of FL with plans to own all of central FL some day. Let the trust money roll!
I like TV and will be visiting next year.Which "village" did you stay in, and which one was your favorite to visit? Everyone seems to like Spanish Springs.
We stayed in the "Village of Sabal Chase" right off of Canal St (convenient but noisy with traffic all day).. Our close friends are in Largo, which is the next "village" south. We enjoyed from that point north, up to Sumter Square. Another friend lives north of 466, in "Rio Ponderosa", where the houses are smaller, built in the mid 1990s I think. IMO the neighborhoods are prettier there with more mature trees and landscaping. Traffic is not as well planned once you get on the main roads. We enjoyed the Spanish Springs Square in the daytime but never made it there for the night games.
As far as I'm concerned everything south of 466A is rather, well...ugly...like they scraped the earth bare when they built it, and just put up tracks of housing. Not to my taste. The houses are generally bigger, newer, probably better appointed, but the scenery is stark IMO.
LRDave
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Teacher Terry
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We looked into renting for a few months but no one will take small dogs.
skipro33
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Snakes can be venomous. Mushrooms can be poisonous.
If you eat the snake, it can be poisonous.
bmcgonig
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What's the price range to rent at the Villages?
Teacher Terry
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If I am remembering correctly it was around 2500.
it varies considerably with time of year, which area, and how big of a place you want. Variables also include golf course views or pools, and whether or not it comes with a golf cart.
If you are looking January-March, I'd say 2500-5000 (or more) per month. One may or may not be able to negotiate a tad if one is renting all three months. I went into it thinking that, and what I found was that if you weren't willing to rent 3 months, it was harder to find a place at all, as many owners want one renter for three months.
Much depends upon how particular you are about which area you want, and whether you want to lock something up ahead of time, or are willing to wait and hope to scoop something up last minute. There is much turnover of properties through the course of the year, and without a doubt, someone will buy in October and be looking for a renter for the upcoming winter. I am sure you can find a deal if you are willing to wait.
I tend to pay closer to top dollar because I like these sorts of things locked up early so I don't have to be making arrangements at the last minute.
Full Day One
In case you didn’t know ‘The Villages’ (TV) is in Lady Lake Florida, well I should say part of it appears to be. I’ll talk more about that it later. We drove up yesterday and as we got close we watched the neighborhood we passed carefully. Please do not be offended but the litmus paper on neighborhoods for me is Pawn shops per mile driven. Too many means tuff times - difficult living. We saw a few.
But of course you are behind gates and appear quite safe.
Town Squares are a big deal in TVs, there are three. At this point I’ve only seen Brownwood but Ive read they are surrounded by restaurants and shops some high end.
Brownwood Paddock Square (the newest- cowboy/of west themed)
Lake Sumter Landing Market Square
Spanish Springs (the oldest)
We were greeted at the Brownwood Sales office by Judy who checked us in, took us to our ‘Bungalow’, explained how it all worked and reacquainted me with gold chart driving. They supply you with one a 2 seater. First thing i did was rent another so the gals could shop and I could explore. Judy went on to say “we must visit Lake Sumter Landing” a 15 mile 30 minute golf cart ride away. Sounds like fun -Oh they spend a lot of time teaching you about where the golf carts can go (NOT in the traffic circle). There are tunnels to get around them.
Random Observations to Date
1. The Publix supermarket is a 5 minute golf cart way.
2. The bungalow is a beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bath home equipped with the basics: coffee maker, toaster, cutlery etc.,
3. The buildings are very close together.
4. The sidewalks are 20 inches wide.
5. Our sales representative is taking us for a drive.. very low pressure sales.
6. Beautifully landscaped, flowers everywhere.. golf tee grass not the normal Florida stuff.
7. Very little grass for the old pooch
In case you didn’t know ‘The Villages’ (TV) is in Lady Lake Florida, well I should say part of it appears to be. I’ll talk more about that it later. We drove up yesterday and as we got close we watched the neighborhood we passed carefully. Please do not be offended but the litmus paper on neighborhoods for me is Pawn shops per mile driven. Too many means tuff times - difficult living. We saw a few.
But of course you are behind gates and appear quite safe.
Town Squares are a big deal in TVs, there are three. At this point I’ve only seen Brownwood but Ive read they are surrounded by restaurants and shops some high end.
Brownwood Paddock Square (the newest- cowboy/of west themed)
Lake Sumter Landing Market Square
Spanish Springs (the oldest)
We were greeted at the Brownwood Sales office by Judy who checked us in, took us to our ‘Bungalow’, explained how it all worked and reacquainted me with gold chart driving. They supply you with one a 2 seater. First thing i did was rent another so the gals could shop and I could explore. Judy went on to say “we must visit Lake Sumter Landing” a 15 mile 30 minute golf cart ride away. Sounds like fun -Oh they spend a lot of time teaching you about where the golf carts can go (NOT in the traffic circle). There are tunnels to get around them.
Random Observations to Date
1. The Publix supermarket is a 5 minute golf cart way.
2. The bungalow is a beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bath home equipped with the basics: coffee maker, toaster, cutlery etc.,
3. The buildings are very close together.
4. The sidewalks are 20 inches wide.
5. Our sales representative is taking us for a drive.. very low pressure sales.
6. Beautifully landscaped, flowers everywhere.. golf tee grass not the normal Florida stuff.
7. Very little grass for the old pooch
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There’s already an open thread on the Villages. To avoid confusion they were merged.
freedomatlast
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Too claustrophobic for me. Identical houses on top of each other, and the view of nothing but plastic fence out the back door.
Amethyst
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I discern two themes of such places:
1) Very little homeowner maintenance is required, which can be a good thing.
2) Opportunities to be "social" are emphasized. If you are kept busy socializing, you may not care so much that you are hemmed in by other dwellings that look just like yours.
1) Very little homeowner maintenance is required, which can be a good thing.
2) Opportunities to be "social" are emphasized. If you are kept busy socializing, you may not care so much that you are hemmed in by other dwellings that look just like yours.
Amethyst
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That is actually pretty typical for Florida, especially near the coasts. You can still get homes on acreage out in the sticks, though.
Teacher Terry
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Many of the newer houses here are this close together. That’s a small yard but probably too hot to sit outside most of the year. We have 2 patios which we enjoy. One right by the house for dining and one at the back of the yard with a fire pit set. We also have enough yard to play ball when we had our big dog. The little ones enjoy zooming around the yard.
Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
Amethyst
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