Solivita or The Villages near Orlando

[MovingtotheCove]

Does anyone have any input about these 2 locations near Orlando. We have some friends looking at them and they seem to get mixed reviews about the HOA, safety, market values, etc. Any input on either location is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ProspectiveBum]

I've never heard of Solivita, but there have been a few threads about The Villages in the past:

[URL]http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f26/almost-55-native-floridian-in-the-villages-fl-37131.html[/URL]

[URL]http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/the-villages-in-florida-33249.html[/URL]

[URL]http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/my-visit-to-the-villages-in-florida-36054.html[/URL]

[URL]http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/the-villages-23435.html[/URL]

Searching on "The Villages" will yield many more than the sampling above...

 

[Thumper]

The Villages

I have lived about an hour south of the villages my entire life. I have driven through occasionally over the years and seen its growth. Although I cannot tell you what it's like to live there, I can tell you what is perceived from the nearby outside world.

The Villages began as a retirement community. It has grown into an actual town. The same thing happened (albeit over a longer period of time) to Deltona, which is now the largest city in Volusia County, even bigger than it's neighbor, the world famous Daytona Beach.

So far, the villages seems to have done a better job of remaining a retirement destination. Deltona morphed into "any other town" as the older folks passed on and the younger people grabbed up the inexpensive realestate that was within commuting distance to Orlando and its periphery.

What is reported locally about the villages is that, it is a managed community, but growing out of managability. There are things that a retirement community can do, but an actual governmental entitity (a town) cannot. There is a defined hierarchy within the community, kind of like the worlds biggest condo association. You're either in the loop or your not. And, finally, it is not a quiet place where seniors wander around in golf carts and chat on the side of the road. Although people still do that, they might not hear the birds singing because the noises that an actual town creates is to loud.

I almost forgot, there have also been issues over the years about just what you do and don't get (based both on what you pay for and your status within the community) for your money. Free, or just available golf, maybe at 3pm on Wednesday afternoon, but certainly not at 8am on Saturday. Those slots are all filled with the in crowd.

Once again, I've never lived there so I am only passing along what has been reported within news stories and local articles over the years. It might be a perfect fit for you, or it may not be. Just don't perceive it as a small, quiet little retirement village - it ceased being that a long time ago.

Good luck...

 

[rpow53]

The villages

There are a lot of other adult only comunities around that area. if you are interested check out retirement in central florida. yes the villages are a very busy place.if you like lots of people and keeping busy that would be your place. I live 15 miles down the road and go there once in a while. too busy for me.

 

[Sparky]

Here's is a musical tribute to the Villages from our new vice president:

YouTube - The Drunk: Joe Biden drunk singing gaffe Obama vice president

 

[kowski]

An e-mail I received about the Villages

Subject: FW: VILLAGES OF LADY LAKE, FL - NEW YORK POST ARTICLE

​

RETIRE TO THE BEDROOM
SEX FEST AT OLD-TIMERS' HOTTEST SPOT

By STEFANIE COHEN

Click image to enlarge.



January 25, 2009
LADY LAKE, Fla. - It's 11 p.m. at the Bourbon Street Bar, and Roselyn's gyrating her hips to the blues band, Sue's sipping a cocktail and flirting with her new boyfriend, and Alan is scanning the crowd for cute girls.
"See those two?" a buxom blonde asks, pointing to an elegant couple at the bar. "They were caught having sex in their golf cart a few weeks ago. It happens a lot!"
Welcome to ground zero for geriatrics who are seriously getting it on.
It's a Thursday night at one of a half-dozen hot spots at the 20,000-acre Central Florida complex called The Villages, the largest gated retirement community in America - and one of the most popular destinations for New Yorkers in their golden years - where the female-to-male ratio runs 10 to 1.
It's a widower's paradise, and the word on the street is that there's a big black market for Viagra.
Though The Villages - which spans three counties with 40,000 homes and more than 70,000 residents - boasts 34 golf courses, nine country clubs, two downtown squares and a slew of restaurants and bars, getting lucky is one of the residents' primary pastimes.
The huge complex began growing rapidly in the mid-1990s, and reported cases of gonorrhea rocketed from 152 to 245, of syphilis rose from 17 to 33, and of chlamydia from 52 to 115 among those 55 and older in Florida from 1995 to 2005.
The state's sexually transmitted disease rate among those over 65 is one of the fastest growing in the country, one report claims.
In 2006, a local gynecologist reported that she treated more cases of herpes and human papillomavirus at The Villages than she did when she worked in Miami.
"I get offers for sex all the time," brags Dave, 70, who, like others who spoke about their sexually active set, asked that his real name not be used, "especially by women in their 70s. They say, 'Are you busy tonight? I'll show you a good time.' "
One overly charming lady-killer known as "Mr. Midnight" boasted of one of his conquests last year: "Absolutely beautiful. I've had her a few times. She comes over, takes a shower, jumps in bed, and then gets dressed and leaves. She's simply the best."
His story was told by Andrew Blechman, author of "Leisureville," about communities like The Villages.
"There is lots of romance around here," said Jean, a 63-year-old retired teacher. "But most of the men want a one-night meaningful relationship."
Her friend Louise agrees.
"A lot of the men down here are cheaper than heck," she says, "and a lot of the women are extremely brazen. Some girls will go into the parking lot with a man and come back a half-hour later like nothing happened!"
"We've had some of those complaints," said a laughing Lt. Laurie Davis of the Lady Lake Police Department, ticking off other offenses, like drunken driving in golf carts, illegal drug use, and bar fights.
"Whatever you know about 20-year-olds, it's the same with seniors," said Roselyn Shelley, 68, a divorced former dancer.
Sue Rice, a blonde who will only admit to being over 60 but who looks to be about 80 and dances like she's 14, has hooked up with Larry Tucker, an ex-banker about a decade her junior.
Tucker sports a gold charm around his neck that reads, "Bankers do it with interest."
"Feel this," Rice says, bouncing up from her bar stool and pinching her slim waist. "My body is the same as it was in high school! He can't keep up with me!"
According to Alan, a swarthy 62-year-old, there's a thriving black market for little blue Viagra pills.
"I did it once," he said. "I paid 12 bucks for a single pill."
Local cops just try to keep up.
"You see two 70-year-olds with canes fighting over a woman and you think, 'Oh, jeez,' " Lt. Davis said.