I will take a contrarian view. DW and I (who have had 17 different addresses in 37 years) have decided on an "active adult" community to finally retire. Smaller than The Villages and in another state but probably not all that dissimilar.
Several reasons, most of which will become more important over time: (1) we know few people in the town to which we'll be moving and, based on what everyone with whom we have spoken says, residents of the community are very welcoming; (2) the community is safe, attractive, clean and potentially "fun;" and (3) we don't have to stay there 365 days a year (and won't).
A friend (who thinks we're crazy for moving there) terms the place a "seniors' colony." In a sense, he's correct, but I'm not kidding myself. My hair's white, and my body surely doesn't look like it did even 20 years ago. Maybe this will be a good decision; if not, it's not irrevocable. I'm 60 and I want this to be the last move, a place where DW and I will feel "at home" as we age, not isolated as I see many older persons become as they slip into their late 70s and beyond.
Most of the folks who live there that I have met are like me -- retired or semi-retired professional, affluent but not rich, fairly well educated and seemingly well traveled. Most are far more conservative politically than I am, I suspect, but I'm sort of used to that after years of living in the Deep South.
For folks like me, something like The Villages may be perfect.
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