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The Villages
Posted on 4/28/25 at 2:49 pm
Posted on 4/28/25 at 2:49 pm
I just posted on ot board but thought here would be more appropriate. My wife and I just returned from a week long vacation rental in the Villages. It is a 55+ retirement community ( I use the term loosely as residents number 150,000) in central Florida.
Every vacation I've ever been on I was ready by the end to get home. This one? I didn't want to come home. Seven days of pickleball (golf if you prefer), swimming, hot tub, golf cart riding over cart only paths, evening live music and dancing, everything you can think of is available.
The golf cart paths were awesome. Lined with palm trees, magnolias, live oaks, flowers and beautiful homes and golf courses. There were 3 golf cart only overpasses, including one which crossed the Florida Turnpike.
Everything was in reach by a golf cart. Amazing infrastructure kept you mostly out of car traffic. I never needed my car till we left.
Friendly neighborhood, very quiet, friendly staff at restaurants and shops. I had one shop with 2 door men opening the doors as I entered and as I departed. The live bands were great with 4 locations each night to choose from. My wife and I are now making plans to relocate to The Villages.
Every vacation I've ever been on I was ready by the end to get home. This one? I didn't want to come home. Seven days of pickleball (golf if you prefer), swimming, hot tub, golf cart riding over cart only paths, evening live music and dancing, everything you can think of is available.
The golf cart paths were awesome. Lined with palm trees, magnolias, live oaks, flowers and beautiful homes and golf courses. There were 3 golf cart only overpasses, including one which crossed the Florida Turnpike.
Everything was in reach by a golf cart. Amazing infrastructure kept you mostly out of car traffic. I never needed my car till we left.
Friendly neighborhood, very quiet, friendly staff at restaurants and shops. I had one shop with 2 door men opening the doors as I entered and as I departed. The live bands were great with 4 locations each night to choose from. My wife and I are now making plans to relocate to The Villages.
5
Posted on 4/28/25 at 2:55 pm to oldtrucker
How many STD's did you pick up?
Posted on 4/28/25 at 3:07 pm to oldtrucker
I am close to retirement and am interested in hearing more about this. Is it pricey?
Posted on 4/28/25 at 4:52 pm to chryso
Homes start around 300 thousand and up to a million. Small homes, tiny yards. Amenity fees run around $175 a month. They get you in the community pools and recreation centers. I heard taxes were less if you stayed north of Rte 44, different counties.
Also heard restaurants will jack up their prices during snow bird or winter season. Many people there are not full time residents but rather live up north during the summer. Many were saying their goodbyes while I was there. It seems that after Easter is when Many head north and return in October.
There are websites that itemize costs pretty accurately. They do offer lifestyle visits where you can experience it for a week.
Also heard restaurants will jack up their prices during snow bird or winter season. Many people there are not full time residents but rather live up north during the summer. Many were saying their goodbyes while I was there. It seems that after Easter is when Many head north and return in October.
There are websites that itemize costs pretty accurately. They do offer lifestyle visits where you can experience it for a week.
This post was edited on 4/28/25 at 4:55 pm
Posted on 4/28/25 at 7:18 pm to chryso
Posted on 4/29/25 at 10:17 am to oldtrucker
Here is a stat that should blow you away - - - within the Villages are FIFTY separate golf courses
Posted on 5/1/25 at 12:30 pm to oldtrucker
The Villages has a lot of positives going for it. Not to be a negative Nellie, but there are negatives that should be taken in consideration.
Complaints about The Villages:
1.) The Villages gets old, after a while. This happens when you have a massive development done by one developer. They repeat their pattern over and over with each new section. There are a lot of "downtown" areas that are accessible to different neighborhoods, but they all tend to be similar. Wash, rinse, repeat.
2.) Location. It is a long way from anything. If you get tired of The Villages and want to do something different, you are too far from the beach, Orlando, or even Gainesville to take a quick trip. The nearest decent beach is almost two hours away (either coast). Orlando and Gainesville are both over an hour away. There are alternatives closer to the ocean that you might want to look at.
3.) It gets expensive, if you pay for extra activities like golf, swimming, etc, it could cost you an thousands extra per month. In order to play the Championship golf courses, you have to pay for a membership, plus greens fees/cart each time you play.
4.) Costs go up in the peak season. Businesses raise their rates during the winter, because they can.
5.) Part-time neighbors. You end up with empty houses around you during the off-season. A lot of the residents only live in Florida when it is cold up north.
6.) Congestion. The OP said the population is 150,000. I don't know if that's true, but the population does fluctuate, and in the winter, getting around can be difficult. Golf carts alleviate some of the congestion, but golf carts do have a limited practical range. Getting into restaurants/bars, finding good parking, getting a good spot to see a band, etc, can also be an issue, at times. And it's not going to get better.
The Villages is the biggest and most well known of the retirement places in Florida. My wife and I have done some research on it, and our current thinking is that we will probably retire in Vero Beach, where we currently rent, while trying to decide where to buy a house.
We lived in Tradition, for a while (a smaller version of The Villages in Port St Lucie, FL), and we prefer Vero Beach for it's authenticity. It has a small town feel to it, without the touristy vibe that most beach towns have these days. We will probably decide for sure when we both retire, but we are kind of looking at Hobe Sound, as well.
ETA - It's pretty common knowledge that the widow business is pretty cutthroat. Some of these widows scour the obituaries looking for men who's wives have recently died, make a move, get married, and then frick the lucky bastard to death (although ED medication mixed with heart meds might have something to do with cause of death), leaving them with a retirement account and a house.
Complaints about The Villages:
1.) The Villages gets old, after a while. This happens when you have a massive development done by one developer. They repeat their pattern over and over with each new section. There are a lot of "downtown" areas that are accessible to different neighborhoods, but they all tend to be similar. Wash, rinse, repeat.
2.) Location. It is a long way from anything. If you get tired of The Villages and want to do something different, you are too far from the beach, Orlando, or even Gainesville to take a quick trip. The nearest decent beach is almost two hours away (either coast). Orlando and Gainesville are both over an hour away. There are alternatives closer to the ocean that you might want to look at.
3.) It gets expensive, if you pay for extra activities like golf, swimming, etc, it could cost you an thousands extra per month. In order to play the Championship golf courses, you have to pay for a membership, plus greens fees/cart each time you play.
4.) Costs go up in the peak season. Businesses raise their rates during the winter, because they can.
5.) Part-time neighbors. You end up with empty houses around you during the off-season. A lot of the residents only live in Florida when it is cold up north.
6.) Congestion. The OP said the population is 150,000. I don't know if that's true, but the population does fluctuate, and in the winter, getting around can be difficult. Golf carts alleviate some of the congestion, but golf carts do have a limited practical range. Getting into restaurants/bars, finding good parking, getting a good spot to see a band, etc, can also be an issue, at times. And it's not going to get better.
The Villages is the biggest and most well known of the retirement places in Florida. My wife and I have done some research on it, and our current thinking is that we will probably retire in Vero Beach, where we currently rent, while trying to decide where to buy a house.
We lived in Tradition, for a while (a smaller version of The Villages in Port St Lucie, FL), and we prefer Vero Beach for it's authenticity. It has a small town feel to it, without the touristy vibe that most beach towns have these days. We will probably decide for sure when we both retire, but we are kind of looking at Hobe Sound, as well.
ETA - It's pretty common knowledge that the widow business is pretty cutthroat. Some of these widows scour the obituaries looking for men who's wives have recently died, make a move, get married, and then frick the lucky bastard to death (although ED medication mixed with heart meds might have something to do with cause of death), leaving them with a retirement account and a house.
This post was edited on 5/1/25 at 12:35 pm
Posted on 5/1/25 at 1:55 pm to Jax-Tiger
quote:
make a move, get married, and then frick the lucky bastard to death
How not to die as a man in the widow game; that should be a thread on H&F.
Posted on 5/1/25 at 2:29 pm to Jax-Tiger
Actually being only 2 hrs from the beach and only one hour from the Orlando attractions, is a plus when you are retired. Also you won't notice traffic when you only need a golf cart to get around.
Posted on 5/2/25 at 3:20 pm to oldtrucker
Trucker I live in a planned community further North right along the coast called Nocatee. It is a golf cart community and has a couple of the 55 plus communities within the community. I am not that far away from my Mid-50's but I have been inside(Facebook Marketplace deals) the Del Webb communities and they are very nice. Not huge homes but nice and great Amenities. Nocatee is about 15 mins from St. Augustine and about five minutes from the beaches. TPC sawgrass ten minutes away and Jacksonville about 40 mins north. Only Battery powered golf carts are allowed here and you can go pretty much anywhere in them. My .02 I am not a 55 older only community kind of guy I love kids too much and like having them around. Different strokes for differnet folks. The weather is beautiful here and I love this area but I can see where the appeal is there for you. Good Luck
This post was edited on 5/2/25 at 3:21 pm
Posted on 5/2/25 at 4:13 pm to oldtrucker
Man there is a lot of road rage in those golf carts. And the seniors get very serious about their blue hair specials in the restaurants. I stayed there with some relatives for a week and thought it was as exciting as a cruise. Not for me/ us. Reminded me of a dystopian place like where the old show The Prisoner was based.
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