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Old 03-04-2011, 10:57 PM
 
592 posts, read 1,808,592 times
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I don't live in Leisure Village, but I do live in a FL gated community for the first time in my life with lots of "sameness" as you mentioned. It's not only a community for over 55 folks, but most of the people are and most are snow birds, as well. The whole thing drives me bonkers! The many clubs, the giggling women in packs, the calling at the front gate to let friends in past the guard, the cement walls around the community, the pettiness and discord amongst the residents, the many, many rules and regulations and the whole "fake" appearance of the place--ICK!!! The social aspect reminds me of what I didn't like when I was in school, and the general physical sameness atmosphere is just surreal--and soooo much concrete-YIKES!

If you're wondering why I'm here it's because hubby likes it and we lost a ton of value on our home due to the economic crisis. If I had a magic wand I'd be out of here in a minute!

That all being said and as several of you mentioned this sort of life definitely is the cat's meow for some people. I think there are just those of us who do like planned communities and being mainly with their peers while the rest of us feel most comfortable in regular housing in a regular diverse town. And, neither of us will probably ever understand where the other is coming from!
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Old 04-06-2011, 06:39 PM
 
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I also visited the Villages about 2 years ago. I am in my 60's and extremely active. this looked perfect for me, because every other place was dull uless you were quite a bit younger. My problem is the fees. Since we both have very low SS security checks and no pension, the expenses eliminate us from this place that we would love to live. Does anyone know if there are properties just outside the Villages we could buy and still use the facilities of the Villages?
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Old 04-06-2011, 08:02 PM
 
Location: Central Ohio
10,807 posts, read 14,872,678 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flyfishnevada View Post
On some levels it is appealing, but on others it isn't. We like idea of living in a clean, secure, well maintained community with like-minded (retired) people, not having to worry about who's going to move next door and how many kids and/or dogs they have and all the available activities. On the other hand, the sameness, the sense that you are kind of expected to socialize and fit in and watching your neighbors age and die way too often kind of scare us off. We're pretty young, 44 and 41, so this isn't really on the radar. Maybe when we are older and more ready to settle down this will be more appealing. Your assessment is similar to other descriptions we have seen and heard.
I like the idea and thought about it but in the end the sameness would bore me. On our block we have retired couples but then we have young couples too with children and I like that. Kids are neat and I enjoy watching a brother and sister in a water balloon fight.

Death... it comes to all of us, it is the price we all must pay to live here, but to look down my block and realize 90% will die in the next 25 years is to depressing.

But to each his own.
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Old 04-07-2011, 08:05 PM
 
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We stayed at The Villages a couple of years ago. Our 80+ year old parents loved the place!
We felt like we were in the middle of nowhere (mid 50's, not quite there yet, I guess).

What I loved were the tricked out golf carts Tricked-Out Golf Carts Swarm Florida Communities

The thing that piqued my interest was the number of ads, that we saw, for attorneys representing GOLF CART INJURY cases. A serious problem!

The other thing I found, in some digging, was the incidence of STDs in The Villages.
STDs Running Rampant In Retirement Community - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando (http://www.clickorlando.com/news/9283707/detail.html - broken link)

Don't really believe this....but gotta say.....BOOMERS ARE STILL ROCKIN"
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Old 04-08-2011, 09:52 AM
 
Location: Ohio
219 posts, read 567,389 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Newdaawn View Post
...I guess if you want to live in a place that seems like you are on vacation 24/7 it might be ok.
What a horrible thought.
To retire to a winter free environment that makes you feel like you're on vacation 24/7.
I can't imagine anything worse.
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Old 04-09-2011, 07:24 AM
 
9,300 posts, read 16,594,261 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jerseyj View Post
The other thing I found, in some digging, was the incidence of STDs in The Villages.
STDs Running Rampant In Retirement Community - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando (http://www.clickorlando.com/news/9283707/detail.html - broken link)

Don't really believe this....but gotta say.....BOOMERS ARE STILL ROCKIN"
There are several articles regarding "condo casanovas" and spreading HIV and STDs. I saw a show on TV about it. Apparently these Casanovas, who are single, visit prostitutes and date senior woman. The show I watched was about a woman in her 60's who contact AIDs and had to tell her children. This is probably due to the influx of Viagra type drugs.
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Old 04-09-2011, 10:31 AM
 
5,290 posts, read 5,202,711 times
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I guess one day this might be appealing to me, but I dont know. Im near 60, live on a 10 acre farm, with chickens, cows, large garden, several dogs. More likely one day Ill just keel over dead while weeding the garden or feeding the cows. If so, just bury me in the compost heap.
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Old 04-09-2011, 06:01 PM
 
7,185 posts, read 3,674,596 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellwood View Post
There are several articles regarding "condo casanovas" and spreading HIV and STDs. I saw a show on TV about it. Apparently these Casanovas, who are single, visit prostitutes and date senior woman. The show I watched was about a woman in her 60's who contact AIDs and had to tell her children. This is probably due to the influx of Viagra type drugs.
I remember there being a lot of stories about the high incidence of STDs in the Villages, back when I lived north of Ocala. One woman was quoted as saying "we all don't just play golf, dear".

For the person who thought about living near so they could use the facilities - no, you can't. They are very insular and you MUST be a resident. I used to teach craft classes, but couldn't get into the Villages because you had to be a resident to teach there. the whole place creeped me out.
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Old 04-28-2011, 03:46 PM
 
9,471 posts, read 9,324,511 times
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Default Kids in The Villages

Quote:
Originally Posted by Newdaawn View Post
I read the book about the Villages by a person who lived there to research his book. I think he nailed it. It wouldn't be for me. Never seeing anyone under 50 or ever seeing any kids would make life pretty dull for me. I guess if you want to live in a place that seems like you are on vacation 24/7 it might be ok.
I have a friend there who says there are lots of grandkids visiting, so they DO see kids on a regular basis.
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Old 04-29-2011, 07:05 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
37,750 posts, read 40,823,676 times
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I live in a modern apartment complex close to everything I do. The best part about it is almost everybody else in the complex goes to work M - F.
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