Anyone hear of this in The Villages? (Orlando, Winter Park: sales, home sales)

[sean1the1]

I think it might be too late, I looked on Google Maps and it displays satellite images from may, and it looks like they have already started to work their way toward making a development. It will be weird seeing how it is within the city of Fruitland Park, but in the Villages. I guess It is kind of like the portion of the Villages that lies in Lady Lake.

[luvmyhoss]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

Consider that Florida's public educational systems are, at best, abyssmal. The Charter school's kids get a better education than the state's public school kids. The charter school kids don't have to be from wealthy families, or pay hefty fees for the privilege. They just have to be employed by a store, or an office, within the Villages, that has been approved by the Villages to allow kids of employees to go there. So you could see the shift manager of IHOP, a single mom of three who each go to one of the best elementary schools in the state at no cost to her.

Those complementary access roads aren't complementary. They're paid for by the residents of the Villages. Those access roads that -you- are allowed to travel on - your tax dollars didn't pay a dime of them, or their maintenence. And the Villages isn't charging you a toll to access them either.

How could this possibly be a *bad* thing, that makes you so cynical?

I understand they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. I get that. But the parking lot is gorgeous, the few rickety houses in paradise and the horse farms that were about to go under because their businesses were failing, and the swampland - all were replaced by lush trees and flowers and exquisite landscaping that is open for ANYONE to walk through and enjoy. The gates can be bypassed; they're not locked. You just drive up slowly, press a button on the box, and they open right up. They're meant to *deter* the criminal element, and to keep traffic moving slowly.

All of the stores in each of the village centers are open to the public, and even the nightly live music in the village squares is free for whoever wants to enjoy it.

And it's ALL paid for by the people who own homes and live in the Villages.

Personally, if I was stuck living in Florida (which will happen, when my husband retires), I'd rather live in the Villages than wild swampland adjacent to a failing horse farm.

I completely agree with you.

[keithwand]

No one is forced to sell their land to the developer. Don't want to sell then don't and get stuck with your land for years as the developer will build around you.
There's a reason 100,000 people live here and why 400 to 500 homes sell a month.
The residents love it here. No one forces you to be here having a great time so if not for you then find your own slice of heaven.

[luvmyhoss]

Originally Posted by keithwand

No one is forced to sell their land to the developer. Don't want to sell then don't and get stuck with your land for years as the developer will build around you.
There's a reason 100,000 people live here and why 400 to 500 homes sell a month.
The residents love it here. No one forces you to be here having a great time so if not for you then find your own slice of heaven.

Do you live there? I agree it can be a slice of heaven/

[AnonChick]

Originally Posted by keithwand

No one is forced to sell their land to the developer. Don't want to sell then don't and get stuck with your land for years as the developer will build around you.
There's a reason 100,000 people live here and why 400 to 500 homes sell a month.
The residents love it here. No one forces you to be here having a great time so if not for you then find your own slice of heaven.

Although I agree it's gorgeous and a really awesome thing to do with land that is otherwise not being used/appreciated...

I think your attitude is why there are so many complaints against it. A lot of residents are ALREADY enjoying their slice of heaven, in their own homes, that were already there, before the Morses showed up and started developing. Their heaven is being taken away from them by the Morses, who develop the entire area - making the neighborhood no longer the particular idea of heaven that these residents had in mind when they moved in, in the first place.

Just because it's perfect for retirees, doesn't make it perfect for anyone else. People who want safe neighborhoods for their families with young children are being crowded out by this development. They shouldn't have to "find" their own slice of heaven, when that slice of heaven was theirs already. It wasn't the slice of heaven the Morses have in mind, or the retirees have in mind. Perhaps the existing residents liked being -near- the Villages and all the shops they have to offer the public - but don't forget, once the Morses move in, those families are -required- to move out. The Villages is for seniors, it's an adults-only community. So these existing residents wouldn't even have the benefit of moving into one of these new homes if they wanted to. They would have to disperse completely - their entire neighborhood bulldozed, all the neighbors scattered to new lives in other locations.

This isn't just a "if you don't like it, don't live here" situation. If it were that simple, I'm sure people would be happy to sell their homes to the Morses for far more than the current value, and take themselves and their families elsewhere.

[Dax13]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

Although I agree it's gorgeous and a really awesome thing to do with land that is otherwise not being used/appreciated...

I think your attitude is why there are so many complaints against it. A lot of residents are ALREADY enjoying their slice of heaven, in their own homes, that were already there, before the Morses showed up and started developing. Their heaven is being taken away from them by the Morses, who develop the entire area - making the neighborhood no longer the particular idea of heaven that these residents had in mind when they moved in, in the first place.

Just because it's perfect for retirees, doesn't make it perfect for anyone else. People who want safe neighborhoods for their families with young children are being crowded out by this development. They shouldn't have to "find" their own slice of heaven, when that slice of heaven was theirs already. It wasn't the slice of heaven the Morses have in mind, or the retirees have in mind. Perhaps the existing residents liked being -near- the Villages and all the shops they have to offer the public - but don't forget, once the Morses move in, those families are -required- to move out. The Villages is for seniors, it's an adults-only community. So these existing residents wouldn't even have the benefit of moving into one of these new homes if they wanted to. They would have to disperse completely - their entire neighborhood bulldozed, all the neighbors scattered to new lives in other locations.

This isn't just a "if you don't like it, don't live here" situation. If it were that simple, I'm sure people would be happy to sell their homes to the Morses for far more than the current value, and take themselves and their families elsewhere.

You are absolutely right, Anon. This was the point I was trying to make, but you did it better. Slices of Heaven are either assimilated into The Village Pie, or discarded.

FWIW, the following 2 links from the Talk of The Villages site gives you an idea of how many residents feel. The first talks about the developments constructed to ensure a supply of support staff. The second concerns the accessibility of the proposed Fruitland Park expansion. While I can see both sides of the issues, the contempt for all non-residents comes through Loud and clear.



[url="http://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/fruitland-park-residents-denied-golf-cart-access

www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/fruitland-park-residents-denied-golf-cart-access-87833/index7.html[/URL]

Edited: It seems the links won't work. No matter. Google Talk of The Villages. Search forums for Fruitland Park. The second was from a discussion of "village per-owned accepting children".

[keithwand]

Originally Posted by luvmyhoss

Do you live there? I agree it can be a slice of heaven/

Yes, we moved here in 2012 having lived in Baldwin Park for 8 years.
We visited once and knew it was for us.
BTW The Villages is the second largest employer in FL after Disney.
It's now home to over 100,000 people and prices are going up. Obviously the Morse family is doing something right.

[luvmyhoss]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

Although I agree it's gorgeous and a really awesome thing to do with land that is otherwise not being used/appreciated...

I think your attitude is why there are so many complaints against it. A lot of residents are ALREADY enjoying their slice of heaven, in their own homes, that were already there, before the Morses showed up and started developing. Their heaven is being taken away from them by the Morses, who develop the entire area - making the neighborhood no longer the particular idea of heaven that these residents had in mind when they moved in, in the first place.

Just because it's perfect for retirees, doesn't make it perfect for anyone else. People who want safe neighborhoods for their families with young children are being crowded out by this development. They shouldn't have to "find" their own slice of heaven, when that slice of heaven was theirs already. It wasn't the slice of heaven the Morses have in mind, or the retirees have in mind. Perhaps the existing residents liked being -near- the Villages and all the shops they have to offer the public - but don't forget, once the Morses move in, those families are -required- to move out. The Villages is for seniors, it's an adults-only community. So these existing residents wouldn't even have the benefit of moving into one of these new homes if they wanted to. They would have to disperse completely - their entire neighborhood bulldozed, all the neighbors scattered to new lives in other locations.

This isn't just a "if you don't like it, don't live here" situation. If it were that simple, I'm sure people would be happy to sell their homes to the Morses for far more than the current value, and take themselves and their families elsewhere.

The Villages does have 'villages' for families. I have seen it; also a high school etc.

[bearman]

people live McLives, in McCommunities, and enjoy McRetirement - where someone else controls every aspect of their lives and calls it a slice of McHeaven.

[luvmyhoss]

Originally Posted by bearman

people live McLives, in McCommunities, and enjoy McRetirement - where someone else controls every aspect of their lives and calls it a slice of McHeaven.

I see so many older people preyed upon in 'real' life. So I'm all for McSafety.