A Little Help Please (Tampa, Clearwater: cliquey, rentals, HOA fees)

[susie8862]

Originally Posted by North_Pinellas_Guy

55+ here is completely different than living in The Villages. No worries there.

Hello....this is my first post, so please bear with me. We were on a cruise out of Tampa last month. When we finished the cruise, we rented a car for three days and drove to Clearwater. We absolutely fell in love. The white sandy beaches are so beautiful. Anyway...long story short...my husband and I are seriously thinking of retiring in the next year or two. Since we know hardly anything about Florida, I have been doing extensive research over the past month, trying to narrow down an area. We were leaning towards the 55+ communities. I just located this website yesterday and have not stopped reading since. Lol...hence, my questions.

1. When you say the Village, are you referring to Village on the Green? This is one of the places I had on my list. Also have Cove Cay, Imperial Cove, Belleair Bluff and a couple of others that escape me at the moment.

2. You seem to be very knowledgeable with many aspects of the Clearwater/Tampa area and I see you are not crazy about Village on the Green. This makes me want to cross it off my list.

3. May I ask where you live? Is it a 55+ community?

4. We are in our late 50's, both with ailing mothers, so we probably have a little while before moving/retiring. Not worried about the job industry, as my husband will be receiving a large pension.

Would love some suggestions if you do not mind. Thank you so much for your time.

[LRG514]

Originally Posted by susie8862

Hello....this is my first post, so please bear with me. We were on a cruise out of Tampa last month. When we finished the cruise, we rented a car for three days and drove to Clearwater. We absolutely fell in love. The white sandy beaches are so beautiful. Anyway...long story short...my husband and I are seriously thinking of retiring in the next year or two. Since we know hardly anything about Florida, I have been doing extensive research over the past month, trying to narrow down an area. We were leaning towards the 55+ communities. I just located this website yesterday and have not stopped reading since. Lol...hence, my questions.

1. When you say the Village, are you referring to Village on the Green? This is one of the places I had on my list. Also have Cove Cay, Imperial Cove, Belleair Bluff and a couple of others that escape me at the moment.

2. You seem to be very knowledgeable with many aspects of the Clearwater/Tampa area and I see you are not crazy about Village on the Green. This makes me want to cross it off my list.

3. May I ask where you live? Is it a 55+ community?

4. We are in our late 50's, both with ailing mothers, so we probably have a little while before moving/retiring. Not worried about the job industry, as my husband will be receiving a large pension.

Would love some suggestions if you do not mind. Thank you so much for your time.

I believe the gentleman is referring to the Villages which is a sprawling (three counties) 55+ development in Marion/Lake/Sumter counties. You will get good value on a home there, but the community is an acquired taste. Many people who live there love it to death and will go to the mat about the amenities. However, it is an extraordinarily conservative place, very much a "company town" controlled by the management company, and when you live there you pretty much have to stay on the campus. The surrounding folk really hate the people in the Villages. Another thing is that if you have any hope of working part time, forget it. Jobs are scarce, and if you can find one, you will be extremely lucky to get $10 an hour. More likely $8. The "party line" is that you are so lucky to live in the Villages, that you don't need money. Lots of clubs, but very cliquey. It's a lot like an instant return to high school. The biggest consideration for me is that the health care there is abominable. I work on the theory that, if you can sign your name in that area of Florida (in any language), you can get a medical license. My husband was being seen in Gainesville and was not monitored well. The "care" crashed his kidneys. the nephrologist in the Villages told us to get the hell out of the area if we wanted him to survive. We fled north and have been here, since, although we are thinking to return to SoFlo or Tampa, soon. One more thing: the development uses the tagline "The friendliest place in the world." When I desperately needed help to pack and leave, everyone was too busy with their gold games to be bothered. Not a fan.

[susie8862]

Originally Posted by LRG514

I believe the gentleman is referring to the Villages which is a sprawling (three counties) 55+ development in Marion/Lake/Sumter counties. You will get good value on a home there, but the community is an acquired taste. Many people who live there love it to death and will go to the mat about the amenities. However, it is an extraordinarily conservative place, very much a "company town" controlled by the management company, and when you live there you pretty much have to stay on the campus. The surrounding folk really hate the people in the Villages. Another thing is that if you have any hope of working part time, forget it. Jobs are scarce, and if you can find one, you will be extremely lucky to get $10 an hour. More likely $8. The "party line" is that you are so lucky to live in the Villages, that you don't need money. Lots of clubs, but very cliquey. It's a lot like an instant return to high school. The biggest consideration for me is that the health care there is abominable. I work on the theory that, if you can sign your name in that area of Florida (in any language), you can get a medical license. My husband was being seen in Gainesville and was not monitored well. The "care" crashed his kidneys. the nephrologist in the Villages told us to get the hell out of the area if we wanted him to survive. We fled north and have been here, since, although we are thinking to return to SoFlo or Tampa, soon. One more thing: the development uses the tagline "The friendliest place in the world." When I desperately needed help to pack and leave, everyone was too busy with their gold games to be bothered. Not a fan.

Wow....thank you so very much for all of the above info. This does NOT sound like a place for us. As I stated, not concerned with the job market, BUT cliques? No. Hubby and I are friendly and outgoing people and love to socialize with everyone.

Thank you also for listing the counties that the Village is in. This is not an area we were looking at, so will not be a problem. Whew.

It seems the more I research, the more confused I become. Lol. Thank goodness we have a year or two. I shall continue to read on these forums, just to get opinions of true Floridians. Thank you again.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by susie8862

Hello....this is my first post, so please bear with me. We were on a cruise out of Tampa last month. When we finished the cruise, we rented a car for three days and drove to Clearwater. We absolutely fell in love. The white sandy beaches are so beautiful. Anyway...long story short...my husband and I are seriously thinking of retiring in the next year or two. Since we know hardly anything about Florida, I have been doing extensive research over the past month, trying to narrow down an area. We were leaning towards the 55+ communities. I just located this website yesterday and have not stopped reading since. Lol...hence, my questions.

1. When you say the Village, are you referring to Village on the Green? This is one of the places I had on my list. Also have Cove Cay, Imperial Cove, Belleair Bluff and a couple of others that escape me at the moment.

2. You seem to be very knowledgeable with many aspects of the Clearwater/Tampa area and I see you are not crazy about Village on the Green. This makes me want to cross it off my list.

3. May I ask where you live? Is it a 55+ community?

4. We are in our late 50's, both with ailing mothers, so we probably have a little while before moving/retiring. Not worried about the job industry, as my husband will be receiving a large pension.

Would love some suggestions if you do not mind. Thank you so much for your time.

look at Hernando and Citrus counties. Crystal River is nice.

[susie8862]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

look at Hernando and Citrus counties. Crystal River is nice.

Thank you. Going to look now.

[BucFan]

consider this 55+ about 30 mins south of Tampa, 30 to St Pete, 30 to Bradenton, 20 to Brandon -45 mins to Bradenton Beaches
Valencia Lakes in Tampa, Florida - A GL Homes Community

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by susie8862

Wow....thank you so very much for all of the above info. This does NOT sound like a place for us. As I stated, not concerned with the job market, BUT cliques? No. Hubby and I are friendly and outgoing people and love to socialize with everyone.

Don't place too much weight on the opinions of one person, especially an anonymous Internet poster. There is not a place in the world that doesn't seem clique-ish to the off-putting personality. If you are friendly and outgoing, you'll do great in places like the Villages.

[dothetwist]

You were here for just 3 days, and you indicate that your retirement is not imminent.

Take a deep breath, start planning more and longer vacations to the area....rent vacation houses or condos to get a feel for real life here. See VRBO - The Most Popular Vacation Rental Site in the USfor rentals. There are many and staying in one for a few weeks or longer if you can, will give you an idea about living here.

And don't just come in the winter, if this area is in the running as a full-time retirement home, you need to see how you cope with other seasons.

Good luck!!

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

look at Hernando and Citrus counties. Crystal River is nice.

Crystal River is soon to be a ghost town with the nuke plant being decommissioned. Add to that the loss of the tax base it got from the plant, and things are not exactly looking up around there.

I agree with the poster who suggested you rent in the area for a while. A retirement decision is not one I would be making based on a three day stay in an area. If that were the case I can think of a number of places I would want to retire....

RM

[Sunnydee]

The Tampa Bay region is a great place to live and I highly recommend it. Valencia Lakes is a really nice community. You might also want to check out Sun City Center and Del Webb's Southshore Falls if you want an adult community. Terra Vista in Citrus County is very nice, but it was just too far away from the airport and other things we desired. MiraBay is lovely, but it's not age restricted. Make sure you research crime maps, predator maps, commute times, CDD and HOA fees, HOA rules and regs, flood zones, insurance costs, etc. so you won't have any unwanted surprises after you relocate. Best wishes.