GOLF CARTS EVERYWHERE OUTSIDE A POPULAR BAR AND RESTAURANT Sales Office for the Villages The With 125,0...
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| GOLF CARTS EVERYWHERE OUTSIDE A POPULAR BAR AND RESTAURANT |
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| Sales Office for the VillagesThe |
With 125,000 residents and still growing fast, The Villages is easily the largest single over-55 active adult retirement community in the United States., and probably the world. With its emphasis on golf and other recreational opportunities, it has been called "DisneyWorld for Old People" The Villages is situated in what was a fairly isolated region of north central Florida, about 20 miles south of the small city of Ocala. The nearest large city is Orlando, about 45 miles to the southeast.
Inside the confines of the Villages are dozens of individual gated communities, lavish recreational facilities including 39 golf courses, two major shopping districts all done in the "Village" style, and all kinds of personal and professional services including medical area. Many residents rely heavily on golf carts for transportation in this widely spread out area. One sees these carts all over the Villages which offer more than 100 miles of golf cart trails.
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| Golf Carts Outside a Favorite Watering Hole at Cocktail Hour |
There certainly is a diversity of price ranges available at the Villages. For sale on the local MLS in early December 2016 were listings ranging from the low $100's for a manufactured home on a private lot to $1.7 million for a luxurious 4769 square foot house on an acre lot with a spectacular water view of a lake. A former realtor colleague's parents live in the Villages and love it. His father enjoys the playing golf easily four days a week while his mother especially enjoys the many friendly clubhouse card games which are almost perpetually ongoing.
What doesn't exist in the Villages is a diversity of architecture styles, street layouts etc. based on organic, historic forces that help shape the development of city neighborhoods. The Villages complex is attractive and very well kept. Some people from the Boomer generation are likely to find the "cookie cutter" aspect overly sanitized. and too disconnected from the human diversity and give and take of ordinary city life. This is also reflected in the political leanings of the two areas. Reportedly President Trump received more than 75% of the Villages's vote in the recent election while much of St. Petersburg and certainly Gulfport went heavily for Hillary Clinton.
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| One of the Athletic Clubs in Wildwood at the Villages |
Of course, there are many active retirees who want to live in communities like The Villages that are isolated from the hectic pace as well as the political and social controversies of urban living. Incidentally, the Village's billionaire developer's family reportedly still pretty much holds the levers of governing power there. Many retirees understandably are attracted to the Villages because they want to flee the hassles of urban life. They are most comfortable with and feel safe and secure around people pretty much like themselves. There are many other such very large and generally newer active retiree complexes in interior Florida. Because they were generally constructed much more recently, maintenance of the buildings and the need to renovate individual units is not as much of an issue. Also, these newer communities often offer much more in the way of recreational amenities, One self-contained community relatively close to both Tampa and St. Petersburg is Sun City about 25 miles south of Tampa in unincorporated Hillsborough County with about 11,000 residents and still growing!
One hopes most people at retirement age should know enough about themselves to sense readily the kind of over-55 community in which they would be most comfortable. All Florida active retirement communities are not alike! In fact, would-be-retirees are fortunate that they have so many choices in Florida! If golf is a special passion and/or you are tired of the hassles of urban life, be sure to look at more isolated communities like the Villages. If being close to the seashore and/or the urban attractions of a fairly cosmopolitan environment is important, then it's probable you will enjoy life more in one of the many smaller over-55 communities around St. Petersburg.
