Tue., 5 Feb 13

The usual relaxing morning and breakfast.

At noon we had sliced turkey w/cheese sandwiches then headed out to "The Villages" which bills itself as "Florida's Friendliest Hometown!" Our mission today was to take the free tour from the Information Center at Lake Sumter Landing.

The tour lasts an hour. You must register to take the tour as seating is limited. Name tags are issued on a first come - first served basis. I suggest an early arrival as the extremely popular tour always fills quickly. We arrived shortly after 1 p.m. and our tour time was 3 p.m.

The Villages is a master-planned, age-restricted retirement community in central Florida that began development into its present form in the 1980's. It covers a huge area comprising parts of Sumter, Lake and Marion counties. The largest portion in Sumter county appears on maps as "The Villages".


The Villages consistently ranks as a very high growth area. In 2012, Forbes magazine ranked The Villages as the No. 1 fastest growing small town. Currently it is expanding at the rate of 300 homes a month.

There are 39 golf courses 29 of  which are executive golf  courses with 9-hole layouts. It is these courses at which residents of The Villages can play "free golf for life" (i.e., no green fees) and can walk the courses for free as well; fees are charged for riding a golf cart ($140 a year) on the courses. The remaining 10 courses are "Country Club" championship courses with notable course architects such as Arnold Palmer and Nancy Lopez.  The Orange Blossom Hills and Tierra Del Sol clubs are 18-hole layouts; the other eight clubs are 27-hole layouts. Residents of The Villages are automatically members of these clubs as well; however, unlike the executive courses residents must pay green fees to play the courses and the clubs charge for priority tee times. The Villages also operates a golf instruction academy for all skill levels.

The Villages also operates numerous (50+ and counting) recreation centers in three classes.

• "Neighborhood Centers" (32) offer local adult-only pools, bocce, horseshoe, and shuffleboard
• "Village Centers" (17) offer family pools with billiard meeting rooms, full kitchens, bocce, horseshoes, shuffleboard, tennis and pickleball
• "Regional Centers" (8); offer resident-only sports pools (for volleyball, laps, etc.) and larger venues with stages for theatrical and musical productions, similar to the village centers. Some operate fitness centers which require a membership be purchased.

In addition, The Villages operates 11 parks, dog parks, and fitness trails, softball fields, a polo stadium (The Villages Polo Stadium), a woodworking shop, and a Lifelong Learning College. Being an age restricted community children under 18 cannot be residents and can only visit for a limited time each year. There are chartered schools; however, children are eligible to attend the charter school if one or both of their parents work directly for The Villages or one of its direct subcontractors, or if a parent works for a business located within The Villages. Children of residents who reside in a family unit neighborhood or by granted exemption do not automatically qualify for attendance based solely on their residence. In this way The Villages is able to get and retain highly qualified workers.

Visitors can actually rent a completely equipped "Creekside Cabana" (4 or 7 day package) for $150 a night. It comes with access to all the Villages amenities including a golf cart. There are also owners who rent their property when they are not using it through "The Villages 4 Rent.com".  This is a great way to get an introduction to the Villages lifestyle. Residency starts in the low $130's. Here you own your home and land and the monthly cost (taxes, utilities and fees) averages about $1,100 per. Here you can live like a millionaire on a retirement income.

There are 90 miles of  pathways exclusively for golf carts, bicycles, jogging, roller blading, etc. There are tunnels and overpasses to allow easy passage over and under major roadways. It is no surprise that there are golf carts (hundreds) everywhere. They range from the normal to custom models (we saw one that was a miniature '57 chevy) which look like hot rods. Many cost more than a small compact car.

We had an hour and a half before our tour so we went shopping. Each of the three "Town Squares" has a variety of shops and restaurants. At times it felt like we were shopping at an outlet mall. Same store - same discounts. There was even a Barnes and Noble. As usual, we found a few things we didn't know we needed.

We stopped for a dessert and a drink at Starbucks. We were not hungry for a meal; otherwise we could have gone to Johnny Rockets, TGI Fridays, a Japanese Steakhouse or other restaurants that were all with a two blocks.

We arrived back at the Sales Center at 2:50 p.m. The trolley only had 1 seat left. Not surprising, most taking the tour were couples (as are most residents). The hour long trip spanned several of the numerous gated communities. Every residence was immaculately groomed and landscaped. Disney could not have done a better job. The tour guide was excellent and knowledgeable. She answered all the questions and filled every moment of the hour with facts. At the end of the tour we picked up an information package which you have to ask for to receive. There is no sales pressure of any kind which is a welcome change from the usual approach.

We then sat on a park bench in the "square" to people watch and look at the information folder while we waited for the craft market to set up. While doing this, a resident noticed and came over to say: "Hurry home and sell your house and come here; you are wasting your life anywhere else!"

The "Town Squares" (3) have live nightly entertainment from 5 - 9 p.m. Vendors set up around the perimeter and offer a variety of items. Again, we found items we didn't know we needed! I bought a "Fedora" for those occasions when a ball cap just won't do.

Each corner of the square had a "shack" that sold 2 for 1 drinks during "Happy Hour". All four had continuous long lines.

Then all would go into the square, pick up a patio chair from stacks around the perimeter, choose a spot to sit and listen to the great (free) music from the band shell. This was music from our era. The Villages has its own  TV station, newspaper and radio station which (as the tour guide said, "plays music you know the words to.") keeps all residents informed of the multitude of activities. We picked up a monthly entertainment flyer listed all the free entertainment during the daily "Happy Hour" at all 3 town squares. The list also included entertainment at Katie Belle's and the Church on the Square which have door admission (often $2) or reservation only tickets (for special groups) be purchased at the "Box Office". Some events were already sold out!

Just before 7 p.m. we headed to the movie theater. Each square has a theater that features "first run" movies. We had decided earlier in the day to see "Skyfall". We bought a hot dog, cheese nachos, popcorn and a drink to share. The tickets and food cost less than a popcorn and soda back home. We were surprised to find the theater was quite full despite the fact this movie has been out since November. I suppose this was due to the large population of The Villages (our guide wasn't sure - she said about 90,000 residents).

It was still a lovely night when we left the theater. The "City Fire" restaurant (picture taken earlier) is right next to the theater (and the square) was packed and still buzzing. The Villages is a happening place. As Arnold (Schwarzenegger) said; "We'll be back!"

There was hardly any traffic making it an easy ride back to the RV where we arrived shortly after 10 p.m. It was a fun, busy day and we were tired; but happy. We went straight to bed and were soon "sawing logs"....zzzzzzz


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