The Villages - Where to start ? (home, purchase, school)

[NextExit40Miles]

Thanks again for a great detailed response.

Just a few...
Which areas will have natural gas ? We just can't get used to the electric cooking.
What is meant by the "historic" area? I understand the northern most region was built first, is there a specific area/village this refers to ?

Thanks again...

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by NextExit40Miles

Thanks again for a great detailed response.

Just a few...
Which areas will have natural gas ? We just can't get used to the electric cooking.
What is meant by the "historic" area? I understand the northern most region was built first, is there a specific area/village this refers to ?

Thanks again...

The "Historic" area is the trio: Country Club Hills, Orange Blossom, and Silver Lake. The three villages are on the northeast corner of The Villages, on the east side of 441 across from The Villages Regional Hospital and the Spanish Springs Town Square.

It was originally a trailer park, developed by Harold Schwartz in the early 1970's. He bought the land in the 1960's and tried selling it off in tracts via mail-order but the government made that illegal so he developed it himself and advertised legitimately. By the 1980's he'd sold around 400 units, calling the property Orange Blossom Gardens. He then bought out his partner's share of the project and recruited his son Gary Morse as his new partner.

They built out the area including a country club, expanding to the other two villages, an 18-hole golf course and a 9-hole executive course, a couple of lakes/retention ponds, swimming pools, a rec center with indoor and outdoor activities, a nature area with walking paths, etc. etc. Around half of that was before they built Spanish Springs Town Square and a golf cart bridge so that residents of the original Villages could cross 441 without having to drive their cars.

Fast forward to the 2000's, and most of the original single-wide trailers are gone, replaced by double-wides and modular homes. There are also some wood frame, and block and stucco homes in the original area now. I live in the Historic section. It is fully built out, there is no property next to it available for the Morse family to buy and expand, the area is fully settled, with mature landscaping, beautiful water oaks, the homes are on larger lots of land than most of the rest of The Villages, there is only one short multi-modal path that leads from the park to the post office, and doesn't run behind or between anyone's homes as they do on the other side of 441. We are still deed restricted, but our restrictions are less strict than the other side. So while folks on the other side of the Villages can be called out and even fined for putting a garden gnome in their front yard's flower bed, our side can have tacky pink plastic flamingos on ours. Most of us don't, but it's nice to know we could, if we wanted to. We're allowed to have some individuality and creativity - unlike the other side, where people are required to conform to stricter rules.

The old area has a reputation of having mostly 90-year-olds living in it, but that's not even almost true. When people moved in originally, in the late 1970's/early 1980's, they were 55-60 years old. So by now, -most- of the original people are long dead, and the people who bought their houses - were 55-60 years old - around 2000. Now, those people are 75-80 years old. And most of the others who bought in the late 1980's at the end of the original development, are in nursing homes, or dead, and THEY were replaced by new buyers in who were 55-60 during the 2010's. And so on, and so forth. So the current batch of people moving in now are mostly between 55-60 years old, with a few outliers who've retired later in life but for whatever reason, have chosen to live in the older area.

[Chas863]

Ghaati,

Good writeup. Thanks.

[NextExit40Miles]

Very interesting and informative, thanks again Ghaati.

[considerforamoment]

From what little I've read about the Villages, make sure you are of the correct political persuasion.

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by considerforamoment

From what little I've read about the Villages, make sure you are of the correct political persuasion.

It's primarily white, primarily some manner of christian (mostly non-denominational, oddly enough), and primarily conservative republican.

However, there are people who are not white. There are people who are not christian, of any denomination or lack thereof. There are people who are not republicans, and there are people who are not conservatives.

They have a couple of Democrat clubs. They also have a couple of clubs that cater to the more liberal of the community, and a couple of clubs for moderates. And of course - most Villagers aren't members of any political club at all. There are clubs for Latinos, there's a club exclusively for black men - a Gentleman's club I believe it's called. They have a Jamaican club too.

But yes they do have two trump clubs. Most Villagers ignore them until they start making a lot of noise, and then they either tolerate them, or avoid them.

BTW: I'm white, Jewish, moderate, and a registered voter with no party affiliation. There are a LOT of us in this community of over 150,000 full and part-time residents.

[bounty80]

Originally Posted by considerforamoment

From what little I've read about the Villages, make sure you are of the correct political persuasion.

While statistically true, the idea that you have to adhere to a certain ideaology to fit in there is completely false. The Villages caters to all types and anybody can fit in and find like minded friends and neighbors. My experience there was that anybody who was friendly was considered a friend and if someone wanted to be left alone they respected that as well.

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by bounty80

While statistically true, the idea that you have to adhere to a certain ideaology to fit in there is completely false. The Villages caters to all types and anybody can fit in and find like minded friends and neighbors. My experience there was that anybody who was friendly was considered a friend and if someone wanted to be left alone they respected that as well.

As long as you don't discuss politics, you should have no problem getting along with almost everyone.

[luvmyhoss]

Originally Posted by Ghaati

As long as you don't discuss politics, you should have no problem getting along with almost everyone.

That goes for every place.

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by luvmyhoss

That goes for every place.

The Villages has a pretty loud alt-right contingency. Thing is, the developer, the Morse Family, are staunch conservative republicans who have donated millions of dollars to various PACs and individual Republican candidates. Their advertising is the typical tone-deaf "we're mostly white but our maids and nannies and janitors at school were colored folks and immigrants so we can pretend we're not racists" stuff, with the obligate black couple among the white sea of faces in group shots, and the lone Latino at the zumba class. This obviously appeals to other like-minded individuals, who want to hang out with their "tribe."

So while we do have some small pockets of diversity, there's an ugly underbelly that doesn't come out in polite company. They might not say that you're "other" in front of you. But you know darned well that's what they think, and how they vote, and the memes they share on social media.