What is a Village?
The Villages, FL is, according to the most recent US Census, the fastest growing age-restricted community in the United States. At 130,000 residents and 38 square miles, The Villages describes itself as “America’s premier active adult retirement community located in sunny central Florida”. People moving to this beautiful, retirement community, have lots of questions. The first one is usually "What exactly IS a Village?"
A village is a collection of homes and streets in a geographic area. Think of them like neighborhoods. At the time of making of this video, there are 78 different villages or neighborhoods in The Villages. It is often difficult to determine where one village ends and another one begins. South of highway 466 each village will have its own neighborhood pool and mailbox. In areas north of highway 466, several villages will share a pool area and a mailbox station. Many villages will have their own social events and you will find that one of the first questions people will ask you when you say you have moved to the villages is, "Which village are you in?"
I think many people contemplating a move to The Villages, are confused and stressed about "Which Village is the best one?" Honestly, every time this question is answered on social media, there is person after person commenting that THEIR Village is the best. Villages vary in a variety of factors: the average age of the residents (for example, the newer areas in the south have a younger age base), the age of the houses and trees (for example, the older areas in the north have mature trees), how involved the neighbors are in the neighborhood (for example, there can be less involvement if the street has a majority of renters or snowbirds), the activities and amenities that are close-by (for example, the newer construction areas will take time for restaurants and shopping to be developed near those villages). It seems to be less important about which Village you are in and more important that you like the house and that you are close to what is important to you. Do you want to be close to a gym? Do you want the neighborhood pool to be only a few houses away? Do you want to have a private back yard? Is a large lanai a top priority? Is proximity to a championship course a priority? The old saying is that the typical Villager lives in 3 different houses during their time in The Villages. Some upsize, some downsize, and some just figure out how and where they want to be plugged-in to all the activities.