[I Tango]

My wife & I are from Hershey, PA and we visited TV last June for 4 days. We stayed at the Waterfront Inn but we didn't have activity passes. We didn't think we'd like TV as much as we did, so now we're planning to visit for a week or so the beginning to middle of this May and we plan to obtain activity passes so we can participate in classes etc.

So our questions to you experts are:
1. Is there much advantage to doing the Lifestyle Preview vs. renting on our own and just purchasing activity passes? I know you get a golf cart & movie passes and such but do they do more "hang holding" for newbies like us or does it depend on the agent you deal with. I called TV office yesterday but quite honestly the agent we spoke to wasn't very informative about the advantages of the Lifestyle Preview over renting ourselves.

2. The Lifestyle Preview is limited to 7 days; whereas, if we rent we can stay a little longer. I know it's subjective but is 7 days long enough to get a good feel of activities and things, or would staying longer be better?

3. My wife & I have owned several dance studios (ballroom, ballet, etc) so we're interested in dance classes/dances at the Rec Centers etc (not so much the dancing in the squares.) We noticed last June when we visited that many of the dance classes/activities took a break for the summer. So do most of the activities schedule all the way through May if they then take a break for the summer? The activity calendars on-line don't show the schedules that far ahead.

Thanks for all you help - great site!

[Sable99]

I'm a little different than most people that have had the lifestyle visit. Mom and I came for a long weekend, put a hold on a lot and had our lifestyle visit while our house was being built! Mom and I closed on our home in May 2012. I put our home on the long-term rental market so we had to rent when we visited TV. Some of the rentals included the passes and a golf cart. If they didn't, I would order the passes and rent a golf cart from Don Cunningham. I really didn't see much difference between the Lifestyle visit and renting. A friend recommended a Villages realtor (Mike Fink) and he never pressured me.

My home is now on the seasonal market and is rented through May. I love my home (an Iris in The Village of Charlotte) and The Villages.

I have seen here on TOTV that the Lifestyle homes are now near Brownwood and some people haven't liked that they were so far away from everything.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by I Tango

My wife & I are from Hershey, PA and we visited TV last June for 4 days. We stayed at the Waterfront Inn but we didn't have activity passes. We didn't think we'd like TV as much as we did, so now we're planning to visit for a week or so the beginning to middle of this May and we plan to obtain activity passes so we can participate in classes etc.

So our questions to you experts are:
1. Is there much advantage to doing the Lifestyle Preview vs. renting on our own and just purchasing activity passes? I know you get a golf cart & movie passes and such but do they do more "hang holding" for newbies like us or does it depend on the agent you deal with. I called TV office yesterday but quite honestly the agent we spoke to wasn't very informative about the advantages of the Lifestyle Preview over renting ourselves.

2. The Lifestyle Preview is limited to 7 days; whereas, if we rent we can stay a little longer. I know it's subjective but is 7 days long enough to get a good feel of activities and things, or would staying longer be better?

3. My wife & I have owned several dance studios (ballroom, ballet, etc) so we're interested in dance classes/dances at the Rec Centers etc (not so much the dancing in the squares.) We noticed last June when we visited that many of the dance classes/activities took a break for the summer. So do most of the activities schedule all the way through May if they then take a break for the summer? The activity calendars on-line don't show the schedules that far ahead.

Thanks for all you help - great site!

Ten years ago the Life Style visit offered many perks and freebies, fifteen or twenty years ago, even more (Limo service from the airport, free meals and golf etc....) Now you rent a home in a real neighborhood with the use of a VERY SLOW golf cart and a bike and may get a free meal, not sure.

The reason is that the Life Style visits were used to encourage home sales and well, home sales are doing JUST fine. (We are the fastest growing area in the U.S.)

Please don't be afraid to talk to a Village sales agent, there is no pressure and no call backs, in fact we were given a tour by ours and taken back without them showing us any new homes. We had to ask.

I am not a Village sales agent or a Realtor and have never sold any house but our own...Just tryin' to "HEP".

P.S. It seems that my friend who dances does Ballet Barre twice a week all year 'round at one of the rec centers. (These are led by unpaid volunteers)

[thelegges]

Renting on your own you can purchase residents pass for $50. You can stay longer, go to any open houses you want. Meet agents as you go and may find a VLS that you would want to work with. Our lifestyle visits had much more perks in 07 and 10. Our first VLS was fabulous, but got promoted. Our second was less then desirable, and found our third at an open house on our own, had our best interest at heart. Off season is less to rent, and I would stay in different houses, and different areas before you buy. We have lived in 3 different villages

[jricciuto]

We have visited the Villages for 4 years for a week and stayed with friends.
This year we rented for the month of January and loved it so much that we purchased a home.
We have the first two weeks in May available. If you would like to look at the listing, please go to VillagersHomes4Rent.com. Our listing is #5160.
We can get a "residents" pass for $50, which will allow you to take advantage of all the amenities.

If you would like more information please feel free to contact me at 585 694 3279.
The rent for 2 weeks would be $700 per week. I look forward to hearing from you.

[2BNTV]

LSV will not have as many perks as they use to and you will live in the newer area near Brownwood.

If you haven' gotten a map, do so by calling the sales office. TV is enormous and I think it would be helpful to start deciding where you may want to stay assuming you are renting. It will also give you knowledge of where all the rec centers and golf carts paths are.

[I Tango]

Thanks everyone. We just booked a patio villa in Sunset Pointe for 8 nights in early May. We decided not to go with the Lifestyle Preview at this time.

We appreciate all your advie.

John

[EnglishJW]

http://www.thevillagesdailysun.com/a...es/recnews.pdf

Since you have already had a lifestyle preview, I don't think there is much to be gained by doing it again. If you are seriously interested in a home, do some research with both an agent for The Villages and an outside real estate agent to see some specific homes when you arrive. Personally I would try to see the type of home I have the greatest interest in (e.g., villa, designer, etc.) as well as looking in the area that was most appealing (e.g., Spanish Springs - older, well developed inside as well as outside of TV; Brownwood, newer, growing). For us, the real key was activities. While there is live entertainment and dancing in the squares, it doesn't seem to be what you are interested in. The activities - specifically dancing - happen all over. If my link worked, it is for the weekly Recreation News. For starters, check out the listing beginning with either Ballroom or Dancing. You will find plenty of options. I have not specifically mentioned line dancing since it didn't seem to be what you want. You will find east coast swing in the Monday afternoons (La Hacienda) and open ballroom on Monday evenings at Seabreeze; west coast swing at a couple of places on Tuesday; more formal ballroom lessons on Wednesday at La Hacienda; beginner and intermediate ballroom lessons at Seabreeze on Thursdays; frequent ballroom dances on Friday evenings (La Hacienda, Laurel Manor, local American Legion); ballroom on Saturdays at Bridgeport and Colony; and a day of rest on Sunday. This quick overview doesn't include basic newcomer lessons, Carolina Shag, Zedeco, and a number of other less popular dances. My wife and I are social dancers. We dance almost every single day since we usually find a place to practice on Sundays too. The instructors are friendly and helpful. The skill levels vary tremendously. Virtually all of the dancers are helpful as well as friendly. Send me a message with any questions. We look forward to meeting you out on the dance floor.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by I Tango

Thanks everyone. We just booked a patio villa in Sunset Pointe for 8 nights in early May. We decided not to go with the Lifestyle Preview at this time.

We appreciate all your advie.

John

Sunset Point is a good central location, about 1-1/2 miles to LSL and about 6 miles from Brownwood, but you're close to Buena Vista which can take you straight south to the Brownwood area without too many stops. If you had taken the LSV you would of been in Alden Bungalows, which are just west of Brownwood. I don't think that is the best place for seeing all of TV, especially if you're open to buying a resale.

The golf cart they would of provided will only go at 14 mph. When we were placed at LSL on our LSV, the only place we went in the cart was to LSL. They are just too slow, I never left the area in the cart because of the speed and not knowing the lay of the land. I found reading the Villages map and driving in the car, I was able to pretty much know my way around by the end of the week. I played golf at Cane Garden once and left their cart in the garage and drove my car and they gave me a cart at the course.

If you're hooked up with a sales agent, he'll drive around just as if you're on a LSV, they'll show you whatever you ask. My salesman Tony Trussler, took us to all the new masonry CYV models in one trip and to 3 or 4 new cottages on another trip. I called him the next day to see Patio Villas, and he took us to both models of those. If you haven't talked to an agent, contact sales now so they can assign a salesman and he can clear his calendar for a day or two to spend with you.

[LeeM]

Originally Posted by I Tango

Thanks everyone. We just booked a patio villa in Sunset Pointe for 8 nights in early May. We decided not to go with the Lifestyle Preview at this time.

We appreciate all your advie.

John

Keep in mind though that every area is different. While Sunset Pointe is lovely, the main road is super busy. I found the golf cart driving in that area scary. But that's me. I love the golf cart driving in many other areas. Each neighborhood is different so look around for what you want. We moved to a newer village near Brownwood and are really happy here. BTW we moved from MD and the moving company we used (recommended here) from PA was excellent. If you take the leap and need one let me know and I will look up their info.