Posted on 02/09/2021 4:16:21 AM PST by C19fan
The sprawling expanse of flat emptiness in central Florida is an unlikely place for America's fastest growing metro area in the nation. Yet, just 70 miles northwest of Orlando sits 'The Villages' – the world's largest retirement community that surpasses the size of Manhattan and encompasses five zip codes with an ever-growing population.
Spanning 32-square-miles, The Villages is a veritable boom-town for baby boomers aged 55+ who flock to the geriatric paradise in droves for its endless margarita mixers (happy hour starts at 11am), unlimited golf courses (50, to be exact), and notorious for its laissez-fair attitude towards sex, thriving swingers scene, and controversial politics.
'I'm just saying for me, it hasn't been the fantasy land I thought it would be, for reasons that are true to my own,' said Barbara Lochiatto, a widow from Boston who has lived in The Villages for 12-years and longs to return to her hometown but can no longer afford to do so.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Feeling the same here.
Just turned 53 here in Snowy MA...gonna have to look into The Villages soon..
:)
That’s ridiculous. Gen X never had a chance. Boomers had the attention. Destroyed our country and still can’t stop destroying it on the way out. Millennials will pick up your disastrous example and continue your horrid legacy.
This is all about too many conservative whiteys living in one town. Can’t have that now can we in this new age of inclusion and diversity.
Barbara look like a bag lady. Unflattering clothes for starters.
I live in Sun City Hilton Head built by Del Webb. It is a smaller version of the Villages with 8400 roof tops. 55+ is more like 70+. It has all the amenities and clubs. It also has modification standards. Virtually any change made to outside of a house has to be approved. The HOA and golf fees are reasonable.
We looked at the Villages for retirement. The Villages requires a large bond to be paid on utilities. Golf is not really free at the Villages as they charge cart fees on the executive courses. Full price on the regulation golf courses. It hard to get a tee time during peak season.
Prior to the Covid, there was a lot of social life here at Sun City. The bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen in SC last spring so we never felt deprived or shut in. Golf was never shutdown as well. There are many golf courses in the vicinity, as well as three on grounds, to choose from. I belong to four golfing groups. The commissioner makes the tee times and forms the foursomes. All I have to do is show up.
Urban legend has it that the swinger sign here is an upside down pineapple hung on your front door. I know a lot of people. If something like that were going on, I would have heard of it. If a single woman tried to steal a husband, she would be ostracized by the other women.
This hit piece it crap. We live close by and have friends that live there.
What is wrong with living in a place that is like all other communities except that: 1. There are no potholes in the roads. 2. There is virtually no crime. 3. People will be people and have issues everywhere. 4. There is always something to do. There are over 2,000 legitimate clubs for your interests. 5. So, there are many golf course, is that a sin?.
The down side is that there are many people from NE states. Their attitudes and lack civility is easily noticed.
So, no corrupt local gov., no bad weather, good health facilities and even part time work if you need it. What a crap article.
Of course it’s a hit piece of crap.
The UK doesn’t want its seniors getting any ideas.
Plus, from the pictures, they’re mostly white people. That right there is deeply suspicious. Exercising all that privilege, all the unacknowledged microaggressions, it just has to be evil!
And it's waaaaay too white supremacist...er, white...for the author's tastes. Time for Biden to order in some Somali refugees to give the area character. /s
I'm sure many seniors stuck in dingy little Northeast apartments would love to move to the Villages, but can't afford to.
C’mon... there have to be some negatives about the place too.
This article is hilarious in that it sounds like any sensationalistic piece written about a generation in the last 100 years. This reads like an “exposé” in the 1920s that paints every young woman as a gin-soaked flapper ready for a quickie in the back of a Model T. The author is a fusspot who wanted to find the negative in her new digs. The poor dear found herself surrounded by (GASP!) Right Wingers, so she, by needs, had to paint the community in the most negative light possible. I say this as a GenX kid m’self.
The orgy stuff makes for a more interesting read.
We, the GenX Generation, are the product of Boomers. The victors of the Culture War have painted the Boomers in a light that conforms to their own experiences - i.e. a great deal of ink spent on writing about the Boomers has come from the ones who were smelly hippies. Never mind the fact the fact that most Boomers were not hippies. My parents were too busy working and living frugally in college to waste time smoking dope and getting involved in hippie activities - the same goes for their friends. Every generation has its good and its bad - that includes our generation.
Gen Xer here too. The whole idea of these retirement communities turns me off. Who wants to spend all their time with other old people? There has to be more to life than just easy living. The the unfulfilling boredom would be oppressive and idleness leads to all kinds of depravity.
I look forward to retirement as a time to different kinds of work. I want to stay close to my kids and grandkids. I want to be there to help and support them and pass on wisdom and learning as older generations are supposed to.
I have a long way to go though. At 47 now and figure at least 20 years before any kind of actual retirement is possible. Probably longer since SS will be bankrupt by then and one of these days all the inflation from money printing will catch up to my savings.
My friend ran a state health department for years, and she’d get STD data from all around the country. The Villages was at the top of the list — or so she said.
someone sounds aggravated because herd immunity appears to be working...
I see what you did there...
Yes, she really made an effort to include as many Woke buzzwords as possible.
The article is commenting on the film- This Side Of Heaven. I rented it based on interest generated via a trailer that I ran across on my phone’s news feed.
It’s interesting... as a documentary “can be” owing to the subject matter and directorial touch, YET once consumed, leaves a feint taste of condescension on one’s palate. “A feint taste” may be too kind of a word combination to use in describing the level of condescension within the film. Perhaps, “a bitter taste” of condescension is more appropriate.
Ironically, I would recommend it for it’s “entertainment” value, as I had no knowledge of The Villages in general, save for remembering that Sarah Palin campaigned there, first piquing my interest about The Villages, and again when candidate and POTUS DJT brought his rallies to The Villages.
Disclaimer: I also use my Spidey senses to detect propaganda (bullshit detector) when and where appropriate, resulting in dialing up my discernment functions to maximum capacity if required.
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