The Villages retirement community

an interview with residents

Bestguide: Hi Robert and Helen of The Villages retirement community - nice to meet you and hear your story.

Here we are at The Villages retirement community inLady Lake Florida--Central Florida.

BG: Now you both lived and worked in New Jersey your whole life. This is quite a change for you--do you really love it!

H: Oh yes, we can't believe we are here at The Villages.

BG: What is a typical day like at The Villages.

H: Well, we live life as we always have, but now we live it in a warmer climate. We are outside more, and since we are retired, we can do as we please--sleep in, go shopping, to restaurants--everyday things-- but we are more rested and happier.

B: Do you find anything different about living in a retirement community than a regular community.

H: A retirement community is very quiet. We began having problems in our old neighborhood with noisy teenagers, vandalism, too many cars. Kids coming home late at night. We just felt we had outgrown the neighborhood. Too much yard work. Stairs to climb.

I sleep better here at The Villages retirement community because it is so quiet.

BG: Helen, you have another home in New Jersey, is that right?

H: We are lucky to have another home in New Jersey where we stay in the summer.

BG: is it expensive to own 2 homes and do you rent one out when you aren't living in it. Also, how much trouble is it to travel back and forth.

H: No, we don't rent because I wouldn't want a stranger in my home. Our summer home we built ourselves many years ago so it is paid for. It's more of a beach cottage. We spend 6 months here and 6 months there. We leave everything as is and have a neighbor check in occasionally to make sure everything is ok.

We just take our business papers back and forth--our bills, insurance, etc. It is no trouble when you can do it like that.

BG: So you don't mind living where there isn't a mix of families and seniors.

H: Well, of course, we don't have children so maybe that is why it doesn't bother us. We actuallyprefer it to be all seniors because of the benefits of being so quiet, as we said before, and easy to make friends our age.

BG: Do you feel the features of your home benefit you as an aging person.

H: Our home is pretty standard. We take out the trash, do laundry, grocery shopping, get our hairdone, work out as we always have. But everything is closer, at hand, and we feel it is easier to get things done.

In Florida,certain things need doing unlike other places, however.In Florida, bugs are a bigger problem so we have our place sprayed inside and out. We have to wash the frame of our house to get any mold off.

We wanted a planned community. The Villages retirement community keeps the standards up--paint every 8 years--thingslike that.

BG: Is it expensive to live here at The Villages.

H: Some of our utility bills are: cable $83; electric $67; gas $58; water and other utilities $178. For what we get here--a high quality community in Florida--it is not expensive.

BG: How do you handle your medical appointments.

H: That is one of the reasons we are here. We feel it is a healthier place to live. I feel better.I recently had some health issues and that is why we moved here. We just felt we wanted to live somewhere a little warmer during winter. We have the kind of medical insurance where you can live wherever you like.

BG: Do you take day trips to the ocean.

H: We aren't that ambitious. There is so much to do here at The Villagesthat we haven't made any trips. We arevery happy to remain around home.

We also have very light complexions and we don't choose to spend too much time in the sun at the beach. Weare happy to be able to get a lot of sun here in Florida, but we use sun screen every day because the sun can be harsh to your skin. So we are careful about not spending too much time in the sun.

BG: Do you worry about hurricanes or tornadoes. As you know, Florida has had problems lately with more hurricanes and tornadoes.

H: We take it in stride. We aren't worried. We just manage it along with everyone else. Thereare instructions on what to do. We haven't experienced anything that would deter us from living here so far anyway.

BG: The Villages is known for having everything close at hand.

H: That's another thing we like. Everything we could possibly want is within ten miles of The Villages--medical,shopping. BG: Well, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We can see you are happy in your decision to move to The Villages retirement community in Florida.