The Villages is the best-selling community in the country (retirement or otherwise) for a reason, but not everyone who takes a look at The Villages for retirement falls under her spell.
We thought it'd be fun to compare The Villages to a number of other popular Florida retirement communities so you can see which one might come out on top for you.
We're not here to say that one community is better than another.
Only you can pick the community that comes out on top in your eyes based on what you are looking for in a community.
Today let's compare some of the popular features and amenities of The Villages to those of nearby Villages of Citrus Hills.
Golf
The Villages has more holes of golf than any other community in the world, with almost 800 holes of golf spread out over 14 Championship courses (most feature 27 holes) and 46 9-hole Executive courses.
So if your dream involves waking up and playing a new track every day, The Villages can help you achieve that.
That's assuming you can get a tee time.
Despite the large number of courses available, because of the sheer number of people living in The Villages (more than 150,000 at last count!), it can be tougher than you might think to get a tee time.
That's especially true during the busy season which runs from about Mid-October through April.
By comparison, the Villages of Citrus Hills has 63 holes of golf spread across 4 courses, but the population here is only a fraction of what you have in The Villages, so even during the winter season, it's no problem to get a tee time.
Interestingly, I hear from a lot of Villagers who tend to play the same 4 or 5 courses over and over.
One reason for this is they are playing courses near their home so they don't have to travel too far. Another reason is that 4-5 seems to be the number of courses that provide just enough variety, while also allowing for some level of mastery.
The thinking is, if you rotate through all the courses on a regular basis, you'd probably never get particularly good at any one of them, but if you play the same handful of courses on a regular basis, you'd probably get pretty good at some of them.
Location
The Villages is smack dab in the middle of the state.
One common complaint I hear from people is that their Florida retirement dreams involve living near the water.
Then they learn that The Villages is about as far away from either coast as you can get, and they are understandably disappointed.
On the plus side though, The Villages is set up with everything you need at your fingertips, like shopping, restaurants, and medical care, and most of it is golf cart accessible.
You're just going to have to live without the beach.
The Villages of Citrus Hills on the other hand is located in Florida's Nature Coast region, and the community itself is less than 30 minutes from the ocean.
It's a nature lover's dream with a ton of options for things to see and do over there, like Cedar Key, Homosassa Springs and Rainbow Springs state parks, and exciting excursions like swimming with the manatees, scalloping and much more.
On the flip side, The Villages has a lot more in the way of restaurants and shopping inside the community than the Villages of Citrus Hills.
At the Villages of Citrus Hills, you do have some restaurants within the community at the clubhouses, there's a regular lineup of entertainment available, and there's a great medical facility just outside the community's gates, but for most other services you will have to leave the community.
New Home Choices
While there are plenty of great floorplans available in The Villages, they tend to go through different phases every couple of years as far as allowing people to personalize their new homes or not. Sometimes it's a “take what they give you” type of situation, and sometimes they let customers make changes and customize things a little more to their needs.
Here's the experience one couple recently had building a new home in The Villages.
At the Villages of Citrus Hills, you also get a great selection of homes to choose from, but they are always very flexible with allowing customers to personalize their homes to their liking.
As far as lot selection goes, in The Villages, nearly all new construction will be in the ever-expanding southern part of the community.
At the Villages of Citrus Hills, you have a little more choice regarding where you'd like to be within the community and aren't as limited.
What's Your Decision?
So for you, will it be The Villages or do you think the Villages of Citrus Hills is worth a look?
If your heart is 100% set on The Villages, you should definitely check out my book, Inside the Bubble to learn everything you need to know before you move there.
I've been researching and writing about The Villages for more than a decade, and thousands of people have bought my book and followed my advice before retiring there.
On the other hand, if you are open to exploring a great alternative to The Villages, you should definitely request more information about the Villages of Citrus Hills today:
We moved to Clearview estates in 2018. Lots are 1 acre lots so there is plenty of breathing room. We like the space, the gyms and pools. We are not golfers but there is plenty to do in area including the beautiful Crystal River area.
Just saw it for a day and did comparisons.
Citrus Hills and The Villages.
Villages is too congested
Citrus Hills is country living.
We moved into Clearview Estates 2 years ago. Clearview is one of several communities that are part of the Villages of Citrus Hills. We love it here. This area used to be a large watermelon farm. It’s hilly and the 1 acre lots are mostly fields with trees along lot lines. I call it big sky country.
Thank you! I find the comparison feature very informative.
Great comparisons