The Villages: A Place to Ride, to Play, and to Live

BY KATRINA ROBINSON

The Villages, located in central Florida, is a retirement community comprised of several quaint neighborhoods, each with its own unique features. The Villages has residents from all walks of life and from across the nation, but above all else, the community is heavily populated with golf cart enthusiasts who use their carts to travel from place to beautiful place and attraction to recreational attraction.

The community consists of seven distinct neighborhoods. Camdyn is a group of cabana villas located in The Village of Hawkins, full of scenic views of nature and water that are sure to put any busy mind at ease. Also located in Hawkins is The Cottage Villa Series, which combines the appeal of private courtyards with the low-maintenance living of the Cottage Home Series. Hawkins Verandas South provides residents with a modern, stylish home that is both trendy and functional. The Carley Patio Villas are a low-maintenance option that is affordable and close to the pedestrian pathways that The Villages is famous for. The Elise Villas neighborhood is a short ride away from the Sawgrass Grove area, which will be home to Clifton Cove Putting Course, Ezell Regional Recreation Complex, Sawgrass Market, and O’Grady’s Restaurant & Pub.

Take a golf cart ride west to The Village of Bradford, and you’ll enter the Opal Bungalow Villas neighborhood, which provide retirees with the perfect combination of spacious living and privacy. The easy access to pathways and trails keeps residents on their toes and provides golf cart lovers with a

convenient way to enjoy riding around the neighborhood, enjoying the sights.

Hop on your cart and travel farther west, and you’ll run into St. Catherine’s designer homesites. This up-and-coming neighborhood provides future residents with a home close to all the dining, shopping, and entertainment they could want in central Florida. The homesites are gorgeous, and the home plans do not leave future residents wanting—not the least bit!

Each neighborhood is connected to the next, allowing residents from one area to mingle with those from another. And the quickest way for a resident to reach his or her neighboring buddies? A quick ride on a golf cart, of course!

But what is there to do in The Villages? Plenty. There are thousands of social clubs led by the retirees themselves, so residents can rest assured that they will be able to find a group of like-minded individuals regardless of their passions. Whether a person is an artist, musician, athlete, hobbyist, intellectual, philanthropist, or collector, he or she will be sure to find a social club that offers the opportunity to spend time with those who share their interests. The social clubs offer events and classes along with group or individual activities; it’s not difficult to fill up the calendar with this much opportunity for socializing.

The Aviary Village Recreation Center, located in the largest village, Hawkins, recently opened and provides residents with a billiards room; several gathering rooms; and outdoor pickleball, bocce, tennis, and shuffleboard courts. The cherry on top? The pool, which provides retirees with the perfect excuse to slap on some sunscreen and soak up the sun. And this is just one of the recreation centers in The Villages! There are also the Trillium Recreation Center, located at The Lofts at Brownwood, and the Water Lily Recreation Center in The Village of DeLuna.

So why are golf carts so prevalent in The Villages? Each neighborhood and recreational center we’ve mentioned is connected to the next by a series of roads, paths, and bridges. The Villages’ vice president of design, Tracy Morse, said, “Residents tell us all the time how much they enjoy the golf cart lifestyle. Our vision for full connectivity is all about making sure folks can travel by golf cart anywhere they want in the community.” An added plus? The community is constantly growing, as new bridges are constantly being constructed.

The Water Lily Bridge will travel over the Florida Turnpike; it’s the third of four major bridges that are to be built in The Villages’ southern region. Once it’s completed, this bridge will connect retirees to the community on the western side of the Turnpike. It will land near the Water Lily Recreation Center— hence, the bridge’s name. The Southern Oaks Bridge is the second Turnpike bridge in development stages; it will connect residents to future centers and amenities located south of Warm Springs Avenue and east of Marsh Bend Trail. The Chitty Chatty Bridge and the Brownwood Bridge have already been constructed; both bring residents via golf cart over State Road 44. Other notable pathways and roads include the Meggison Multi-Modal Pathway and the tunnel under Warm Springs.

About the bridges, land planner Mike Pape remarked, “These structures will not only add to the ease of movement throughout The Villages community, but they will continue to be a fun, celebratory sense of arrival and departure for years to come.” When all the bridges are completed this year, residents will have the ability to drive their golf carts from the northern most part of The Villages south and across the Florida Turnpike, ending up in the newest areas of the community, which are going to be filled with dining, recreation, shopping, and socialization.

All in all, The Villages brings a sense of community and connection to central Florida via seven different neighborhoods and a web of paths, roads, and bridges, all of which are traversed by residents on their trusty golf carts. It’s a place where true golf cart enthusiasts can be found, enjoying their lives and having fun with one another, whether it be by lounging by the pool, playing a competitive game of shuffleboard, or attending one of the many events hosted by The Villages. Retirees who end up living in this community are certainly lucky and lead a charmed life!