What Does It Really Cost to Live in The Villages, FL?
The Villages, located in central Florida, is a large age-restricted community known for its vibrant and active lifestyle for residents aged 55 and older. Boasting an array of amenities such as golf courses, recreation centers, pools, and social clubs, The Villages offers a resort-like experience year-round. With numerous dining, shopping, and entertainment options within the community, residents can easily find ways to stay engaged and connected. The Villages provides a mix of housing options, from cozy villas to spacious single-family homes, all designed to cater to the needs and preferences of its diverse population.
As retirement nears, something everyone has to consider is budget and costs. Can you afford to live in The Villages? Are there any hidden or surprise costs you didn’t expect? We bought a 2 BR, 2 BA Patio Villa in The Villages. This article will cover our actual costs for the first 6 months and the comparison to the estimated budget The Villages sales agents will provide you.
The Villages, FL Golf Cart Bridge over SR 44
What does it cost per month to live in The Villages, FL?
When you request information or visit a sales center in The Villages, they will give you an estimated cost of living sheet. The current Estimated Cost of Living for The Villages can be found HERE. The Villages breaks down the costs by the type of home, so you can compare and get a good idea of what you will be able to afford. We used this cost of living estimate to prepare our budget. After we got our first full month of bills, we sat down and compared the estimated budget from The Villages with our actual costs.
See how they compared in the video below!
The Cost of Living in The Villages, FL
We are going to break down the different costs of living in The Villages into two parts. The first part is all the costs that The Villages includes on their sheet. The second part is other costs you can expect to pay if you choose to buy a home in The Villages.
Costs included on The Villages Estimated Costs:
Amenity Fee
Trash
Sewer
Water (Irrigation is not included in this estimate. Depending on the size of your lawn, your irrigation bill could be significant in the drier months.)
Gas/Electric
Insurance
Taxes
Assessment (Bond and Maintenance Fee)
Other Costs You Should Budget to Live in The Villages:
Internet/Cable
Lawn Care
Pest Control
Termite Bond
Streaming Services
Golf Cart
Golf Cart Insurance
Home Maintenance
Home Improvements
Landscaping Improvements
Also, to enjoy the active lifestyle in The Villages, you may also want to consider budgeting for items such as eating out, going to the many concerts and shows, classes at the Enrichment Academy, as well as the small fees there are sometimes to participate in social club activities. There is plenty to do in The Villages that is included in your amenity fee. You don’t have to spend extra money to have fun, but there are so many opportunities here you might want to set a small budget to do extra things. We also had to add to our budget for holiday decorations for the house and golf cart as well as themed outfits for the many parties and celebrations!
Once we were in The Villages for over 6 months, we decided to analyze our budget again and look at all of those other costs we mentioned above. We created a budget tracker that you can use to estimate your costs. We have included all of our costs for The Villages section on the tracker. Delete those to make this your own.
CLICK HERE FOR THE TVE BUDGET TRACKER.
We hope you find this useful. We cannot offer tech support, but hope it is easy enough to use. Here are some tips for using the Budget Tracker:
This is a Google Sheet. You MUST have a Google account to open it and use it. Setting up a Google email/account is free.
When you click on the link, it will prompt you to Make a Copy. It will then save a copy on your own Google Drive.
There are four tabs.
Start with the first tab: Setup. You have to enter a number in the Starting Balance cell.
Expenses tab: You will need to click on the “+” symbol next to each category for all of the subcategories to appear. Do not add any amounts into colored cells. This is where your total from the subcategories will appear.
Income tab: Add Wages and Other Income. Do not add any amounts into the colored cells.
Summary Tab-This tab is locked, you cannot edit it. This is where you get all of your results from the other tabs. The summary updates automatically when you change amounts in the other tabs.
See all of our actual costs compared with The Villages estimates in this video:
We hope these comparisons are helpful for you as you consider where to live in retirement (or before!) A lot of the costs of living in The Villages are similar to the costs of living where you are now. Keep in mind that being a full-time resident of Florida does have some other tax benefits as well such as no state income tax and a homestead tax exemption on your property taxes. There are other tax breaks as well. Be sure to consult with a financial planner or CPA about what is best for your situation.
Some of the links/codes on this site are affiliate links, meaning if you choose to purchase using our links, we will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you but helps us keep providing the content we love to share. Every product we recommend, we use ourselves.
THE VILLAGES® is a registered trademark of Holding Company of The Villages, Inc. Michael and Tiffany TVE is not affiliated with, or sponsored by, Holding Company of The Villages, Inc. or its affiliated entities.