Disney and the Truman Show

Oh my goodness...I suppose many people have heard of, or visited, The Villages. Well, we visited since we are not too far away. And we are waiting on snail mail documents. 

Friends recommended we visit....just to check it out. Honestly, I was not expecting too much. But, WOW. It's manicured like Disney, from the grass to the lavish visitors' center. We arrived at the visitors center near Lake Sumter Square and were graciously greeted by an employee. Since we arrived later in the afternoon and had missed the last trolly, she offered to have 'someone' come over to talk with us. The complimentary trolly offers a tour of the property and information. Meanwhile we hung out in the Music Room, sipped coffee, and read The Villages Newspaper. Their paper basically provides information on the 25498377 clubs in the neighborhoods. Anything from the 'Texas' club-for those that hail from the great state- to china painting. Also information is given about tons of recreation opportunities at the pools, rec halls, golf and nightly entertainment. So much to do....so little time! We met with basically a salesperson. Greg gave us a history and the future vision. He provided a packet which included a CD and printed material. All very interesting. We asked questions and talked for about an hour. After, we walked the square and jumped in our car to tour some neighborhoods.

Manicured grounds at The Villages

Basically, There are several main villages and within each village there are smaller ones. It could become confusing, but it's not. There are also 'main squares' which is like a town center. Each has a square where the nightly entertainment occurs. We saw lots of kids there. I suppose visiting grandparents. The Villages provides shopping from soup to nuts! Doctors to ice cream shops. Really. Another interesting note....the schools. Yes, there is a school system for the children of those employed by The Villages. 

It is quite an operation. Gerard thinks The Villages is a cross of Disney world and The Truman Show.
Think about that....

Example of a home in The Villages. There are all kinds and prices!

Golf carts everywhere

We sipped a mudslide and beer at the town square while listening to some live music. Some danced, others enjoyed the night air. On a whim, we decided to go to the theatre on the corner. Pretty upscale joint...old time feel, but again very lavish. We decided to see Jurassic World. I'll say there will never be another Jurassic Park. Not impressed. Waste of money.

By the way, if you get a ticket in your golf cart for SPEEDING, the cost is $249.00. That's why there is an ad in the paper for golf speedometers.....

After the movie....home, we go.

Vehicle Registrations in Florida

We decided to do all titles, registrations, licenses in Florida. First of all, we are here visiting our grand baby and it just makes sense right now. The road is calling us to cooler weather....just a change of scenery! Our vehicles were expiring the end of August. A decision had to be made...acted upon....to be legal and law abiding citizens.

Today we completed all loose ends to register and re-title the last vehicle, rather the fifth wheel. It was more expedient since we were already in the system. A week or so ago we registered/re-titled our two passenger vehicles and received drivers licenses. The DMV folks at Bushnell are so friendly and pleasant!  Not my typical DMV experience! We walked in, no wait, didn't even have to take a 'number'. The lady waved us over to her station and began the process.

We handed over our drivers' licenses, Alabama title (for the 5er) and a bill of sale. We purchased the Montana in Indiana over 6 months ago, so we were exempt from paying additional sales tax. Alabama collected their portion (where we lived at the time) and all is good. I read others' blogs about the 6 month cut-off. I also found this information on the Florida government website. So please, check out your state's laws and regulations!

Also note* Florida's vehicle sales tax is 6%. If your purchase is less than 6 months, they will collect the difference. For example: if you purchased in another state with a sales tax of 4%, Florida will charge you 2% for a total of 6%. Get it???? 

The title application and  TWO year registration for the fifth-wheel in Florida-total cost $177.95. It is based on length of 'travel trailer'. It isn't motorized, so different rules apply. Mainly no 'impact fee' of an additional $225.00!!! Yipppe for that! Another note...no VIN inspection. We didn't have to haul our home to any location. Another Yipppeee!

The breakdown for the fifth wheel:
 Title Application Fee of $85.25
  License Plate Fee-$28.00
  Registration for 2 years  $64.70
  Total of------------------$177.95

No more fees/taxes for two years. Unless things change drastically, the next tag renewal in 2016, should be around 65.00.

Check out the rules and regulations for your state to be sure of documents needed and actual cost.
The passenger vehicles and heavy duty trucks are a different story.....Later.

Waiting on Thursday...

Bushnell, Fl is our home for the next few days as we wait on mail to travel all over the U.S. of A....as we establish domicile here. It's a test of patience and many phone calls, changing addresses on line, and then we....wait.....and wait....for the snail mail. We are paperless on everything possible. I would say 99.9% of our 'business' is viewed online. Some establishments refuse to participate in the web-based world. This makes it interesting for those of us without a physical address....nomads. But, it is part of the journey. Besides, look at where we get to go without worrying about mowing the lawn, painting the house...I do understand this life style isn't for everybody. I am happy for the opportunity to jump in. Gerard did provide a gentle nudge along the way. More details on the process-one day.

Then we are off the Port Charlotte to visit the Smiths, life long friends. It is about an hour and half drive to their new home where we will spend the afternoon. Afterwards, we drive to Sarasota to spend the night with our daughter's family to be alert and ready for the Saturday morning baby-sitting gig!

So....Thursday is THE day we complete our registration process for the fifth wheel. Our other vehicles were registered when we updated our driver's licenses for FL. 

The reason to become Florida residents...our Alabama vehicle tags were about to expire. We no longer lived there and were forced to consider the usual nomad RVer decision...Florida, South Dakota or Texas. After much research from the respective states' websites, phones calls, and RV blogger tidbits, it became simple. The silly yearly inspection in TX bugged Gerard greatly. What if we didn't return for a year? Or 2? Or 3? South Dakota-too far for now. So Florida wins. It is a little more expensive up front, but pays for itself in a couple of years. We have acquired all necessary documents required by Fl...geeze, it's difficult to pay money to taxing entities without a 'physical address'. They make it almost impossible. More on that later...when I can digest it without heartburn. Later.