The Villages, Florida: Golf Cart Urbanism?

by philg

The Villages is very likely the world’s most active “active retirement” community in the world. A friend retired in his 50s (the magic of a U.S. military pension supplemented by work for and retirement package from a U.S. military contractor) to The Villages and showed me around recently. He says that it is home to about 150,000 people and that a percentage of units can be sold to those under 55 so long as they don’t bring under-19 kids with them who need to be educated in local schools. (In addition, the same enterprise is building an adjacent family-oriented community that is intended to house workers.) The Villages are northwest of Orlando (the mouse elite) and southeast of Ocala (the horse elite). It’s just over a one-hour drive to MCO or Disney World.

If you’re a student of New Urbanism you’ll find The Villages to be a twist on the concept. My friend lives in an almost-new house in an almost-new neighborhood. There are no sidewalks. The front of the house is dominated by a 2-car garage door. In these senses, it is the opposite of our New Urbanism neighborhood of Abacoa, despite the density being similar. All of the Abacoa neighborhoods have sidewalks and nearly all emphasize “meeting the street” with something other than a garage door (every house has a garage, of course, but they’re hidden behind the houses and accessed via alleys).

Realistically, though, how far is an American going to walk? Especially an American who is at least 55 years old? A $200/month HOA fee (“amenities fee”) gives every resident of The Villages access to recreation centers, neighborhood pools, “sports pools” (25-50 meters), golf courses (70, though some of them are “championship” courses that require an extra fee), pickleball, tennis, etc., etc. These are spread out over at least 32 square miles. Bicycling is fairly popular among residents and it is possible to drive a regular car to all of the points within the development, but golf carts seem to be the overwhelmingly popular means of transportation to any destination within The Villages. The local dealer (owned by the founding family) says “the average resident will drive 3,500 – 5,000 miles in their golf car per year” (a married couple will have two golf carts, so this is a per-person number). My friend says that it would be perfectly reasonable to go more than 50 miles in a single day within The Villages (he and his wife therefore bought gas-powered carts because the EVs didn’t have sufficient range at the time).

The Villages is designed with separated golf cart roads and car roads. Some of the latest communities have additional dedicated biking/walking paths. I am not aware of any place else in the world with a similarly extensive network of golf cart roads. (A fair number of people cruise around gated communities in golf carts, but they’re using roads designed for and shared with cars.) I’m not sure why, but the golf cart roads seem to move more people per square foot of pavement. Maybe because the vehicle size is a better match to the human driver/passenger size? Maybe because the golf cart roads have tunnels under and bridges over busy car roads so there isn’t time wasted at 4-way intersections?

A lot of places in the U.S. where new communities are being built have similar golf cart-friendly weather to The Villages. I’m wondering if golf cart roads should be built as part of standard urban planning even when there isn’t one giant HOA. If nothing else, Greta Thunberg should be happy. If people can get safely to the supermarket in a lightweight vehicle (about 700 lbs. for a lithium-ion machine) that’s a lot less impact on our beloved planet than if they run daily errands in a typical 4,000+ lb. highway-speed car. (Our kids go to a school that is 1.3 miles away. The supermarkets are 0.7 to 1.2 miles away. Home Depot is 1.7 miles away. All of these trips could be done almost as fast in a golf cart as in our Honda Odyssey and the weather would be reasonable for golf cart travel at least 90 percent of the time (people in The Villages have fabric on the sides that they can pull down if it is raining or chilly).)

If golf cart roads could become a standard part of the municipal vocabulary along with bike paths, sidewalks, and car roads, we could have Golf Cart Urbanism as a national movement!

What does a golf cart cost? During the Obama administration, the answer was “nothing”. Working class chumps were tapped to give rich people $5,500 for each electric “vehicle” where a golf cart could qualify if it had sufficient lights, etc. to be street legal (Cato):

The federal credit provides from $4,200 to $5,500 for the purchase of an electric vehicle, and when it is combined with similar incentive plans in many states the tax credits can pay for nearly the entire cost of a golf cart. Even in states that don’t have their own tax rebate plans, the federal credit is generous enough to pay for half or even two-thirds of the average sticker price of a cart, which is typically in the range of $8,000 to $10,000. “The purchase of some models could be absolutely free,” Roger Gaddis of Ada Electric Cars in Oklahoma said earlier this year. “Is that about the coolest thing you’ve ever heard?” … “The Golf Cart Man” in the Villages of Lady Lake, Florida is running a banner online ad that declares: “GET A FREE GOLF CART. Or make $2,000 doing absolutely nothing!”

(Some people made huge $$ by buying fleets of golf carts, harvesting the tax credits, and then leasing the carts to golf courses.)

Back in 2020 my friend paid $19,000 for each of his Yamaha golf carts, which struck me as basic (just two seats, for example). He said that the long-range electric carts today were selling for about $21,000. For a household with two adults, therefore the total cost of transportation equipment is about the same as in a place where cars are king because the household needs two carts, each of which is half the cost of car, and a car.

Maybe this could rejuvenate the EV industry, which seems to be dead except for Tesla. Instead of making huge cars and trucks that, apparently, few people want, the car companies could make street-legal golf cart-width EVs. Put in AWD and climate control, for example. Shouldn’t Ford and Honda be able to make better golf cart-width EVs than the small companies currently making them?

My visit was brief and I spent so much time in my friend’s golf cart that I couldn’t take a lot of photos. This video, though, shows some travel around via dedicated cart roads within The Villages:

Loosely related, an all-Islamic city being built just north of Dallas:

Based on their Instagram feed, they might want to put in an HOA rule requiring that all golf carts be painted with the Palestinian flag:

24 thoughts on “The Villages, Florida: Golf Cart Urbanism?”

  1. It was $1 mil to get in there a few years ago. Given the needs of inflation targeting to offset falling wages with higher prices, it’ll be $2 mil in another 10 years. There’s a small dip now which won’t last. Of course, house price doesn’t matter on this blog.

    • All depends on what you want. I bought a nice 3/2, concrete construction, with a great fenced-in location for like $400k last year. They have smaller 2/2 stick-built houses with smaller lots for around $200k. But if you want a massive house with a super-premium view, then yes….it’s going to be up there (or higher).

  2. I’ve been considering retiring to The Villages w/i two years or so from my east coast FL residence. I made my first exploratory visit a couple of months ago and dropped in on several open houses. I was very impressed.

  3. All depends on what you want. I bought a nice 3/2, concrete construction, with a great fenced-in location for like $400k last year. They have smaller 2/2 stick-built houses with smaller lots for around $200k. But if you want a massive house with a super-premium view, then yes….it’s going to be up there (or higher).

    • Steve, what is your home insurance rate? Do you have flood insurance? What does it cost? Does flood insurance cover hurricane damage?

    • Perplexed – paying about $2K to insure a 2000sf home. This includes an additional rider for sinkhole insurance, which is a concern throughout Florida due to the sandy soil here.

      I do not have flood insurance. I don’t think this is common here. We are very far inland, and The Villages has a pretty well engineered system for managing rainfall when it does come. Our normal home insurance does cover hurricane damage caused by wind and rain – but not by rising water (that’s what flood insurance is for).

      In terms of costs generally – we have found that insurance costs (home, car, and umbrella) are generally higher than were we moved from the Northeast. Property taxes per SF of house – along with tax-adjacent things like “the bond” – are about double what we paid up in the Northeast. “The bond” covers the costs incurred to build the utilities and stormwater mitigation systems that support our house. In other areas of the country this cost is just part of the house cost, but here in The Villages it is managed as a loan and is paid through your property tax bill. Other costs like groceries, gas, other utilities are similar to up North. The biggest change is obviously the lack of a state income tax, which more than offsets all of those increased costs.

    • Steve, your property tax is over double what I am paying, and my insurance is about $800 but due to school and local taxes my overall real estate taxes and home insurance are about $7K, more then your expense, even before my state tax. I considered $7k comparatively a very small expense, not anymore.

  4. The Villages is a fascinating real estate development! Your story has reminded me of my visit and will now use this space to expunge the built-up thoughts I have about The Villages.

    I visited The Villages in March of 2018 when “older” family members rented a house there for the month. I had always heard about The Villages and my initial thought upon arriving would be to drive through a main gate into The Villages. It now makes sense that The Villages are comprised of a collection of little Villages that each have their own community and a gate to get in. The Village that I rented my house in appeared to be one where several New York people had migrated to. In speaking with other folks they indicated that people gravitate to a Village with similar people. Although I found the “Boston” Village, I did not find a MAGA or Biden Village at that time.

    In looking at the location of The Villages I was initially perplexed why somebody would build this sprawling community somewhat in the middle of nowhere. Then, a quick measurement demonstrated that you are one hour to Orlando or one hour and a half to Tampa. The road to get to the Villages was interesting. I expected a major highway, yet, I was on this single-lane road. I remember stopping late at night at a pizza place about 35 minutes away in the large Cadillac Escalade that I had “sweet-talked” the nice woman at the rental counter into. Stepping out, still wearing a suit, the counter team at the pizza place remarked “Your not from around here now are you?”

    I did play golf at the Villages. In 2018, I was still an aspiring Senior Tour Player, in my mind at least and playing as much golf as I could. At 48 years of age, I figured I had two years to get my game in shape to make the Tour. The courses at the Villages are shorter and designed for ease of play and fun. I can understand why with an older generation. The driving range was well appointed even though it has mats to hit from.

    The Villages is paved with wide “sidewalks” for golf carts, but for motorists, the most interesting pattern is the number of rotaries. I guess the developers figured out that older people may have trouble at the stop lights, so why not just let them keep going. Outside on the main road I remember stop lights, but the number of rotaries was a memorable experience. Perhaps The Villages should issue everyone a https://www.comma.ai/ device when they join the community and can put stop lights back in the pattern.

    Our family members that were there for the month enjoyed the activities. Other than golf I did not partake in any.

    Returning home, I continued my deep dive into The Villages. I became fascinated with the growth they were planning for and the construction. One of the construction projects in The Villages eventually became the “Indoor Shooting Range” (https://shootersworld.com/indoor-shooting-range/). Once again, perhaps the demographic at The Villages are all “packing heat” and looking to unload a few rounds.

    Similar to our fearless leader, Phil Greenspun, I visited the Golf Cart dealer. I have photos of Golf Carts with price tags of $20,000 with a $1,000 off! My favorite image is the golf cart parked next to a full-size Ford Expedition!

    When I was 48, I could not see myself living there. Now, at 54, faced with potential job elimination from the once guaranteed employment of the Federal Government, The Villages and the cost of living are starting to look pretty good, even if I can’t make it to the Senior Tour. I do think I could make a living as the “on site” tech support representative for the Villages though!

    Overall, the business model at The Villages seems to deliver a great way of life that is appropriately priced. Although, their is that drive from Orlando since The Villages seems to have neglected to add an airport to their community. One would think a helipad would be good for a shuttle to get the Grandkids to Disney and back in a day!

    JJD – Needing Village People

    P.S. If you would like to see the golf carts, I added them to my twitter page @campryenwater
    P.P.S You can see the continued growth in this construction update https://youtu.be/-ZdQr-Zvirc?si=-9JI5Y0jhSlw2XTy

    • Love the comment about the rotaries! Yep, the big issue is that people don’t seem to know how to drive in them despite all of the signage. When we enter a rotary, we will make sure that there are NO cars alongside us in case they decide to abruptly change lanes. It happens at least once every 10 times or so :-/

      Haven’t checked out Shooters World yet, but it’s on my list! The relaxed attitude towards firearms here is certainly a big change from where I came from in the Northeast. I actually posted a picture on FB of a section of a Rural King advertisement, showing sales on ammunition and AR-15-style rifles. My former neighbors were NOT impressed LOL. But here, it’s totally normal.

    • Growing up in MA, I was very skilled and familiar with rotaries (or as they say in FL “round-abouts”).

  5. I once stumbled on the Wikipedia page for Peachtree City, Georgia (pop. ~40K):
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peachtree_City,_Georgia
    “Golf carts are widely used in the city. Over 10,000 households in the city own golf carts, and most areas of the city can be reached via more than 90 miles (140 km) of golf cart paths. ”

    I’ve never been, the line about having 140 km of golf cart trails struck me –

    Small mobility is interesting – I’d love to see a cross of the BMW C1 (a covered scooter with safety cage) and the Piaggio MP3 (3 wheeled scooter). Also intrigued by vehicles like the Renault Twizy, the Citroen Ami, the ElectraMeccanica Solo, and Magna’s Sarit. But they don’t currently solve any of my current transportation needs.

    • They are actually quite common here in The Villages – mostly e-bikes, but also some regular bicycles and also electric scooters. Downside is that it’s harder to have a conversation with someone on an adjacent bicycle, and also (relative to a golf cart) storage is limited if you go to the grocery store, etc.

  7. My wife and I moved to The Villages almost a year ago, once my youngest went off to college. We came here from the Northeast, looking for warmer weather and more things to do, as well as relief from very high income taxes. While it wasn’t a primary driver, we were also looking for a place where everyday conversations with friends and neighbors didn’t seem to always start and end with politics.

    So far, we love it here! Everyone we have met is very friendly, and since there are no “locals” in The Villages (ie, everyone here moved from somewhere else) everyone seems very eager to interact with others and identify common interests. Yes, the summers are incredibly hot and humid, but we can always use one of the 100+ pools in the community and also do things indoors. Typically we will just take a nap during the hottest part of the day, so we’re ready to go see live music every night on the local “town squares” (ie one of the 4 current shopping and entertainment venues in TV). They are building a fifth square now, and rumor is that it will open later this year.

    We live on the southern end of TV, so were about 45 mins away from WDW and the Orlando airport. We are also only 1.5 hours from the Port Canaveral cruise terminal, and also 1.5 hours (or less) to the Tampa / St Petersburg area and its beaches and entertainment venues. We use to love going to see the Rays play in an air-conditioned Tropicana Field, but thanks to Hurricane Milton that’s not an option for at least this season, and perhaps longer depending on how the Rays vs city drama plays out.

    Being in TV we of course have a golf cart! We learned early that one can score better deals by going “off park” to one of the many non-Villages-owned golf cart dealers here. We picked up a new electric Club Car 4-seater for approx $18K. It has about 55 miles of range, which is more than enough for our purposes. If I need to travel more than that (almost 3 hours of travel at the 20mph golf cart speed limit) I’ll use a car. We could get more range with a gas cart, but that means a much louder vehicle with more maintenance and the constant smell of gas fumes – no thanks.

    One more note – my wife and I are only 52, and have had no issues with the age requirement. As Philip indicated, at least 80% of the community needs to have at least one member of the household be over 55, and my understanding is that it’s not even close to that now. There is actually a good-size group of us “50 somethings” in TV that meet routinely and go together for events. My personal favorite is pre-gaming at one of the town squares before going (all in our golf carts) to the local high school football games on Friday nights in the fall. Happy to share more info if anyone has questions!

    • Perplexed: my host there said that there are some outdoor exercise machines owned/maintained by the HOA, but the standard gyms are private and require a separate monthly payment. There are a bunch inside The Villages.

    • “but the standard gyms are private and require a separate monthly payment. There are a bunch inside The Villages.”

      Huh? The Villages is loaded with very well-equipped regional and neighborhood “rec centers” for as much exercise as you can endure. All included with the monthly amenity fee (approx. $200/mo. currently).

    • The rec centers have arcade games, pool tables, foosball, ping pong, etc, and there are pools and tennis courts/pickleball courts all over. They also have outdoor “low impact” exercise equipment available, as well as a zillion miles of walking paths. All that is covered by your amenity fee. But if you want “standard” indoor gym equipment….no, that’s not included in your amenity fee. As Philip indicated, they have gyms you can join here for an additional. fee.

  8. Shouldn’t everyone be fleeing coastal States — especially red States? Isn’t global warming is real? Won’t rising sea levels eventually swallow those red costal States?

  9. You seem to be triggered by the Palestinian flag and muslims. Poor guy. I recommend a steady diet of any propaganda dreamed up by Netanyahu, Ackman, Schultz, or Dell to soothe that fragile colonial-settler mind of yours. Through the rectum is my advice, to maximize the rate of absorption, so you won’t have to deal with any of that pesky repressed guilt over apartheid and genocide when you’re out shopping for your next golf cart.

    • @Goy, I find it very ironic that you support and advocate for the Palestinian flag and Muslim causes, yet very much all who share your views don’t seem to take the broader issue seriously. Women, children, and even many men across the Middle East — outside of Palestine — face far worse conditions than those living under Israeli control. Yet, no one is demonstrating for their freedom or waving their flags!

      Even far more ironic is that those protesting for Palestine seem to forget that the very country they are protesting in, grants them the freedom to protest — regardless of what they are protesting for or against. Try doing that in a Middle Eastern country and see what happens. You will get a “Freedom Lesson”, up your rectum from the government.

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