Unexpected Fate All aboard for 'Fun Town'
Written by Christopher McCaa
All aboard for 'Fun Town'
Sex, drugs and Viagra-fueled parties - this is not your typical retirement community. Welcome to The Villages in Florida. It's just another Saturday night at Katie Belle's Resident Club in central Florida. A cover band pumps out chart toppers from days gone by as liquored up party-goers crowd the dance floor. Across the room, a bartender feverishly fills the cups of glassy-eyed patrons stocking up on the sauce before the dreaded sound of “last call” brings the proceedings to a close.
But this ain't your average nightclub folks. And these brain-cell butchers aren't college co-eds on a spring break bender. These creatures of the night are retirees who've chosen to trade in the “Early Bird Special” for a night on the town inside the gates one of the fastest growing phenomenons in the world of retirement communities.
Its called The Villages, and its rewriting the retirement rulebook.
This nesting ground for those 55 and older features all the hallmarks of a budding metropolis and bears almost no resemblance to your grandma's nursing home.
The community, located about an hour north of Disney World, boasts a population of 75,000 retirees, a number expected to swell to over 100,000 in the coming years. Covering more than five square miles, The Villages is like a theme park on “'roids,” custom built for the elderly.
According to various reports, residents of the retirement community can wile away the hours in dozens of recreation centers, two libraries, a polo field, archery range and over 28 golf courses. “Villagers” can even keep tabs on their community, thanks to The Villages newspaper, The Villages Daily Sun.
Two downtown areas, designed by the same people who themed Universal Studios, are populated by shopping centers, restaurants and nightclubs. Access to and from the bustling mini metropolises, as well as the rest of the expansive community, is via about 100 miles of roadways designed mainly for golf carts.
These carts are the primary mode of transportation for the fun-loving retirees, some of whom trick out their electric-powered rides to look like custom hot rods.
In a promotional advertisement, Jennifer Parr, director of sales for The Villages, appeals to geriatrics looking to spend their autumn years insulated from the world outside.
“It's like being on a permanent vacation,” she said.
But like any vacation, life at The Villages does have potential pitfalls. In a community where the
Pleasure Principle dictates nearly every aspect of daily life, some residents are apparently paying a price for their freewheeling lifestyle.
Andrew D. Blechman, author of “Leisureville: Adventures in America's Retirement Utopias,” reveals the shady side of the community seldom seen by the outside world. In his book, Blechman reports that the community is not only home to thousands of senior citizens, but a breeding ground for sexually transmitted diseases.
According to one resident of The Villages, who calls himself “Mr. Midnight,” the community is a hotbed of promiscuity. From his time spent living in the exclusive enclave, Blechman tells tales of Viagra-fueled parties, the consumption of voluminous amounts alcohol and flagrant marijuana use.
Although it may be bad publicity for the retirement resort, today's “Villagers” show no qualms about paying the price for a little frivolity, and the community's organizers don't seem eager to to quell any outlandish claims.
“When the sun goes down, the fun comes up,” Parr boasts on The Villages Web site.
Such is the ethos in this Garden of Eden for the “Carpe Diem Crowd,” and all indications are that the The Villages will flourish in the years to come, as the gray-headed masses continue to flock to the “Good Time Emporium” in search of a permanent vacation.
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