Flood of retirees makes Villages fastest-growing metro area in U.S.
The Villages — Florida's largest retirement community — is also the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan area, according to Census Bureau.
The unincorporated community of 107,056 residents grew 5.2 percent from 2012 to 2013. In that year, The Villages gained more than 5,300 new people.
It was previously classified as a micropolitan area, which has a population of less than 50,000.
The Villages prospered with steady growth of retirees at a time when migration to other Florida cities slowed during the recession. In 2012, the retirement community that sprawls over Lake, Sumter and Marion counties.
The Villages' pace of growth seems unrelenting to residents, but the pattern of growth — each new residential development gets its own golf courses, pools, restaurants, and other amenities — means the impact of more people moving in isn't significantly felt by other areas of the community.
The uniqueness of The Villages is it is many, many villages, so you don't really notice the growth. feels like a small town that swells and shrinks with the arrival and departure of winter residents.
During January to April, 95 percent of the houses have someone in them. Other months, 20 percent do not.
January through April it gets pretty crowded, but I appreciate the fact the restaurants need that to maintain their business during the slow months."
The latest census figures show that Florida still hasn't lost its allure to retirees despite other places and other states competing for the coming tsunami of retiring baby boomers.
It's a nice niche that Florida has, but it happens to be a good one when it keeps things going in good and bad times. It's a brand that is hard to erase."
Comments
Post a Comment