Walter Coe, Ph.D.
The Villages FL is not a gate-restricted community. It is a series of contiguous, special-purpose municipalities, Community Development Districts (CDDs) with gates that do not restrict access by the general public. Therefore, the general public has access to all The Villages commercial amenities, e.g., Championship Golf and Country Clubs, over 130 restaurants, bowling centers, movie theaters, town square entertainment, hospital and medical centers, and much more.
The amenities that are exclusive to The Villages residents are the nine-hole golf courses, recreation centers, and social clubs. What’s interesting about The Villages is that the average Villager doesn’t use any of these amenities. What the average Villager enjoys most about The Villages is the same things the average non-villager enjoys. Its abundance of commercial amenities.