Excerpt from Leisureville: Adventures in America’s Retirement Utopias

The Villages is located roughly in the center of Florida, about an hour north of Orlando International Airport, where I touch down feeling like a dork in my new argyle socks and loafers. I drive north along a relatively lonesome patch of the Florida Turnpike, which to my surprise cuts through rolling pastureland instead of swamps. The sides of the road sprout billboards advertising retirement communities. Photos of seniors playing golf and relaxing in pools are plastered with slogans such as “Life is lovelier,” “On top of the world,” and “Live the life you’ve been waiting your whole life for!” … Back to Article