Villager Terrance Gordon made some valid points in his recent essay, “Residents who can no longer afford to live in The Villages need to go to an affordable community.”

I saw that many readers were criticizing his piece, but here is my story.

My husband and I bought a home in the 1990s in The Villages. We were thrilled. We loved our neighbors, we loved to golf and we thought we had found paradise.

But then came medical challenges. We stopped golfing and no longer went to the pool. We only went to an occasional social at the nearby recreation center.

At the same time, we began to realize our finances could not carry us through our remaining years if we remained in The Villages. We decided to sell our home and move back north where we would have family support. It was not an easy decision.

We made a nice little profit on our home. We found a senior apartment which was within our budget. Then I lost my husband.

Everyone’s situation is unique. It was painful to leave The Villages, but I am glad we made the decision we made when we made it.

Anna Schumaker

Former Villager back in Ohio