A content creator whose grandmother lives inside The Villages has lifted the lid on what life is really like inside the infamous Florida retirement community, after staying with her relative — and experiencing a taste of the lifestyle. Kara Buchanan, a popular travel influencer who, along with her husband, Nate, runs a wildly successful YouTube channel on which they document their globe-trotting adventures. However, for her most recent travels, Kara chose to stay a little closer to home, venturing not to some far-flung destination but to the Sunshine State, where she got the chance to see what it’s really like to live in The Villages — and whether the many sordid rumors about the goings-on there are true. The Villages has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a trailer park in the 1970s. Today, it is a thriving, age-55-and-older community that spans 57 square miles — although it looks set to increase that footprint in the coming years. Last year, US Census data revealed that The Villages was the nation’s fastest-growing metro, growing 4.7% between 2022 and 2023. The purpose-built community offers its residents a wide array of amenities, including 3,000 social and special-interest clubs as well as activities like square dancing, drama, water ballet, belly dancing, precision golf cart driving, cheerleading, and tambourine tapping. There are also 14 country clubs, 17 pools, and 100,000 golf carts. Adding to their appeal is the fact that access to all of the community amenities — gyms, pools, rec centers, softball fields, golf courses, clubs, and activities — are available for a fee of $199 per month, no matter the size of a resident’s home. However, while the community is advertised as a thriving “backdrop where you can live life to the fullest,” it is The Villages’ residents and its bustling social scene that have attracted the most attention over the years. Many reports and rumors have emerged about the reportedly risqué scene that has emerged inside The Villages — with the community making national headlines in 2006, when WFTV news reported that its Women’s Center had seen a enormous uptick in the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases. “One physician at the Women’s Center of The Villages said even in her years working in Miami, she has never seen so many cases,” the report stated. This quote went viral, and the community quickly became known as the “STD Capital of America,” despite subsequent reporting calling attention to the fact that there was no accurate data to back up these rumors. Still, the stain of scandal has persisted inside The Villages ever since — with more fuel added to that fire when reports began to surface, suggesting that a group of swingers living in the community were using “loofah signaling” in order to publicly express their sexual preferences to other residents. That rumor has been traced back to a riff made by comedian Tora Himan, an Orlando-area drag queen who previously performed at The Villages as part of a cabaret show. A similar whisper that ran rampant involved upside-down pineapples. That scandal saw people on the web claiming that upside-down pineapples in The Villages were a way to signalize swinging. However, according to Kara’s grandma, these rumors have no truth to them. “Are the rumors true? Do you know anyone that has loofahs on their door or upside-down pineapples?” Kara questioned. “Haha, no. I have heard some rumors but as far as I know, they are not true,” she insisted. Although the swinging rumors may hold little credence, one thing is for sure — the residents of The Villages sure know how to party. In her viral video, Kara revealed that the residents often gathered around the courtyard and spent “all night” dancing, although her grandmother revealed that this really meant they were out and about until “9 p.m.” And while she insisted that her grandmother had seen no evidence of loofahs or pineapples being used on the dating scene, Kara did walk away with information about one rather unique method that some residents use to indicate they are single: “leaving the tag out on your shirt when you’re dancing.” Still, after enjoying multiple nights out at The Villages, Kara found it lively enough to brand the retirement community “college for retired people.” The community’s broad range of home prices is another reason The Villages is so popular among the silver set. As of this writing, there are over 900 homes for sale in The Villages on Realtor.com®. The community has roughly 71,000 homes total, with new ones springing up daily. The median list price is currently $389,900. The most expensive home on the market in The Villages right now clocks in at $1.5 million. It’s a four-bedroom, three-bath, 3,508-square-foot house on a nearly half-acre lot. The pricier homes in The Villages tend to be on a golf course, preserve, or lake, according to real estate agent April Couturier. The home mentioned above checks two of those boxes and also happens to be in one of the upscale neighborhoods around Lake Sumter.