yes absolutely!!! i've gotten attached to all my villagers but i keep my 10th villager are one that i can always rotate if i ever feel like it, whether they want to leave by themselves or i like a campsite villager more :3
It's pretty hard! I get really attached to my favorite villagers and then quite guilty when need too change them for others because there's no more space...for example I still miss Carmen from time to time, but I really wanted to have some new animals and Sasha is very cute too (also she already lives on my New Leaf town which makes it easier than others)
YES </3
I am switching up my theme recently, and I needed to get specific villagers.
My starter, that I've had for a year, Cherry, had to hit the road
I really liked her. I ended up letting someone from a facebook group take her. They got to me the next say and said that Cherry told her that her island would "never compare" to mine.
She misses me too :,) I wish I got her picture before she left
Yes, I end up feeling pretty sad about it, and I make sure I have their picture before letting them go. Amiibos make it easier nowadays, so if I'm really torn up about having a villager leave, I can always summon them back for a visit.
It can be for sure. Renee was a starter of mine and she stuck around for ages before leaving. Even though she's not one of my favorites I grew to really like her so it was a little heartbreaking to see her go. It's always sad to see them get voided too because no one wanted to adopt them.
It always has been hard for me. Last time I played, I was letting some long time villagers leave so I could try some other villagers. Some villagers that I had a long time, weren’t favorites but I got attached.
depends on who it is and how much i love them!! i've still got a starter villager (sly) who i need to move out. i invited quinn sort of early on and was a fan, but she no longer fits my islands' vibe so she needs to go at some point.
i'm very much not letting go of rowan nor lobo though, the emotional damage would destroy me
For a little bit it was, but then I started getting portraits and felt that it was enough of an incentive to let them go in replacement for new villagers to gain portraits from. This type of goal is a great way for me to continue to play the same island instead of just deleting and starting fresh (which I've done a handful of times since it usually feels necessary after not playing for a bit).
I've definitely struggled replacing longtime villagers - I had a list of 10 permanent villagers I wanted on my original island and despite having that island for close to four years I don't think I ever ended up with them all together as I'd find someone else while island hopping and then they'd end up just staying on my island as I grew too attached to them. For the most part I'd work on getting their photos and then swapping them out but even then I kept some of them for months after getting their pic.
I've had a hard time saying goodbye to some villagers too. That's why I'm thinking of making sure to collect their photo on my second island before letting them go.
i’ve been pretty set on who is on my island, but recently i decided to let sherb move for fang. he was on my island for multiple years in real life. it hurt more than i thought it would, but i’m glad i finally have a cranky villager. i wouldn’t let any of my villagers move again.
I really struggle with letting villagers go. I've said goodbye to a few to get the villagers I have now and it was hard. I am really happy with my current villagers so I don't see myself letting them move... but that also makes me feel kind of mean!! Especially when they're like, "I'm ready to spread my wings and explore new places " and I just deny them, lol.
I am permanently keeping the villagers that I currently have, but I did have a hard time letting go of a few of them. I think Sherb was the most memorable. When i came across him on a mystery island I thought I had somehow simply never seen him in New Leaf -- didn't know at the time that he was a new villager altogether -- but anyway I snapped him up. Sherb is such a great lazy villager!! Probabky my favorite goat villager now that I think about it.
I can never follow through with dreamy villager lists I create for myself because I always get attached to other villagers instead. My end result is always vastly different from my start goal because of my attachments lol.
currently having this problem LOL. i’m choosing between removing either beau or monty (both whom i’ve had since 2020) and let me tell you i am STRUGGLINGGGG
yesss when villagers stay with me for long i get attached to most of them even though i dont usually want to truly keep them Wendy, one of my longer-staying villagers, wanted to move out today and it took me a while to say yes mainly bc im nostalgic and i’ll miss her, even if i dont interact with her that much anymore
I mean my current group is pretty well set with no plans to change, but if I decided to let one or more go for some new residents down the line, it'd not be difficult to do either
hell, a lot of my initial gameplay of these games just has me just letting villagers come and go as they please without a worry. I enjoy the random moving, and tbh if new horizons could have 12-15 villagers, there's a possibility that I'd have 2-3 of them be always open for moving in/out options
Yes! I lost one of favorite OG (from 2020!) villagers (Analisa) after finding Raymond on a mystery island tour. I had a vacant lot and Raymond was coming to my island so I thought all was good. There must have been mere seconds between this happening the way it did. Raymond was on his way and another villager moved into the vacant lot and it ended up booting Analisa for Raymond. I was so upset.
" and I just deny them, lol.
Wendy, one of my longer-staying villagers, wanted to move out today and it took me a while to say yes mainly bc im nostalgic and i’ll miss her, even if i dont interact with her that much anymore 
