An investment in lifestyle that will suit downsizers to a tee

Downsizers Sabena and Mark O'Brien say their decision to move into a golf-side retirement community at a relatively young age was to maximise their investment in the lifestyle it offered. 

Sabena, 64, and Mark, 67, are loving life at Aveo's Shortland Waters Retirement Living community in the Hunter with the added benefit of improving their golf handicaps. Sabena says she began thinking about downsizing after the couple supported both their mothers to move into aged care. "After decluttering for our mums, I was determined we would not leave this ordeal for our children one day," she said. 

"We were living in our large multi-level home at Lake Macquarie, and I started looking at options while Mark was happy to stay where we were. I began decluttering and set ourselves the task of filling our general waste bin every fortnight."

"One day, I came across a downsizing website advertising an Open Day at Shortland Waters. Despite living only 30 minutes away, we were unaware of this little gem tucked away beside the Shortland Waters Golf Club but as we both enjoy golf, even Mark became interested. When we drove into the village, it was obvious that a lot of love had been put into the gardens and surrounding golf course. We thought 'this is amazing'.'' 

The couple continued decluttering and looked at other retirement communities in the area but said nothing compared with what they had seen at Shortland Waters. 

"Doing our due diligence, we saw a financial adviser who provided us with a better understanding of the financial considerations when buying into retirement living. He explained we weren't buying an investment but a lifestyle,'' Sabena said. "The advisor told us moving to a retirement community while younger offered a better lifestyle return on that investment as you have more time to enjoy all it offers. This advice resonated with us.'' 

After attending three Open Days at the community and meeting several of the residents, Sabena and Mark decided it was time to make a move, but were determined their new home should have views of the golf course. 

"We returned to inspect the new villas nearing completion. We walked through the door of one and I could see an awesome view of the course out the back. We fell in love with everything about it, including the size, and Mark instantly said 'yeah we'll buy it.' We signed that day and sold our own house within a week."

"We moved into our new two-bedroom home with our little dog Pippa on December 5 last year. It's the perfect size for us and has a multi-purpose room that Mark has converted into his 'playroom' with a big TV. When we sit outside and look out over the golf course, we know we made the right decision. We love it." 

"There is so much to do here, we're having a blast. We both play competitive golf, and I do Zumba and line-dancing in the community centre while Mark is enjoying going to the gym and long walks. Our dog now walks more than she has ever before in her life. Our grandchildren also enjoy coming over for sleepovers.'' 

The couple say their daughters were initially 'quite shocked' by their decision to move to retirement living, convinced they were too young. "But after visiting the community and seeing how beautiful it is, they understood and now realise the time was perfect for us to make the move,'' Sabena said. The lock up and leave lifestyle benefits the couple who travel regularly in their caravan or head for adventures overseas. "We have our own little private garden space where the mowing, weeding and hedging is all done for us, but we can do as much or as little gardening as we wish," Sabena said. "When we travel we know everything will be safe and cared for while we are away.''

To learn more about Shortland Waters, click the link below.