Don’t wait until you have to move into a retirement village advises JANE SLADE, free yourself from stress and worry and move before you need to
With more retirement developments and villages offering state-of-the-art facilities and spacious and modern accommodation, it is no wonder that retired professionals are moving before they need to so they can spend their remaining years living the dream and enjoying life rather than worrying about the leaky gutter.
Nick Sanderson, CEO of Audley Retirement, which has built five stunning retirement villages in England, has long argued that living in a retirement village can actually extend people’s lifespan and help them lead happy, healthier lives.
And Alan and Claire Garnett who moved into Audley Binswood last year clearly agree.
“Our lives have changed profoundly for the better since we moved,” said Alan, 74, (pictured below) the retired boss of the Morgan Motor Company.
“Our relocation coincided with both of us retiring from running our own businesses and so we had the twin benefit of an excellent new home coupled with the glorious release from perpetual obligation!
“It is difficult to find words that describe the daily pleasure of being in a luxury environment where one’s every wish seems to be happily accommodated.”
The Garnetts moved from their five-bedroom house which had been their family home for 31 years, just 15 miles from where they live now, Binswood Hall in Leamington Spa.”
Even though they don’t own a property abroad they love travelling and intend to spend up to 12 weeks a year abroad and pursuing their passion for golf.
“Since we moved, we seem to have nothing but free time”, adds Alan. “My wife swims most days in the heated pool downstairs. We are occasional users of the gym. We would never miss the quiz night nor any of the visits to theatres …
“Our chief passion, however, is golf and we play this together at every given opportunity.
“We aim for three holidays each year including a month in Spain spanning the Christmas period.
“My wife is not long back from a six-week holiday to Australia and we have our sights set on a return to some of the American golf courses we have enjoyed over the years.
“Holidays now we are at Binswood can be more spontaneous and we have no thought about security while we are away.
“(How we used to hate rigging up bulbs to come on and off at various times in a desperate hope that we were fooling the local villains)!
Alan advises others to make the move.
“Embrace the challenge and delight in the fact that there are no more lawns to mow, no more windows to clean, no more trying to remember the day the bins go out, no more worry about home insurance and no more worry about security when you are away from your property.
“Of course, it is necessary to calculate the monthly costs of living in a brilliant Binswood complex but once you truly calculate all of the costs of running your previous home, you may feel the expenditure is quite realistic.
“The facilities at Binswood are simply remarkable,” he adds. “Luxurious heated pool, gymnasium, fine dining restaurant, bistro bar, library, spa facilities, hairdresser and the décor is simply sumptuous. Beautiful china pieces, magnificent portraits, all housed in a beautiful 1830s building.
“In every sense, we consider this our ‘Country Club’ within easy walking distance of Leamington town centre. Lucky, lucky us!”
For more information on properties for sale at Audley Binswood visit www.audleyretirement.co.uk / 01926 258049.
Audley Binswood is now launching Walton Court, the penultimate phase of Victorian and Regency-style apartments and cottages priced from £310,000-£540,000.
