The new downsizing trend: moving before retirement

Australians are discovering a new way to downsize with a focus on lifestyle. Although they might have long been known as ‘retirement’ communities, over-50s and 55s communities have had a major facelift over the past decade. These vibrant neighbourhoods are attracting a younger demographic of full-time workers attracted by the opportunity to live an independent, socially and physically active lifestyle with ample amenities.

These communities are evolving beyond traditional “retiree housing” by becoming lifestyle-focused neighbourhoods suitable for a large cross-section of ages.

The sooner, the better

Sandy Holden, 61, reveals that she had an outdated idea about typical over-55s communities.

“I’ll have to admit that I’d thought you’d move in and be surrounded by old, sick people. But it really couldn’t be further from the truth, because at Glenfern we have a big mix of age groups,” she says.

After Sandy and her partner, Jo Naiden, 57, first visited Hometown Australia’s Glenfern on the NSW Mid North Coast they discovered that the reality was quite different. The community not only has a host of resort-style amenities, Glenfern is also perfectly positioned between the bush and the beach, just a 10-minute drive from the city and sand at Port Macquarie. 

“Our plan was to move somewhere like this when I was 65, after I’d retired. But one day I just thought, Why are we waiting? We can do this now. Have no mortgage, free ourselves up and just live a life that we want to live. Why wait another four years?” she explains.

The pair packed up their large four-bedroom family home in Canberra and headed north, closer to Sandy’s son and their grandchildren.

“We had a beautiful, big house in Canberra with a beautiful, big mortgage too,” she says. “Downsizing wasn’t easy, but I’m glad we did it when we did.”

While the couple had always planned to retire up the coast, soaring property prices pushed them to rethink their timeline. Instead of waiting for retirement, they took charge and made the leap early, moving into a two-bedroom home at Glenfern in Thrumster on the outskirts of Port Macquarie. 

The suburb’s 12-month median house price, according to PropTrack data, was $877,500. Prices at Glenfern start at just $630,000 for a quality brand new home surrounded by amenities. To find out more about Glenfern’s lifestyle offerings, visit the website. 

Despite both still working full-time, Sandy says the change already feels like semi-retirement.

“Living in this environment gives us more time. It just means that for us, on weekends, we don’t have to worry about cleaning up a big yard or fixing things. We can just take off - our weekends are all leisure.”

It’s been just over a year of living at Glenfern, and the pair have no regrets about moving earlier than planned.

“I’m just so happy that we moved here sooner rather than wait, because now we have the best life, even though we’re still working full-time,” she says, adding that her official retirement doesn’t begin until June next year.

“Some days I feel like I’m on holiday, even though it’s a work day. It’s 100 per cent a lifestyle change for the better.”

Defying stereotypes

The new era of over-50s lifestyle communities are breaking the mould by focusing on building a neighbourhood that offers vibrant social calendars, resort-style amenities and quality, affordable homes.

“I’d recommend it to anyone. People should look into it before they just ‘poo-poo’ the idea, because they’ll probably find that it’s totally not what they’re thinking. I know, because I was one of those people,” Sandy admits.

Residents can be as involved as they choose, she adds, whether that’s joining a group of Saturday-morning body boarders, or sunset happy hour among neighbours.

“You can do as much in this community, or as little as you want. I’d say residents in their mid-50s to mid-60s probably outnumber the much older residents here.”

The appeal beyond downsizing

A gated, lifestyle community, Glenfern offers residents everyday security, while also giving them the freedom to travel, with onsite caravan and boat storage.

There is a range of resort-style within the community including a 25m lap pool, clubhouse, gym and spa, lawn bowls, library, workshop, pickleball court, and more. For residents who want to entertain outside their home, there is a communal cinema, a café, and the Sports Bar & Grill. For pet owners, Glenfern has an off-leash dog area. 

“I’m involved in pickleball and bowls, so I don’t need to drive anywhere. It’s amazing how much money I’ve actually saved because of the amenities here,” Sandy says.
“One of the main reasons we chose Glenfern is that it had a really nice vibe about it, and also it was a lot smaller than a lot of the other communities we’d looked at, and we'd been looking for a while. It just ticked all of our boxes.”

About Hometown Australia

Hometown Australia is dedicated to providing Australians over 50* with vibrant lifestylecommunities in lifestyle rich locations without the hefty price tag. 

Hometown Australia offers a wide range of land-lease communities and affordable home options with a range of new modern homes and preloved homes across a varied price range throughout Australia. To find out more, go to the Hometown Australia website.