Not Everyone Wants To “Downsize”

Not everyone wants to downsize when they move into an over 50s resort and Jan and Graeme Douglas are a case in point. The husband and wife moved into Seachange Coomera in July and have been busy adding their personal touches to their two-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-storey house. It’s the first double-storey home they’ve owned, and they have no regrets. “We never gave it a thought that it was on two levels,” Graeme said. “We looked at it, we loved it and we thought why not?”

Previously, the couple had been living at their single-level four-bedroom house which they said was about the same size in square metres as their new Seachange home, which also has two bathrooms and a powder room, plus a double garage with storage at the rear. Graeme, who is over 70, said while he did consider the implications of the stairs, he knew they would provide some good exercise for him. “And if in later years they can’t be negotiated, you can buy stair chairs that run up and down mechanically. It’s a straight staircase so it will be easy to adapt,” he said.

It’s not the first time the Douglas couple have lived in a Seachange resort, having bought into Seachange Arundel seven years ago before building their own home. When they decided to move back into an over 50s resort, it was hard for them to go past the Seachange brand. “We had a look at a lot of them as we really like the concept of over 50s resorts, especially if you are wanting to travel because it’s so hard to find people to look after your gardens,” Graeme said. “We chose this one at Coomera because we like the idea that it is a smaller community, its location and that it is more undulating, not just flattened with house after house – this suit us better and it’s certainly lived up to expectations. This one is has a nice little community. I feel a lot of people go into the bigger resorts and regret it because they get ‘lost’.”

Over the past three months the couple have been working on some renovations to suit their lifestyle while also taking part in some of what the resort has to offer such as Friday happy hours, karaoke, barbecues and Christmas in July. Jan has enjoyed several excursions, including a recent coach trip to the Carnival of Flowers in Toowoomba,  while Graeme has been spending time in the resort’s workshop. He is also keen on lawn bowls and intends to become a regular on the green very soon.