Feeling a little sick and tired of endless garden and household maintenance – and the expense of running a larger and older home? You’re certainly not alone.
That’s why, after the kids have moved out and you’ve got a little more ‘me-time’, it’s well worth looking at a lifestyle resort so you can kick back and really enjoy the next best years of your life.
In this article, we look at over-50s lifestyle resorts and some of the great benefits of retirement living, especially moving into a resort community like GemLife.
What is a Lifestyle Resort?
Sometimes retirement villages and lifestyle resorts are terms used interchangeably.
While there are a few things that overlap – both provide homes and facilities for people over 50 – there are differences that may substantially impact your finances and your future lifestyle. In fact, we find that the true benefits of retirement living are found in over 50s lifestyle resorts like GemLife.
Lifestyle resorts like GemLife are land lease communities which offer a more transparent financial structure and less complicated legal contracts compared to retirement villages.
Read more about the differences between lifestyle resorts and retirement villages here.
8 Benefits of Moving into a Lifestyle Resort
When it comes to the legal and financial structure of retirement villages, there’s a lot to compare between the traditional model and other types of retirement living like lifestyle resorts, particularly for active over 50s.
And they are substantial – entry fees, exit fees, deferred management fees, capital gains fees, management fees – but that is probably not why ‘rightsizing’ to a lifestyle resort is on your radar.
As an active over 50, there is plenty you’re likely to want to do now you have more free time and fewer family financial commitments.
Most of all, you want a lifestyle that suits you and doesn’t make you feel like you’re in an old folks’ home.
Can you live the life you want to lead in a lifestyle resort? You sure can! Let us count the ways.
1. You Get to Relax
Many people who move into a GemLife resort do so because they’re ready to get off the roundabout of endless home and garden maintenance. They’re moving into a brand-new, quality-built home that has been designed to be a breeze to maintain.
And that’s just as well because many of our homeowners are too busy doing plenty of other things.
GemLife homeowners tend to be younger than retirement village residents (average age 71 as opposed to 81-years-old), quite a few still prefer to work part-time or devote more time to activities they enjoy doing.
And, unlike retirement village living, there is the peace of mind of only having one modest weekly site rental fee that takes care of the maintenance of the grounds and the top-class resort facilities. There are no exit fees, deferred management fees or capital gains fees.
All of that adds up to spending more time relaxing.
2. You’re Around Like Minded People
Times change and people move on. The kids have grown up and moved away, and (chances are) so have many of your friends and neighbours. But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. One of the many benefits of retirement living is that you get to re-create, restart and refresh your lifestyle, especially if you’re over 50 and wanting to maintain an active lifestyle with those who want the same.
GemLife over-50s lifestyle resorts attract homeowners who are active, vital and share many of the same life experiences which makes it easy to make new friends who have plenty in common.
3. It’s Great for Your Mental Health
GemLife resorts offer the opportunity to make new friends and have new adventures. In fact, many of our homeowners form lifelong friendships, even going on holidays together.
Our resorts have arts and crafts studios as well as workshops, which means you can continue to pursue the hobbies you’ve long enjoyed or team up with a friend to try something new such as resident organised activities including Zumba, line dancing or trying a new sport like pickleball.
There is never any shortage of social activities at a GemLife resort. And it is well documented that positive socialising is excellent for your mental health.
Knowing you have supportive friends and neighbours nearby also provides peace of mind as well as improves your quality of life.
4. You Have Access to Premium Facilities
“It’s like living at a high-end holiday resort” – that’s the remark we hear most often from homeowners and visitors to GemLife resorts.
At the heart of each resort is a premium Country Club which has many resort facilities for activity and leisure, all at your doorstep for you to use whenever you wish.
Imagine how much you can save by ditching your own gym membership and working out at the GemLife gym free of charge! Many resorts also have resident-organised Zumba and aqua-aerobics classes too.
The active and engaged homeowners have been known to organise regular entertainment in the Country Club’s grand ballroom as well as special lunch and dinner events.
5. You Can Lead a Healthy, Active Lifestyle
Whether you’ve always been sporty or only come into fitness later in life, GemLife resorts have been designed with you in mind.
Each resort has been designed to encourage walking – for both people and their four-legged companions, as well as plenty of opportunities to maximise your health and fitness goals.
Every resort has an indoor heated lap pool, which is also popular for underwater running and aqua aerobics, in addition to a spa and sauna. The Country Club has a fully equipped gym as well as tennis and pickleball courts, ten-pin bowling and bowling green as well as a golf simulator, and games room.
Resident-organised activities in the Country Club or walking groups around the resort means there is never any shortage of ways to have the fit and healthy lifestyle you want. GemLife recently introduced a Fitness and Lifestyle Coordinator who holds regular on-site gym inductions.
6. Your Home is Secure
Unlike loan and lease retirement villages where you’re only leasing your home, GemLife homeowners have the security of knowing they own their own home and their right to stay on the land is guaranteed by state government legislation.
But what about when you want to go on holidays?
GemLife communities are gated with number-plate recognition to ensure that the only people driving through the streets have permission to do so. Furthermore, each home has an individual alarm system as well as security screens on the doors and windows.
Adding to your peace of mind is that on-site resort management is also available to assist.
7. There’s Less Maintenance
GemLife homes are quality-built and have been thoughtfully designed for your lifestyle. When you purchase at a GemLife resort you’re are buying directly from the builder (and owner of the resort) which means you can be assured of the construction quality, meaning there is nothing more for you to do other than enjoy the lifestyle.
Imagine not having to spend endless hours mowing lawns and pruning hedges.
8. On-going Savings
Enjoy the lifestyle you deserve without skimping on the things you love to do.
Rightsizing from your current family home can not only boost your retirement nest egg but you may also be eligible for government rental assistance for the weekly site fees. This is not something available from traditional retirement village operators.
GemLife homes are energy efficient by design including solar, ducted air conditioning and fans throughout. We are pioneers in virtual power plant technology which has been designed to further reduce homeowners’ electricity bills.
Explore the GemLife Difference
We believe the benefits of retirement living should be celebrated in the best way possible. The GemLife difference is not just what we do today, but also what we do tomorrow. This distinguishes us from other over-50s lifestyle resort operators.
As a privately owned family company, leaders in creating quality land lease communities, we’re constantly looking at ways to offer the very best resorts that offer exceptional value for money for our homeowners.
GemLife has created resorts in desirable locations around Australia, building ultramodern luxury homes that are stylish as well as energy efficient.
Exclusive to GemLife are:
- The Explore by GemLife program – GemLife runs and maintains a fleet of motorhomes which GemLife homeowners can hire at a greatly reduced rate as an alternative to having their own caravan or motorhome.
- Living Proof lifestyle show – The 30-minute program – made for and about our homeowners – streams each month from the GemLife website and is also broadcast on the Nine Network
- The Gem magazine – A monthly lifestyle magazine for and about our current and prospective homeowners.
- GemLife fitness and lifestyle coordinator – conducts regular gym inductions across the resorts.
- GemLife chef – caters for GemLife-hosted events.
For more information, contact us today and reach out to our specialist team or request an info pack.
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