COUSINS TRISH MCDERMOTT AND TONI PENDER MAY LIVE IN TWO DIFFERENT PARTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES BUT THEY ARE UNITED IN THE BELIEF THAT THIS IS ‘THEIR TIME’.
Trish is about to have her second construction inspection on her new home at GemLife Tweed Waters while Toni is awaiting construction of her home at GemLife Rainbow Beach.
And while they’re waiting, the cousins recently had the opportunity to spend time with another member of the family, Toni’s brother David Dundas and his wife Wendy who moved into their GemLife Rainbow Beach home in February. This rather special family reunion took place at the GemLife Rainbow Beach Country Club public open day in April.
“I wanted to come down to not only see the family but also check out the new Country Club because I wanted an idea of what I can expect from my own Country Club at Tweed Waters,” said Trish.
“And the Country Club at Rainbow Beach is lovely! I had a chance to speak to Michelle from GemLife’s interior design team who said that while there are some similarities with Rainbow Beach, the Tweed Waters Country Club will have a style of its own.”
It was Toni who first started looking at over-50s lifestyle resorts for herself and husband Keith.
“I was in the finance sector in Bathurst. I knew I wanted to downsize and planned to look at three places before I made a final decision,” she said.
“It had to have great facilities and be close to local services including medical centres, which is really important at our age.
“GemLife Rainbow Beach was the second place we looked at and we didn’t even bother to look at a third. This place had everything we were looking for and that’s when we mentioned it to the family.”
Unbeknownst to Toni, her brother David, who lived in Foster at the time, had taken up her suggestion and signed a contract for a home of his own at GemLife Rainbow Beach.
“He moved in February,” said Toni.
For Trish, who has four daughters and 12 grandchildren living on the Gold Coast, it was second time lucky when she enquired about a home at GemLife Tweed Waters.
“I started looking for an over-50s lifestyle community. I’d looked at GemLife but thought I had missed out on buying, but Toni got in contact with the sales team on my behalf and they sent me an information pack – and here I am!” she said.
Trish also looked at GemLife Palmwoods but decided that the Tweed Waters location, which put her nearer to her family, was the right place for her but just as important was enjoying some well-deserved ‘me time’.
“I’ve raised my daughters and did my time babysitting the grandkids, now this is all about what I’d like to do,” she said. “And I’m looking forward to it – especially all the facilities I’ll be able to enjoy at my Country Club when it opens.”
Toni’s daughter and granddaughter have made the move to Lake Cathie also, with the family living in a home just a stone’s throw away from the resort.
“It’s been exciting to have watched the Country Club under construction,” she said.