Empty nesters downsize to upsize their enjoyment

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Active retirees Helen and Dave English have moved from a large four-bedroom home into their dream home in the Villas of Riverstone, a Calbridge Homes development in Cranston, not far from the Bow River and Fish Creek Provincial Park. They’re empty nesters who don’t need as much room, there is less upkeep involved with their new quarters and they are now free to travel whenever they wish.
By Alex Frazer-Harrison, Calgary Herald: February 17, 2015
Original source: The Vancouver Sun
For Dave and Helen English, the decision to downsize and move into a villa-style condominium wasn’t made overnight.

The retired empty nesters had been looking at their 2,800-squarefoot, four-bedroom home in Parkland for some time and decided they wanted to trade in the work required to maintain such a home (and its large pool) for the lifestyle freedom afforded by villa living.
“We’d been thinking about it for about four years, and we just hadn’t found anything we wanted in the south part of the city,” says Helen, 68, who was a manager with Alberta Health Services. Dave, 70, was an engineer with BP and now runs his own small engineering company.

Ultimately, the couple found their dream home in the Villas of Riverstone, a Calbridge Homes development in Cranston, not far from the Bow River and Fish Creek Provincial Park.
“One of our criteria was that we wanted a view,” says Helen. “We can sit in the front room of the villa and watch the river go by and the fishermen out – they do a lot of fishing down there, and canoeing and motorboats. It’s a very quiet, pleasant area down on the river.”
Not that the couple plans to spend all their time sipping tea and looking out the window. Helen describes their lifestyle as active – she’s a member of a walking group and the couple also bikes a lot, so they plan to make good use of the nearby pathway system.
And they travel. This was another reason why the Englishes chose to move into a villa.
“We spend two months in our (British Columbia) vacation home on the Shuswap, and we like that we can go away and not have to worry about the yard or pool maintenance,” Helen says. “When we go to Arizona in the winter, we don’t have to worry, or when we travel abroad. It’s nice to have the freedom.
“A lot of our friends are saying (Riverstone) is a long way out. But for us, with the ring road, it’s 40 minutes closer to our vacations.”
Construction on the couple’s villa is currently underway, and they worked with Calbridge on various enhancements to the basic floor plan, such as roughing in piping for in-floor bathroom heating.
The villas are designed for mainfloor bungalow living, but also include a developed walkout basement. So, to accommodate family visits, the couple are having three small bedrooms added to the lower level.
The Englishes are not unique when it comes to couples who are more accurately looking to “rightsize” rather than “downsize.” Jerry Miller, area manager for Calbridge, says he’s worked with a number of buyers who aren’t necessarily looking for less square footage (the smallest floor plan at Villas of Riverstone combining main and developed lower level is 2,562 square feet, he says), but want the lifestyle and security afforded by a condo/villa.
“I have a client who left for Puerto Vallarta on Dec. 27 and won’t be back until March,” says Miller. “It’s (the idea of ) lock and leave. You have zero maintenance in the wintertime, so the house will look like it is lived in; the driveway and sidewalks will be shovelled. If you go away in the summertime, the lawn maintenance is all taken care of.”
Miller says the villas offer bungalow-style living, with a mainfloor master bedroom, which appeals to older buyers who may be concerned about mobility and navigating stairs. The developed basements, he says, are often being looked at as “another separate dwelling for guests.”
“Lifestyle is the biggest driver,” Miller says of buyers deciding to downsize. “What I have noticed is that they’re buying the home for themselves. Before, they were buying (homes) for the family, for the kids.”
Helen says she’s also looking forward to living in a community that is located down in a valley rather than in the middle of flat suburbia and a sea of houses.
“The community of Riverstone is quite beautiful,” says Helen. “My daughter-in-law has quite an eye for things, and she could not believe the vistas that were open to her. You really don’t feel like you are in Calgary.”
Her advice to people looking to down-or rightsize: “You just have to keep looking until you find something that suits your lifestyle.”

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