Walking out, they turned to each other and said “Wow something about that felt right. I could live here.’ A short six months later, the pair of best friends had signed up for apartments down the hall from each other.
Though firm friends living near each other in Snells Beach, it was never a plan to move in to the same village at the same time. In fact, Chris admits she had resisted the idea of leaving her house for retirement living until a health scare prompted a change of heart. “I was ready earlier,” Pam said, “I knew I wanted to move before I turned 80 so I could enjoy it.
” But it wasn’t until early 2023 that they seriously began looking, starting in Snells Beach before expanding their search to Warkworth and eventually to Rodney. Both Chris and Pam were very impressed with the sales process at Gulf Rise village, noting they were treated beautifully each time they visited. Attracted by the newness of the village and what they referred to as an indescribable ‘buzz’, they made sure to include family and trusted advisors as another pair of eyes.
Chris pointed out that it was not a decision they made lightly, “We both lived in big houses with gardens, on or own. So we had talked about this off and on for quite some time.” A big part of moving house is leaving behind your social community but this didn’t bother the best friends with Snells Beach being a short drive away.
In fact Chris still drives up often for everything from dentist appointments to her.
