Here's why the "lock-and-leave" lifestyle is perfect for active retirees
Once they've hit retirement, for many people that means heading off regularly for a well-deserved holiday, either in Australia or overseas. If that's the case for you, you might be wondering how your home will fare while you're away.
And it's a valid concern. Unless you can call on some understanding family members, a helpful neighbour, or you feel like trusting your luck with a house-sitter, you’ll have to deal with quite a few potential problems, every time you want to go on holiday.
What can happen when you’re on holidays:
- The lawn will quickly resemble a jungle
- The pool can start to look like a swamp
- The plants will begin to die of thirst
- Your overflowing mailbox will signal you’re not home
- An army of weeds will invade your property
- Maintenance issues may suddenly appear
- Bothersome animals may move on in
- And of course... there’s the chance your home will be broken into.
Yet before you give up on having relaxing holidays in retirement, let's take a look at an attractive alternative to living in a normal suburban Australian home.
What is a lock-and-leave retirement community?
Living in a lock-and-leave retirement village means enjoying security, convenience, and peace-of-mind whenever you leave home. You won’t have to worry about your home when you’re away travelling – just pack your bags, lock your doors, and leave!
Here are 5 reasons why a well-managed lock-and-leave retirement community can help you truly enjoy your holidays once you’ve retired.
1) A secure home lets you relax while you're on holiday
Whether you’re at home or away, when you live in a retirement community you’ll know you’ve made your home in a safe and secure environment.
To make sure someone keeps an eye on your house while you’re away, just have a word with the estate management team to let them know your travel itinerary.
You can leave your car (and motorhome or caravan if you’re not using it!) securely locked away in your garage, knowing it’ll be kept safe and sound while you’re off having fun.
2) All the gardening is taken care of for you
Imagine arriving home from your holiday to find not waist high weeds and dying plants, but a neatly mown lawn and a well maintained garden!
When you live in a retirement estate, your lawn and garden will be taken care of as part of your package. So you’ll always be able to go away on holidays knowing that your garden will look as good as it did when you left.
3) You can arrange for your mail to be collected in your absence
It’s no fun missing an important delivery while you’re away – or worse still, having your valuable parcels stolen in your absence!
To avoid this, why not ask village management to empty your mailbox – or even forward your mail to you – while you’re on holidays? That way you can relax and enjoy your time off, knowing you won’t miss any important mail while you’re away.
4) You won't have to worry about maintaining the pool - ever!
When you live in a lock-and-leave retirement estate, you’ll never have to worry about cleaning the pool.
That’s because all the communal areas are someone else’s responsibility – yet of course, you get to enjoy them all year ‘round. In fact you might enjoy the resort-style living so much that you’ll love staying home as much as you will going away.
5) If the unexpected happens while you're away, you'll have support to rely on
It’s easy enough to do at any age: you rush outside and leave the lights on – or worse still, the iron! Relax – just a quick call to estate management and they’ll have it all sorted and your home secured. Even if you just ‘think’ you might have left something on, a helpful management team will be happy to double-check for you.
Find out more about the Kensington Gardens lock-and-leave lifestyle
Planning a holiday – deciding where to go, finding the best deals, making all the bookings, not to mention packing all your gear! – is demanding enough without worrying about the security of your home while you’re away.
That’s why it’s so much easier when you enjoy a lock-and-leave community where you just know your home will be looked after while you’re gone.
The team at Kensington Gardens Albury and Shepparton will be happy to show you around our secure retirement community and help you get a feel for our estates.
If you’d like to see Kensington Gardens for yourself, arrange your personal tour by calling us today or get in touch online to book a time to come in and visit us.
