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Post by questa on Aug 31, 2020 15:21:49 GMT
Today (it is past midnight here)I sign the contract to buy a villa in a retirement village. It is lovely and one street away from my family. I thought I'd give you the heads-up now and further details to come. I hope I haven't mangled the thread. Good night.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 31, 2020 15:28:30 GMT
Oh, you will have so many things to show us! And give us a look at your old place, too!
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Post by bjd on Aug 31, 2020 15:47:47 GMT
Good luck with the move.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 31, 2020 16:30:49 GMT
ABSOLUTELY! Good luck questa. Xx
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 31, 2020 16:32:54 GMT
Fabulous...sounds lovely. Hope you'll be really happy in your new home Questa xxx
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Post by htmb on Aug 31, 2020 16:40:41 GMT
This is very exciting news, Questa!
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Post by breeze on Aug 31, 2020 17:22:21 GMT
Questa, this is exciting. I hope you'll show us lots of photos, both before you move in and after.
Speaking for myself, there cannot be too many photos of houses and gardens on the internet. I like to see the way people actually live. I don't care for the ones done by decorators for people with too much money. Does your new house come with a garden?
How soon can we move you in? I'm good at carrying boxes.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 31, 2020 17:29:23 GMT
I don't think the rest of us are allowed to carry boxes in Australia until well into 2021.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 31, 2020 17:40:15 GMT
Questa! That is wonderful, exciting news ~ congratulations! Will you be able to take your beloved bougainvillea with you? Look forward to lots of details and pictures.
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Post by mossie on Aug 31, 2020 17:51:09 GMT
Hope all goes well, Questa, house moving is always a stressful time. Above all enjoy your new surroundings.
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Post by questa on Aug 31, 2020 23:35:14 GMT
Where to start...Adelaide is a city on a plain with hills running down the eastern side and the sea on the west. In 1976 I built a family home in one of the sweetest little valleys which had a century old church and school.The sort of place where some kids rode to school on horseback and the playing fields had a paddock put aside for the horses.I had a half acre block which allowed me to grow vegetables, run chickens, fruit trees etc. I raised my sons there but once they moved out, the work to keep it up was too much, so I moved to my unit at the touristy beach front suburb. This was my base when travelling and I can't believe I've been here 20 years. Son #1 and family had settled in a Hills area called Belair and #2 in a log cabin type house in bushland about 5km from his brother. Each time I visited them I would pass the old building called Kalyra and wish I could retire there, knowing it was out of my league. 120 years ago it was a mansion for the upper class to go to recover from TB, then WW1 rehab., private hospital, WW2 and now it has been restored and separate 2 bedroom villas built for independent retirees.The site slopes down facing north and overlooking the city and Adelaide is famous for the city lights that sparkle for kms like jewels on black velvet. I will try link and be back later. Come in ...you will be my first guests. kalyra.org.au/vacancies/kalyra-heights-belair-96/ Click on the floor plan too. it may work!
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Post by lagatta on Sept 1, 2020 0:15:24 GMT
Worked for me. Nice large balcony!
When they talk about proximity to the village centre, I presume they mean the centre of the retirement community, not a nearby village. Has it got some shopping and other amenities?
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Post by htmb on Sept 1, 2020 0:38:41 GMT
Sounds and looks like a perfect new home for you, Questa, and with a great history, too. Congratulations!
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Post by lagatta on Sept 1, 2020 0:42:43 GMT
Clicking on Adelaide, I get a good idea of where you are in terms of time zones. It is a long way from the Southern Cone in South America (where I have friends in Chile, Argentina, and tiny Uruguay).
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Post by breeze on Sept 1, 2020 0:45:47 GMT
Questa, it looks ideal. I hope you'll be very happy here.
There is a balcony on the front, but it seems to be at ground level in the back?
That is a clever sink in the powder room. I saw some abbreviations I don't recognize on the floor plan, so I await enlightenment. I may need to know these things someday.
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Post by mich64 on Sept 1, 2020 0:46:28 GMT
Looks breezy Questa! Lovely balcony and I like the storage I can see.
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Post by questa on Sept 1, 2020 6:00:31 GMT
Thank you everyone, I made it to the villa on time but the signing has to be witnessed by a member of the board who was home sick.. The house is built on a slope, Breeze, and the back is on ground level. By the time the front of the house is reached, floor level is about 1 metre above the ground level. I plan to peg a tarpaulin under the house and keep my bigger garden tools there.
Lagatta,there is a small supermarket about 300m from the complex who will get things in if requested. The main "Big 3" markets have large centres and there are lots of speciality shops. The community bus takes people to this town and "helpers" are available to assist us with shopping. There is a Village centre in the now restored old building The office is here and large rooms are for Craft, Snooker, Table tennis,meetings,music... they have a band, a place to do keep fit classes and a nice vine covered coffee lounge that looks over the bowls lawn.2 rooms are dedicated for a library
Surprisingly, in another building the have an under 5yrs Play group/ child care center and a kindergarten. Good way to prevent oldies from going "clucky"
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Post by bjd on Sept 1, 2020 6:10:02 GMT
It looks fine, Questa. I had a look at the street on Google Maps -- all low rise housing and tons of eucalyptus trees! There are indeed some shops around.
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Post by mickthecactus on Sept 1, 2020 6:42:18 GMT
It looks and sounds lovely questa and I hope you'll be very happy there.
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Post by mossie on Sept 1, 2020 6:51:13 GMT
What Mick says, plus I'm jealous. Relax and enjoy it all.
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Post by questa on Sept 1, 2020 8:43:36 GMT
Phew ! I needed a break. It has a lovely history.Where the area, Belair,is was where the rich and famous had their summer homes. They were on a ridge and it was flat and easy to build on. Mr James Brown got in early and bought up the lot.His wife, Jessie had a shrewd head for business and they were great helpers of anyone in need. This is her story.
Jessie Brown, a feisty and visionary woman, who inherited property from her late husband James, established the Trust in 1892.
She set it up in memory of James with the aim of providing services for people in need.
The main focus during the first fifty years was the alleviation of suffering amongst tuberculosis patients and crippled children. Over time general improvement in health standards has seen the impact of diseases like TB and Polio eradicated and the shift in emphasis of the Trust has been towards care of the aged and disadvantaged.
Much of the charitable work of recent times has been centred around our affordable housing; modern, sustainably designed housing for simple low cost living, enabling people to step out of risk of homelessness, supported by agencies into a more secure future.
Having said that, all the Trust’s services aim to enable people to live in a supportive community and enjoy life, whatever their needs or financial status may be and our not-for-profit status allows us to reinvest in the Trust, not be required to pay dividends to shareholders. Wise, experienced strategic leadership by the Board of Trustees to meet Jessie’s vision in the James Brown Memorial Trust Act ensures we will be here serving those in need for another 125 years. My son #1 went to the kindergarten that Jessie founded and is named for her.
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Post by whatagain on Sept 1, 2020 9:33:31 GMT
Looks absolutely lovely. Has it een recently but or refurbished as it looks brandnew. The kind of place where you dont need a hammer and a saw for at least 20 years. Hope the buying process went smooth, it is always stressful. Then comes the move un, with 20 years of accumulated stuff has to be packed 😁 Good time to sort some of it ! Congrats.
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Post by questa on Sept 1, 2020 10:24:32 GMT
I packed my stuff and moved to here in 1999. There are boxes from then that have never been opened.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 1, 2020 11:14:44 GMT
Ooh very nice...I did panic as it looked to be on the second floor...but it looks absolutely lovely. Nice setting too. X
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Post by lagatta on Sept 1, 2020 11:43:03 GMT
It seems to be up one from ground floor in the front (balcony) and ground floor in the back. Thus ground and 1st or 1st and second storey depending on numbering system used? It's on a slope, no?
Looks lovely to me and glad about the amenities. Is there a library, or access to one in the town via the community bus? I've missed our lovely new local library so much during the lockdown.
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Post by questa on Sept 1, 2020 13:02:11 GMT
The steps from the balcony (which is on the same floor level as the rest of the house,) go down into the garden which is very unkempt ATM. I can't wait to pull out all the overgrown weeds and restore it to an informal bush garden.I have 2 more garden areas at the back where I hope to raise veges in one and transplant my Bougainvilleas in the other. The lady next door has 2 bogies and mine will add to our colours. There is a gardener who keeps the common areas gardens and is due to get mine spruced up. I hope I can get some before and after pics.
At my present home I planted a cutting of a variegated ivy in a bucket sized pot.It shot up the pergola beam and along a horizontal beam and the latter is now 3 m long.I use knitting wool to tie up plants so this one I shall just snip the wool and carefully move it to the new balcony. I also have a cream trumpet vine which I have persisted in keeping the tendrils on the front of the wire mesh and not through . This I have to find a place for, also 2 floribunda roses,heaps of succulents and tropicals, ferns and geraniums.I can always rotate them through the house and the balcony is ideal for the big pots. Makes me tired just thinking about it....Good night.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 1, 2020 14:12:05 GMT
It won't take long for you to mark your territory with your plants.
It all looks great, particularly to us city folk in tiny Europe. I know that Australia and the Americas have all the space in the world to spread out (except maybe NYC), but the size of everything is still stunning to us. In Paris, except for the quite wealthy (usually with permanent staff), it is already considered excellent to have even a one bedroom apartment since so many isolated older people live in studio apartments in the cities.
Will you have a weekly cleaning service or something? I am already getting tired just looking at all of the areas to sweep or mop.
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Post by htmb on Sept 1, 2020 14:21:29 GMT
Moving all those wonderful-sounding plants will work wonders to make your new place “home.” It really does sound quite the perfect place and appears to have lots of great interior light.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 1, 2020 14:25:16 GMT
I've been to Adelaide, and I think that interior shade can be just as if not more important.
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Post by patricklondon on Sept 1, 2020 15:47:17 GMT
Looks lovely, especially at that price (you'd pay 3-4 times that in London, and for a retirement village there are often conditions on resale) - but I assume there are annual service charges on top? I'm guessing WO=microwave+oven, L=linen cupboard, F=fridge/freezer and P=pantry? My blog | My photos | My video clips | My Librivox recordings"too literate to be spam"
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