Lock up and leave – why living in a retirement apartment is ideal for keen travellers
Posted 8th August 2022
Travelling in retirement
Holidays are back on the agenda again. More than one in two British adults (57%) are planning an overseas holiday in the next 12 months– a 46% rise on last year, according to research from travel insurance specialist AllClear earlier this year.
They also suggest the over 55s will the main group taking off-peak holidays, 15% planned a holiday in May, 19% are planning an overseas break in Septemberand 21% between October and the end of the year. These figures have almost doubled since the survey was last conducted last year.
Many of our residents will be going away too. One of the benefits that some often only realise after moving is the joy of just locking up and leaving their apartment, safe in the knowledge that its secure.
This is especially important now since burglaries appear to on the rise again after they fell during the pandemic. According to stats on the web site Reveiw42.com more than 267,000 burglaries were reported in 2021. The most commonly targeted building by burglars is the semi-detached house, with 10,586 households reporting a burglary.
Luckily all our retirement properties are apartments, in secure retirement developments which usually have door entry systems as well as a house manager on site during the day.
Another benefit of living in a retirement community is that lots of people living there tend to be home in the day, so residents can rely on neighbours to be vigilant for anyone looking suspicious.
For older people who often travel more after they retire, living in a retirement community can be ideal. It’s also a great housing option for single women living alone. For one of our residents, 62-year-old Denise Birley, living somewhere that is safe and secure was her priority.
Denise has been renting a one-bedroom retirement flat in one of our lovely developments called Homerose House in Southsea, Hampshire since July 2021. This is a retirement development for people over 60 years and has 51 one and two bedroom apartments. It is in a great location, being only half a mile from the centre of town and close to shops, a post office and a bus stop.
Denise had never thought about moving to a retirement community as she felt too young, but when she left a 35-year relationship she needed somewhere to live. Renting was the only option for her and during her search she came across the flat at Homerose House.
As Denise was living alone for the first time, the most important thing for her was that the development was safe and secure. This particular development has a house manager who is on site during the day and a Careline emergency cord in each apartment.
Denise says that the manager is fantastic and calls her daily on the intercom to check that she’s ok. She feels really safe living there because of all these elements, plus access to the property is via a security door.
Denise is one of the youngest residents at Homerose House, but despite being younger she has felt really welcomed from the moment she moved in and says all the residents are friendly and look out for one another. She has quickly embraced living on her own too and has made lots of friends in the development, even needing to buy a diary to keep track of her social life!
If like Denise you are looking for somewhere safe and secure to live when you retire or you plan to be out and about travelling more, then retirement living could offer the ideal housing option.