Moving into a retirement development had never crossed the minds of Christopher and Carol Hill. However, the couple were to have an unexpected change of heart when they started visiting Carol’s parents in their new Churchill Retirement Living apartment.
Christopher said: “Carol’s parents moved to Catherine Lodge in Worthing five years ago and loved the life there from the very start. On our visits to them, we could clearly see why they enjoyed it so much. The development was right in the centre of town and they were able to maintain their very active and independent life. The residents were friendly, there was plenty to do at the lodge - it just seemed a wonderful place to live. However, at that point it simply hadn’t occurred to Carol and I that it might be the perfect lifestyle for us too.
As time went on, we started hearing more people at the lodge say the same thing – they wish they had made the move sooner. Having already been so impressed with Churchill, it started to sow the seed in our minds to get us thinking, why not do this now while we’re both fit and active?
Having always wanted to move to West Sussex, Christopher and Carol visited several retirement developments before visiting Tamarisk Lodge in East Wittering. He continues: “We wanted to be close to Carol’s parents but also felt that they needed their own space so we started to look at other developments nearby.
We saw Tamarisk Lodge before they’d started building the apartments and even then we could spot the obvious potential. We loved the location for one thing. Carol has always wanted to live in a village and I love the beach. We both knew we’d feel very at home here.
Christopher, aged 71, and Carol, aged 70, were the first buyers to snap up an apartment at the lodge and moved into their new home in June. Christopher adds: “We were the first owners to move into the development. Since then, we have settled in very quickly and are both very happy here indeed. The location is perfect and we’re well placed for everything. We’re all getting to know one another here as more owners move in and have started to get together to enjoy a cream tea on a Sunday. We couldn’t ask for more. We haven’t even given our old home a second’s thought since we moved here - we’ve not looked back at all.
“This was all made possible with Churchill’s very attentive and helpful staff, especially Nikki Whyte who made the whole process very easy and in a way, helped make our dream come true."
The development is set in landscaped grounds in a central location, just a short distance from public transport links, shops and all the local amenities on offer in East Wittering. The show complex is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. For more information on Tamarisk Lodge click here or call 01243 717 007.