WOW how fast time flies, we have been in our new home now for over 3 months, and I really can't believe it.
So how is it going you may well ask?
It is a totally different experience living in an over 50's village, and so far so good. While we have had some teething issues that are always associated with a new estate, generally the move has provided us with everything we were looking for.
As in previous posts on the move, we were looking to up size the bank account so we could enjoy more things over a longer period of time, have less expenses and spend less time on chores like gardening, maintenance etc, but at the same time, have more camaraderie around us, and be somewhere where we could share with like minded people.
It was hard at first but those of us who moved in together on the first day are now well entrenched as we all got to know each other, and now we get new neighbours every week, which is exciting - its nice to see the community taking shape, and we get to do lots of nice things with each other using the community facilities (which are not totally finished as yet), but when they all are, I believe we get a great bang for our buck.
Teddy is loving it here as well, which is nice, I was a bit worried about him and his sometimes cranky attitude but he enjoys going out and saying hello to everyone on his daily walk, so all good on that front.
So while we have now settled in it is time for us to begin a new journey where we can do more travel with less worries as we leave, so have bought ourselves a new camper trailer (hard top, off ground and easy to put up) and are looking forward to being able to just jump in and go off whenever the urge arrives.
We don't seem to have stopped though since moving here, and with our new found friends and companions in our community we have been off doing heaps of lovely day trips, having drinks and nibbles and generally getting to know each other so its been a fun way to settle in and get to know everyone while moving in and getting things done, and getting to know your new environment.
So what have we done since moving in you ask, lets see if I can remember all the wonderful things that have made the last 3 months fly by.
A lovely dinner at The Black Angus at Sanctuary Cove- a wonderful way to meet everyone and get to know each other and being picked up in a Limo with champers for the trip up the road, while we were all tired having only moved in for 2 days and all of still unpacking it was nice to find some good clothes out of the boxes and go and relax. Dinner was yum and I think a great night was had by all.
A day at the Brisbane International Tennis - in the Corporate Box no less but being driven to Brissy and enjoying something new and exciting with a great vantage point, I know I had a ripper day and thoroughly enjoyed it - I will be going back next year albeit paying for myself this time, but it introduced me to something I had not done before and I loved it.
Taking our new community boat over to Tipplers Resort for lunch - it was a hot day, but being on the boat with the cool breezes blowing, then having a wonderful lunch when we arrived was just so nice. Derek taught some of the others the art of metal
detecting - it is these things that have helped to fill in the days, give you something to look forward to and in the early days of settling in gave some reprieve from decorating, unpacking etc
Australia Day at South Straddie, with great games, you can't beat thong throwing and frizby throwing competitions, and then the mandatory egg and spoon race, follow all of this activity with a BBQ lunch, nice walks and generally getting to know not just the people who already live here, but those expecting to move in in the near future.
Everyone getting their boat inductions and bus inductions so you can take them out whenever you want filled in a few days as well.
Another great Chinese New Year night with Dragons and general fun, and of course great food.
The boys had a boating day where they stopped at Curan Cove for coffee and then at the spit for a fish and chip lunch.
Us all taking the bus, with Derek as the driver out to the Fox and Hound - a beautiful old English Pub, that was bought out piece by piece from England and rebuilt at the bottom of Tamborine Mountain, with good English food, and generally quaint in this beach environment.
Too many happy hours to remember (every Friday night) usually involving Pizza, a Susage Sizzle or similar so a nice way to finish off each week.
And this week we are having a Pot Luck night where everyone brings a plate to share - looking forward to some yummy foods and then it will be off to St Paddies Day on Tuesday to be sure to be sure.
So there has been no rest for us wicked retirees with something happening just about every week, but that isn't enough for us, this week we bought our new camper and take delivery of it on Monday (no doubt there will be a blog about it) as we make ready for more jaunts out into our beautiful country on a more regular basis, while we are being kept busy here we are now getting itchy bums to travel again, and given we enjoyed our camping trip around the country, we decided this was a perfect way for us to go away more regularly and with less costs overall - to make those retirement dollars stretch , take Teddy with us and see and experience other places in this great land that we didn't do on the last trip.
So as you can see we are keeping busy, put this in with a happy hour every week, still going out and buying things for the house, then the normal mundane things it has gone by too quickly, but it has been fun and its nice to be surrounded by fun people in a similar age bracket to us, and yes there are always going to be things that annoy you when you live in a new estate (noise, dirt etc), these are short lived and easily forgotten when you are having fun.
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