Early adopters: younger couple move to over 50s community for a better lifestyle and amenity

When Tara was 39 she made a surprising confession to her husband that would change their lives forever. Now they live in an ‘adult playground’.

Tara and Mark Ellis are early adopters of over 50s living. Picture: Renae Droop/RDW Photography.

Luxury living and first-class facilities are seducing younger people like the Ellis couple into making the move to over 50s communities earlier.

When Mark asked his wife Tara to go and check out an over 50s community for his elderly parents, she didn’t think it was a good idea.

Having come from the US, where there is no such thing, the concept conjured unsavoury associations with nursing homes and hospitals.

But not long after the visit, the then 39-year-old made a shock confession to her husband.

“I told my husband, ‘I want to move in there’,” she says.

At the time, Mark was 53.

And he was relieved to hear Tara utter those words.

Mark and Tara Ellis enjoy living at B by Halcyon. Picture: Renae Droop/RDW Photography.

Grand designs

The Ellis couple had purchased land and were in the process of designing a house.

But when they walked through the Stockland community B by Halcyon at Buderim, on the Sunshine Coast, they realised they could have their ideal home without all the maintenance that usually comes with it.

They also realised they could live large while they were still young enough to enjoy it.

“The best way to describe it is, it’s like living on a cruise ship where there are endless activities,” says Tara. “There’s a gym, a wellness centre, there’s a spa, there’s a pottery room, a cinema – literally it’s like an adult playground.”

B by Halcyon is marketed as resort-style living.

Lifestyle pull

The couple’s move to over 50s living is reminiscent of the lifestyle pull experienced during Covid, social demographer and TEDx speaker Mark McCrindle says.

Periods of being cooped up at home saw young families look for masterplanned communities where amenity and a network of like-minded people were just around the corner.  

This shift also followed the decline of ‘traditional’ communities such as local sports clubs, organised activity groups and places of worship.

“People are looking for that community to be provided or facilitated in their housing,” McCrindle says.

It contrasts with studies in retirement living, he adds, which show it’s generally more of an urgent “push” from the family home due to health or family needs rather than “the pull of lifestyle factors” that see people move to over 50s estates.

The sense of community at B by Halycon has been a major benefit. Picture: Stockland.

While Australians are looking to connect through communities, the thought of getting older generally doesn’t appeal – in fact there has been a certain stigma around ‘retirement living’ that prevents people from being early adopters.

“It’s marketed as an over 50s community, in an era where people are in denial about their ageing and future – that’s the big blocker,” McCrindle says.

This phenomenon is something that Tara and Mark have noticed among friends. “They have this preconceived notion that it’s a retirement community,” Mark says.

“As soon as someone hears ‘over 50s’ they instantly think of retirement. But if you look at the way Halcyon advertises, it’s resort-style living in an active lifestyle community.”

Tara says her American friends think she is “like a little old lady in a nursing home”.

“They legitimately think I’m getting my meals served to me,” she says.

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Even the dog loves it. Picture: Renae Droop/RDW Photography.

Stress less

For Tara and Mark, the change has meant they can live an active life without the worry of home maintenance.

Mark says the “turnkey” nature of their home meant they didn’t have to go through the stress and exhaustion they had previously experienced when building a house.

“They are all freestanding, they all have good sized driveways, they have beautiful finishes – and the gardens are all landscaped,” he says.

He also points out they have met other early adopters within the community.

“There are quite a few people in their 50s here that want to maintain an active lifestyle and take advantage of these amenities sooner rather than later,” he says.

“Sure, you can move in here when you’re 75 or older, but how soon do you get to use those amenities as opposed to coming in here earlier? The earlier you can get in, the longer you can have these amenities at your fingertips.”

Originally published as Early adopters: younger couple move to over 50s community for a better lifestyle and amenity