Published by Ingenia Lifestyle, 28th May 2025.

A new era of living – Kerry and John start their next adventure paddling into their retirement years at Ingenia Lifestyle

Already loving the Bayside lifestyle in Queensland, retirees Kerry and John jumped at the chance to become the next residents of Ingenia Lifestyle Sanctuary.

Kerry said the location and lifestyle offering was a key factor in their decision to move.

“We absolutely love the area and had already lived in Victoria Point/Redlands for several years. This is where my family lives, so it was a no brainer for us to stay close to everything we love.”

“Both of us enjoy being so close to the bay. I do water sports and John and I like to go on walks along the water so being this close to the bay is really important to us.”

Kerry is rewriting the rules of retirement one paddle stroke at a time as a competitive dragon boat racer.

“I’m with the Redlands Sea Dragons club so I go out every weekend when we’re training for regattas and state championships. I’m out there at least four times a week so it’s terrific being this close to the water. It means I can do what I love as much as possible!”

“I’ve been with the club for more than three years and we’ve made the Australian championships after taking home gold and silver at state level! You might think it’s a ‘young persons’ sport but most of us are in our 60’s and 70’s and it helps us stay fit and active.”

Although John isn’t an avid water sports fanatic, he still likes to stay active by walking and playing golf.

“John is more of a golfer himself. We both like to go for a stroll along the bay together and the beauty of being so close to the water is that it’s so easy for us to do this whenever we want to.”

Although Kerry and John have been living at Ingenia Lifestyle for more than 12 months, the couple originally downsized to a retirement apartment complex where they lived for four years.

“We went from a big five-bedroom home to apartment living with people in similar age groups to us and a similar sort of community living vibe but unfortunately it just wasn’t the type of living we were after long term.”

“We wanted a home that had management in place to oversee things like maintenance and security.

“Ingenia Lifestyle seemed like a good opportunity to know our neighbours and have our own garden again, a space where we could go sit outside in our backyard and breathe fresh air.”

“We absolutely love our new home, it was beyond our expectation. John and I adore the design and the fact we can have our own little manageable garden to tend to. The rest of the yard is looked after so we don’t have to worry about maintaining that.”

“I like that we know our neighbours well and if one of us were ever on our own there’s security in having a community around that would be looking out for us. That’s really comforting to know as you get older and very important to me as a woman who may live alone one day.”

“We are both so glad we made the decision to move here, selling our apartment freed up funds for us to put money aside for things like travel. We haven’t done any major trips yet, but we plan on doing a lot more soon!”