Have you ever noticed on Sunday afternoons from about one until five p.m. so many of our radio stations seem to play an inordinate number of paid commercials for financial advisors? The common theme to their ads is so often “can you afford to retire?’
It’s not difficult to understand why these people target this particular time slot. It’s the one day of the week people get together for family time and to reflect upon where they are at in their lives.
As real estate sales people we know that Sundays are often days when people make important buying and selling decisions. The question that we would like to ask is not “can you afford to retire” but rather ” what kind of an environment do you want to create for yourself once you do decide to retire?” Might you ever consider purchasing a brand new home in a country setting? More specifically, might you ever consider moving to a village setting which is located 39 miles to the east of Sarnia in the Village of Arkona on the Ausable River in the Municipality of Lambton Shores? Arkona is nine miles east of Forest, 13 miles south-east of Port Franks and 15 miles north-west of Strathroy. It is also 32 miles away from London. Google Arkona if you wish. The village’s nickname is “The Little Apple” and it is home to over 120,000 fruit trees, most of which are of apple and cherry variety. It is also home to the world famous “Rock Glen Conversation Park” and fossil collectors from around the world know it well.
What special charms does the Arkona area have to offer? Well the white sugary beaches of “The Pinery Provincial Park” are only 15 miles away and the entire area is a mecca for golfers. The “Arkona Fairways Golf Course” ( www.arkonafairways.com) has one of the most picturesque layouts in the region with wonderfully scenic backdrops. Not everyone is going to drop what they are doing and rush off to Arkona to check out everything that is happening there. Yet what we would like to say is that the “Reid Homes” family of new home builders has quietly started to build houses and condos in coastal communities like Kincardine and Port Elgin and now they have moved into the rural setting of Arkona. They recognize the new need to be niche players in these changing times and the need to cater to the wants of our aging baby boomers. Not everyone wants to live in the country however some people do.
Many people close to retiring move for change of lifestyle reasonings. What now is so different is that many of these same people are now moving with the thinkings that this next move will not be their last one. This pattern of behavior is so much different from that of how our parents put down their roots. It’s now more about people wanting to live life to the fullest.
Now a little bit more about the new Reid’s project in Arkona. At the present time they have two model houses available for sale starting in the $240,000s in a new subdivision know as “East Glen Estates” just off of Anne Street to the immediate west of the Arkona Fairways Golf Coarse. They also do custom building. One desirable attribute of this new subdivision is that it enjoys municipal water and sewers. Forget ever having to worry about septic tanks and wells acting up.
A second future phase of this site consists of 39 approved lots, 19 of which back directly onto golfing. Many of these lots will have generous 65 foot frontages. Reid’s is confident that this development site will be consumer market driven.
What are the reasonings that people would want to move to a village setting? Clean air, cherry tres, hiking trails , the absence of traffic and a wonderful great lake close by for swimming and boating. Let’s not also forget to mention that there is a Timmie’s coffee shop only ten miles away in Forest.
Where do you want to retire? On a boat in the Toronto harbour, Vancouver, Kingston, Grand Bend, Bayfield, Port Franks, Courtright, Sombra, Leamington or Kingsville? The point is that so many soon to be retirees are starting to make lifestyle changes in bold new ways. Arkona, we feel, is yet another wonderful destination to be added to this list! Cheers
