Practical tips and strategies on downsizing The thought of downsizing for retirement can be a daunting experience. But rather than seeing it as an end of an era, successful downsizers find it a liberating experience – part of taking stock of where and how you’d like to spend your post-work life. One of the first things to do is treat downsizing as an adventure, said Living Gems CEO Adrian Puljich. “Downsizing is a great opportunity to upsize your lifestyle and get back that most precious of commodities – time,” he said.Treat it as an adventure Having done your homework on the ideal location and selected the right lifestyle community for you, it is important to really get to know the area you’re moving to, said Adrian. “Make sure you’re familiar with the location of shops and essential services like doctors, dentists and vets,” he said. “Increase your anticipation of the move by exploring the local area such as parks, shopping, entertainment, and landmarks.”Declutter, declutter, declutter There are...

Black lip mussels are an often-overlooked seafood option for lunch or dinner, but they are a delicious and relatively cost-efficient ingredient. Chef Matt Conquest said his black lip mussel recipe includes a base sauce and if you want to change it up you can add extra ingredients. Home chefs can create a creamy option by adding a teaspoon of fennel seeds and one cup of cream to the sauce. Ingredients Serves 2-4 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 4 golden shallots, peeled and sliced 4 large garlic cloves, minced 1 long red chilli, diced or chopped (optional) 2 cups dry white wine 4 sprigs fresh thyme 2 bay leaves Sea salt (Matt says not to season with salt until you try the sauce later during cooking.) Good amount of cracked black pepper 2kg or 2 packs of live mussels, scrubbed and debearded 4 tbsp butter 4 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped 200g spinach, optional Crusty bread, sliced and grilled or fresh for serving Method To make the sauce base, heat up a heavy-based pot to medium high for sautéing. ...

Rightsizing revs up retirement nest eggs Choosing to downsize from the family house to a rightsized home that better suits your lifestyle can provide a major financial boost to your retirement funds. Last year, the Australian Government announced incentives to encourage older Australians to downsize their homes to free up housing stock for younger families. And it’s not just those who are eligible for the aged pension who will benefit. The Downsizer Superannuation Contribution Program The Downsizer Superannuation Contribution Program allows Australians over the age of 55 who plan to downsize, to put up to $600,000 per couple ($300,000 for individuals) into their superannuation account. The program isn’t new, but a rule has recently changed which lowers the age at which one can access the scheme. Prior to 1 January 2023, only people over the age of 65 could use the program. Another thing to note is that the Downsizer Superannuation Contribution Program has no upper age limit. This is important because once you reach the age of...

Health and wellbeing benefits of downsizing Downsizing the family home after the kids have left the nest is a major life milestone which comes with some surprising advantages that go beyond having less gardening and home maintenance to worry about. If you’re considering making a downsizing move, you’re not alone, says Living Gems CEO Adrian Puljich. “According to the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, more than half of Australians over the age of 55 have either downsized or have thought about it,” he said. “And that comes with some downsizing benefits that you may not have considered when it comes to rightsizing to an over-50s lifestyle resort like Living Gems.”A sense of security living in a gated community Living Gems resorts are gated communities. “That’s great peace of mind, whether you are at home or travelling,” said Adrian. “But there’s more than just physical security, there is also the comfort of knowing your neighbours by name and that each resort has on-site resort management.”Less maintenance...

Pretty as a picture! Living Gems’ popular photo competition returns for 2024. We’re looking for creative photographs that showcase why the Living Gems lifestyle is simply lifechanging. They can be terrific travel destinations, wonderful wildlife photography or fabulous times with friends. Entries are open to all Living Gems homeowners. The best photograph each month will be featured on the back page of Thrive magazine as well as on Living Gems’ Facebook page. Get snapping! The competition will run until 1 November 2024. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] March Photo Winner This month’s contributor wishes to remain anonymous, but tells us this remarkable photograph of a baby dinosaur stampede was taken at the Age of Dinosaurs exhibition at Winton in Outback Queensland. You could be our next photo competition winner. Just submit your photo to [email protected] for submitting your photos. Photos must be: Be taken by you Be at least 2MB in size Include the location of the photograph, along with any interesting information about the destination.

Welcome to another edition of our Resort Round-up. Living Gems communities are renowned as places where homeowners can keep fit and healthy as well as having lots of fun, with something new happening almost every day.Talk about close calls! Luck was on Aileen McColl’s side on Christmas night when a tornado hit the Gold Coast and sent a large gum tree in the park behind crashing down onto her Living Gems Gold Coast home. The luck was in the fact that Aileen, 62, and her two dogs were at a friend’s home enjoying some festive fare at the time. It wasn’t until she arrived home later that night that the full extent of the damage was revealed. “The gum tree hit my carport, bathroom, bedroom, lounge and dining areas. All I saw at first was the carport but then, when I opened the front door, it was devastation central. The ceilings had collapsed, and broken metal was strewn across the mattress...

Serving up cocktails and canapes is an enchanting way to make Valentine’s Day a memorable occasion and Chef Matt Conquest has just the recipe for success. He recommends preparing Atlantic salmon or ocean trout as part of a tasting board by using cured salmon or salmon Gravlax, making it ideal for serving as an entree or as a canape. Beetroot adds a lovely rose colour to the salmon when cured and it can also be partnered with gin instead of vodka to make a Miss Peacock Gin cocktail. Beetroot and gin-cured salmon can also be paired with dill creme or cream fraiche, capers and caperberries, cucumber and red onion (either fresh or pickled), fresh herbs, bagels, fresh baguettes or crisp breads, toasted French sticks or savoury mini pancakes. When curing the salmon, keep in mind that the longer it is cured for – between 24 and 72 hours – the more moisture is drawn from the fish and the richer the colour. Ingredients Salmon Gravlax cure 500g fresh...

Enduring romance thrives at Living Gems ‘Happily ever after’ doesn’t just happen in romance novels. A lifetime of love and devotion is on display at Living Gems communities right across Queensland. This Valentine’s Day, homeowners share their photos and memories of their special day. Rod and Janene Griffith Amber by Living Gems 9 March 1974 Married at the Methodist Church, Graceville Rod and Janene will celebrate 50 years of marriage on 9 March. They were married just after major flooding devastated Brisbane in 1974. They can still recall how organisers of their reception at the Boulevard Tropical Gardens on the river at Indooroopilly – where three metres of water had flowed through the reception area and gardens – had to scramble to get the venue ready for their special day. “It poured on the day, and after the reception we only just made it through rising waters to get to the airport to fly to New Zealand for our honeymoon. It’s a day we will...

2023 has been a busy year in our active communities. What a year 2023 has been! Our wonderful communities have had fun socialising and going on travel adventures. But more than that, our homeowners also show great heart with fundraisers and practical support for vital local charities. Last year kicked off to a great start with fresh and modern new branding for Living Gems, along with a new website and the launch of Thrive, a glossy magazine for and about our amazing Living Gems residents, current and future! Over the past 12 months, the beautiful new Country Club at Amber by Living Gems really started taking shape and it won’t be long before it is ready for its grand opening in early 2024. The $10.5 million double-storey facility will become the heart of this lovely community. Throughout the year street parties have been the order of the day as new homeowners were enthusiastically greeted by their neighbours. Lots of friendships have been formed with...