Downsizing has opened up something big

When Bryan and Karen Thompson’s son and daughterin-law were ready to take a well-earned break, they knew where their two children would feel right at home – at nana and grandad’s place at Living Gems Caboolture Riverfront!

“Our grandchildren spent five and a half weeks with us when their parents cashed in their long-service leave and hitched up the caravan,” said Brian.

“We got the boys up for school, prepared their lunches and made the 50km round trip to take them to school and back. My wife was quite the butterfly, flitting back and forth looking after the boys.” “I loved it!” added Karen.

It’s fair to stay that Josiah, who is about to turn 14, and Elijah who is 11, are no strangers to the resort.

“I’ve taken up lawn bowls since moving into Living Gems and when Elijah stays over, he plays with me on the greens and he’s very good at it,” said Bryan. “The older guys are enthusiastic about having a young one join them.

“And at our Christmas in July party, it happened to be Elijah’s birthday and he received a special mention and a clap. It was wonderful.”

Bryan and Karen had spent quite a few years considering their rightsized move.

“We weren’t ready then,” said Bryan.

“We weren’t sure whether it would be the right move for us because we had a lovely large family home at Narangba. But we did our homework and looked at six or seven villages and thought they were overpriced, then we came to look at Living Gems and that rekindled our desire to make the move.”

The couple bought a resale home after selling their property and have now called Living Gems Caboolture Riverfront their own since April.

“We have lovely neighbours and we’re a one-minute and fifteen second walk away from the Country Club,” says Bryan. “That makes it especially handy after enjoying the events in the evening!”

He said he was astounded to learn that there were 60 different groups at the resort.

“That’s incredible!” he said. “There’s everything you could ever want to do here. There’s even a ukulele group who use the music room.”

In addition to the great things to do at Living Gems Caboolture Riverfront, there is one thing that stands out from the rest.

“Well, you can’t go anywhere in the resort without having a conversation or two,” said Bryan. “Not long after we moved in, our eldest grandson Josiah said, ‘wow, everyone is so friendly here’. Now isn’t that something remarkable for a young man to notice?”