She had the Aussie dream — a beautiful mortgage-free house on a large block, with fruit trees and a granny flat in the backyard. And the goal was to live there forever.
But when Maria Mahabir’s daughter moved out of the family home in Caddens, western Sydney, to a new apartment in Rhodes, something shifted. Not only did their home seem too big for just her and her husband, but the lifestyle in Rhodes also piqued her interest.
Visiting her daughter’s apartment, Maria quickly fell in love with the area despite previously knowing little about it.
“I never thought of leaving my home to come here,” the 66-year-old nurse told Yahoo News.
But the more she visited her daughter, the more at home she felt in Rhodes.
“Finally, I said to my husband, ‘I think we have to look whether we can buy something here, because for us, it’s good’,” she said.
Soon after, they put their ‘forever’ home on the market and put a deposit on a luxury two bed, two bath apartment just under the penthouse of Oasis Tower, a 43-level residential skyscraper that makes up part of the Rhodes Central masterplan.
The couple thought their five-bedroom in Sydney’s west would be their ‘forever home’. Source: Raine & Horne
New lifestyle feels like a permanent holiday
While she never dreamed of selling her home in the Penrith region, she now can’t imagine living anywhere else besides Rhodes.
Maria and her husband, Albert, moved into their apartment six months ago and even got to watch the Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve fireworks show from their balcony.
“It’s all central, we’ve got everything,” she said, adding that their proximity to restaurants and public transport, along with the building’s amenities, are among the highlights of apartment living.
“I don’t live in an apartment, I live in a hotel,” she laughed.
“I have a swim, I have a spa, I have a sauna… I’ve never had this lifestyle in my life. I enjoy it, and I tell myself I am somebody.”
Thinking of downsizing?
The couple sold their home for just shy of $2 million, and now own their apartment outright with “a few dollars in the bank” left over from their sale.
For others considering making a similar move, Maria offered some words of advice.
The pool and cinema room inside the tower. Source: Billbergia
“You have to look for something that has got all the facilities for you, close by amenities and shopping centres and train stations.
“Everything we have now is maintenance-free. The mind is relaxed,” she said.
“I will never regret what we did.”
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