Retirement villages near me | Essex
Meet our residents…
If you have been searching for retirement villages near me, and you are looking to join a welcoming new community in Essex, then you may just have found what you have been looking for! Welcome to Burnham Waters.
Burnham Waters is a new retirement community for the over 55s, located in the popular, riverside town of Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex. Our new development comprises a variety of one, two and three-bedroom bungalows and will offer residents access to a host of on-site amenities and leisure facilities, all within our new, purpose built community.
A new retirement community for Essex
Beyond the homes on offer at Burnham Waters, our retirement village offers residents the opportunity to become a part of a new and thriving community. With our first residents now moved in and settled into their new homes here, it has been fantastic to see new friendships form and our community begin to really flourish.
Our community space on site has become a hive of activity, with residents taking the opportunity to arrange regular meetups and clubs. Two of our residents, who are at the very heart of this community are Diane and Brian. Below we share a little more about their story, what attracted them to Burnham Waters, and how they are finding life here.
Meet our residents: Diane and Brian
Dianne and Brian used to live in Woodham in an old property with a huge garden, a swimming pool and a summer house. They loved it - in fact, they had loved it for 40 years, but it became too much. They had previously carried out a lot of work on their home, but it got to the stage where it all needed doing again.
So they asked themselves the question: "Do we stay, spend a lot of money and redo it, or do we go?" They both reached the same conclusion; it was time to move on.
Talking of their decision to move, Dianne said: "We had an old property with character, and we had all that for years and years, but, it got to the stage where really we were looking for something else, something that was going to be easy to maintain and fun to do because it's all new and that's exactly what we got!
“We were out in the country before and this is one of the attractions (to Burnham Waters) because we always loved the big skies and because the estate is so spread out there's an awful lot of sky, there's an awful lot of space. You don't feel cramped and it's just quiet and it's peaceful."
When reflecting on their new home, Diane added: “They are such fabulous bungalows - any other two-bed bungalows, you know, they're small, they're pokey. But this is a revelation, and I mean every single person that we've brought round to see it, they’ve gone “wow”.
"It’s extremely easy to clean, because everything's built for accessibility, so it’s naturally larger. You won’t end up bumping into things and lifting things up and trying to get into awkward corners because there are none. So it's just brilliant, we love it here.”
Regarding their decision to move, Brian added: "I’m happy we made the move from our old house to Burnham because you get to a point where you have to say, the mind can do it, but the body can't. And I realised that about two or three years ago…I thought to myself, although I love it, I can't maintain what I want to do. I used to run ragged round it, mowing lawns and things like that, and in the end, it got to a point where you know, it wasn't for me anymore. Which is why I instigated the move."
One element of the new retirement village, which both Diane and Brian love, is the outdoor space available. At Burnham Waters, all of our bungalows have their own private terrace. However, in addition there are inter-connecting tree-lined pathways and access to ample communal green space, which can be enjoyed by all (without our residents having to worry about the upkeep).
Speaking of the outside space, Diane said: "We’ve had our grandchildren here who are 6, 10 and 12...we’ve got their bikes here, so you know when they’re here, they cycle all around because they’re safe.
“Last Easter, I had an easter egg hunt, and they were all out there; it was fabulous.”
Talking of her new home’s interiors, Dianne adds: "My happy space is the kitchen, I absolutely adore it. And the best thing is, because I'm a very keen cook, I have a lot of kitchen equipment. And in our old place, we had a very nice kitchen, but it was about half the size of this. So a lot of my kitchen equipment was under the bed, which was a little inconvenient. Whereas now, I've even got the odd shelf that I've got nothing on, which is just fabulous. I've never had that before. So this kitchen is perfect for me.”
New homes designed with retirees in mind
Talking of their new home, Brian added: "We’ve had a lot of friends over, everyone loves the place. It’s beautiful. They are designed for retired people, you have that resilience built into the place, i.e., the wide doorways, the walk-in showers, all of that - but it doesn’t feel like an old person's property. It feels modern, spacious, and well-designed. In fact, the guys who moved us in were all in their 20s and 30s, and they said, “I’d love somewhere like this”. We just love it.”
The future of retirement living
Dianne truly believes that retirement villages, such as Burnham Waters are the future. When reflecting on the experience of her own parents, she is keen to highlight the community and the lifestyle a new retirement village can offer.
Dianne adds: "To me, this is the future of retired living because I tried to learn a lesson from my own parents. My own parents stayed in their own property for too long and when they could no-longer manage it, we were over there trying to do the garden, they had a couple of falls, they couldn't get up the high street anymore because it became too far and then your world shrinks and you end up being marooned in your own house and this happens to so many older people.
“They've got beautiful houses, but they're entirely on their own, whereas this is a community. Everyone looks out for everyone else, everyone gives you the time of day. I mean, there's no more postman, there's no more milkman, you're not getting checked-in on, banks are online, supermarkets – no one has the opportunity to talk and when people are older, they need that interaction and if they don't get it that's when they get old. Whereas with this, I mean now the summer's coming, more people are going to be out, and I'm hoping it's going to be “fancy a glass of wine?” “Come over for a barbecue."
Retirement villages near me: Burnham Waters in Essex
If you’d like to explore our new retirement village and the community lifestyle on offer at Burnham Waters in Essex, then make an appointment and come along and view all of the homes we have available. Our sales and marketing suite is open daily, 10am – 3pm and there are show homes available to view. Get in touch via our website, drop us an email at info@burnhamwaters.co.uk or call us on 01621 861559.
