‘Our new neighbours are like an extended family!’
MAKING wonderful new friends in your later life might not seem easy. But Hertfordshire residents Leslie and Ann Harpin have done so – after moving out of their relatively isolated family home and into a brand-new apartment at one of McCarthy & Stone’s retirement living developments. The couple admit their old home was full of happy memories. They raised four children there and had welcomed 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren for visits. But it was clear it no longer suited their lives. ‘We are both in our eighties and were finding a four-bedroom detached house too tiring to maintain,’ says Leslie, a former Post Office worker. ‘The stairs and garden became too much for us and we decided we needed to move where everything was more accessible, preferably on one floor.’ They found that and more in their new McCarthy & Stone development. Leslie and retired care worker Ann say they’ve always been sociable people. And with a communal lounge, shared gardens and a guest suite for visitors to stay in at their Isabella House development, they can join their neighbours and mix just as much, or as little, as they choose. For the Harpins that means regular coffee mornings and special events throughout the year. Leslie goes to a weekly art class. Both say the days fly by. ‘We often go to the communal lounge together for a while, then other residents join us and, two hours later, we’re all still there, catching up!’ says Leslie. The couple also like the typically well chosen McCarthy & Stone location. ‘We used to live in rural suburbia and now we’re part of a community,’ says Leslie. It’s a short walk to the town centre and, with their new doctors’ surgery across the road, they have everything they need to live well. Best of all? ‘It’s the friendships we’ve made,’ says Leslie. ‘Like our own, extended happy family.’