Why people are flocking to live on the Peninsula The relaxed lifestyle is very appealing.
Easy to commute for work on Peninsula Link, no traffic lights from Rosebud to Tullamarine airport.
Perfect place for retirement with unique luxury developments like Martha Cove, top class retirement villages and many community based activities offered.
Converting your holiday home into permanent living is a great option.
Sensational facilities everywhere cafes, restaurants, wineries, beaches, walking paths, Why people are flocking to live on the Peninsula The relaxed lifestyle is very appealing.
Easy to commute for work on Peninsula Link, no traffic lights from Rosebud to Tullamarine airport.
Perfect place for retirement with unique luxury developments like Martha Cove, top class retirement villages and many community based activities offered.
Converting your holiday home into permanent living is a great option.
Sensational facilities everywhere cafes, restaurants, wineries, beaches, walking paths, OH We dO LOve TO Live Beside the Seaside I consider myself tobe very lucky indeed.
Moving permanently to thePeninsula three years agois one of the best decisions I have ever made and I m reminded constantly aboutthe blessed life I have near the sea.
As time goes on, it seems more and more people are deciding to makethe sea change and oftenconvert their holiday homesinto permanent living.
Peninsula Link has made travelling easier for thosecontemplating the big moveand with all the wonderful things we have in the region restaurants, wineries, community activities there s no better place in the world to live.
Being a Mum of two young boys still in primaryschool, there were many decisions I had to makebefore taking the plunge to seaside life.
Schools and work were important considerations and a great dealof time was spent agonising over all the challengeswe would face.
Having spent every holiday and longweekend on the Peninsula since my early teens, thearea was very familiar and even my own childrenknew their way around.
However there s a lot to consider when it comes to moving away from closenetworks of friends and family and I had to laughwhen I came across my carefully constructedlist of pro s and con s that I d put together a few months before the big move.
It looked something like this....
PROs of moving 1.
Life will be more relaxing by the beach 2.
The whole family loves the Peninsula 3.
Greater sense of community 4.
More conducive to creative pursuits CONs of moving 1.
It s a long way from family and close friends 2.
No babysitting support 3.
Possibly less work opportunities 4.
Have to find new friends and the kids have to adapt to new school Well the pros were certainly true.....life is definitely more relaxing down here and myfamily does love the lifestyle.
We are increasingly seeing regular visitors swapping their city suburban homes for permanent and retirement residences especially around Mornington and Mt Martha.
Proximity to Melbourne home office technology and superb lifestyle opportunities mean many can t resist the urge to stay and enjoy full time our relaxed lifestyle and a quick survey would reveal that many new residents have a long history of holidaying on the Peninsula.
Currently there are several waterfront residential developments and some fabulous retirement living opportunities set to tempt both local and Melbourne residents and its easy to see why.
Though it wasn t long before the busyness of life kicked in andbetween after school activities and work, the household can still bepretty frantic at times.
The greatersense of community was evident fromthe moment we settled and within a few weeks we knew all the local shopkeepers by name and were evenoffered loyalty discount cards by many of the friendly traders.
It was amazing how welcome the locals made us feel andthis really reinforced our decision to move to thislovely region.
Wide open spaces and fresh sea air definitely encourage a more creative way of life and it s no accident that many artists and writers call thePeninsula home.
The inspirational landscape helpsto contribute many imaginative pursuits and providesa rich backdrop for artistic endeavours, including myown writing passion.
Now to the cons......how did that pan out Well the fears I had about being far away from familyand friends were quickly outweighed by the quality golf courses and other sporting clubs.
time I am now spending with them every holidayperiod.
Long visits are now commonplace duringschool holidays and my old friends often stay fora few nights and we have a really good catch up.
Lots of laughs are shared with some glasses ofgood Peninsula wine and I feel more connected tomy friends than ever before.
Apprehension overbabysitting support was also quickly negated as therewere great recommendations given by new friendsand many reliable names posted on communitynoticeboards.
As far as work went, all sorts of amazingpossibilities opened up once we actually lived inthe area.
Many opportunities exist here that don t exist closer to Melbourne and the tourist industryis one area that employs a lot of people.
Having been a writer for many years, my dreamwas to be able to contribute to some of the local magazines and I feel very fortunate to have secureda position doing just that.
To meet new friends, I decided to volunteer for every activity I could and it didn t take long to find some incredibly warm and welcoming people.
These are some of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever met and I feel very privileged tohave their support.
And of course my childrenmade friends quickly as everyone told me theywould and are growing up in a lifestyle similarto my childhood where they can enjoy thefreedom of wide open spaces.
Of course there are still days when life seemsa little hard and things get overwhelming.
But living by the beach it s easy to head to the water.....sit, breathe, listen to the sounds of the ocean.....and it s not long before I remember how lucky I am to live in such a beautifulregion, how lucky I am to have such wonderfulfriends around me and how the best decision I ever made was my sea change life - Linda Ryding QuiCk PeNiNsula faCts Official population in 2012 was 150,777 By 2031, the population is predicted to increase by nearly 20 34 of the Shires working residents travel outside of the area to work Over summer, the population can increase by around 75,000 with holiday makers Empty nesters and retirees make up 13 of our population compared to only 9 for the same demographic in Melbourne Between 2006 and 2011 the largest change in population age structure was empty nesters retirees, increasing by 3,375 people 038.indd 1 31 03 14 9 55 AM 40 003