Angela Saurine (writer & editor) explores the growing trend of trading traditional homes for well-located luxury apartments and finds downsizing is no longer about compromise, it’s about lifestyle.

Natalie and Costa Mina always assumed they would downsize eventually, but they didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

With both of their sons studying overseas, the couple found themselves alone in a large house in Riverview.

Curious about the market, they began exploring options and were instantly drawn to the AURA by Aqualand development in North Sydney.

They quickly listed their family home and made the move into a new two-bedroom apartment.

“It feels a bit like we’re in a resort on holiday living here,” says Natalie, 51.

“The finishings are beautiful and it has a concierge, a 25m pool, a spa, a really well-equipped gym, a rooftop terrace and function spaces you can book out if you want to have a party.

“We have quite a large living space – our dining table seats 12 people and the couch up to eight.

“We have also taken friends up to the community room and there’s a big TV projector screen that you can stream on and a pool table.”

While their new apartment doesn’t offer much space for their sons when they return, the decision to downsize has provided greater financial flexibility – enabling them to help with rent and invest more in activities they enjoy.

“We kind of feel like we are back in the early days of our relationship before having kids,” Natalie says.

“One of the things that goes when you move from a house to an apartment is a lot of the maintenance, so we have more money and time for the things that we used to do.

“We spend it going out and making the most of the Lower North Shore lifestyle.”

The Minas are part of a growing trend.

Increasingly, financially secure Australians are leaving behind freestanding homes in favour of premium apartments in prime locations that suit their evolving lifestyle needs.

Read the full article here.

Source: News Local – Wenworth Courier. realesestate.com.au