Love at First Sight for Charlyn
For Charlyn and Atlantic Shores, it was love at first sight. Originally from Georgia, Charlyn had retired after teaching, and moved to a gated over 55 community that is part of a golf and tennis country club. Wanting to be closer to her two nieces in the Virginia Beach area, she started looking three years ago at different retirement communities in region. “I looked at everything up to Williamsburg. When I came to Atlantic Shores, I knew right away – – it just felt right, I could envision my life here.” Then she brought her nieces to come see. “We walked into the unit I eventually bought and they immediately said ‘this is the place for you!’ I saw it on Saturday, put an offer in on Sunday, drove back to Georgia on Monday, and put my place there up for sale on Tuesday.
From her first visit, Charlyn was struck by the size and beauty of the campus. “The lake, the villas, and all the landscaped acres captivated me. So many other communities are high-rise living. At Atlantic Shores, there’s room to do anything you’d like!
Every time she visited while deciding on her move, there were activities happening on campus that she was able to join in. This gave her a glimpse into her life here, and also introduced her to one of her other favorite things about Atlantic Shores — the people, both the caring residents, and the attentive staff. “The people were the first thing that attracted me. Everyone is so friendly.” One of her most memorable impressions was the day she moved in. As the moving van pulled in, her neighbor next door told me about an Atlantic Shores dinner at Ocean Eddie’s that night. “I couldn’t go because I was busy moving in, so the owner of the restaurant, who is an Atlantic Shores resident, packed a special meal just for me.”
Before deciding to buy, she also got to meet future friends by being paired with Resident Ambassadors, to learn firsthand their experiences of living at Atlantic Shores. Another thing Charlyn appreciated during the sales process was “sales reps that understand not everyone may be ready to buy right away. They need to take the time and do their research to know what they want, so they can make the right decision at the right time. I know that was the case for me. Both my parents and mother-in-law moved into similar retirement communities, and I loved how they were living. I decided I wanted to move to a place like that early in my retirement so I could fully enjoy things while I’m still active. Taking the time to find and research Atlantic Shores definitely helped me make the right choice.”
One of the unique differences that made Atlantic Shores the right choice for Charlyn is its co-op structure. “Although there’s the option to rent, I really liked that you can own your property, so your heirs can sell it. It also means that the residents have more of a say in everything that happens here. You’re not a client, you’re an owner.” Only a resident for five months, Charlyn is already on several resident committees that help decide how the community is run. “It’s amazing how much input residents have on everything from maintenance to housekeeping. People who are in charge of daily operations at Atlantic Shores are actively listening to us.”
Settled into her newly customized and renovated home, Charlyn now enjoys treasured views, including seeing geese and herons right from her living room. “It’s wonderful to get up in the morning, look out the window and see the sun coming up over the water. This is my home. From the start, there was no place else I could visualize being.”