Ontario's newest retirement hot spot
has B.C. residents on the move
WINDSOR-ESSEX, ON,
Aug. 18, 2011 /CNW/ - They searched
the web for two years before finally settling in to a retirement
lifestyle of comfort and security 2,500 miles away from Surrey.
Visiting only once for a tour of real estate in 2008, Dennis and
Louise Keller chose the lakeside town
of Leamington in southwestern
Ontario with its rich farmland, vineyards and friendly community - a
1,600 square foot townhome overlooking a semi-private golf and
country club. "It cost about the same as a building lot back home,"
smiled Mrs. Keller.
The Kellers are among
a growing trend of active retirees and semi-retired empty-nesters
from British Columbia making the move to Canada's southernmost
region, the WindsorEssex '100 Mile' Peninsula.
With a population of
390,000, the region's climate, lifestyle and affordability have
attracted 422 new families from across the country, all age 50-plus,
purchasing $110 million in real estate
over a two-year period, according to a survey conducted with over
300 REALTORS® by the Windsor-Essex Active Retirement Community
Initiative (WEARCI).
WEARCI was formed in
2008 by three not-for-profit organizations to help stimulate the
region's economy with a 5-year marketing initiative that will
promote the area's retirement destination potential and unique
peninsula location. Located on the same latitude as northern
California, and Rome in southern Italy,
WindsorEssex offers a temperate climate - Ontario's warmest, over
2,000 hours of sunshine annually, and seven months of short-sleeve
weather.
"Awareness is growing
across the country…WindsorEssex offers comparable housing to
Vancouver and most of
Canada for half the price," stated
Krista Del Gatto, CAE,
Executive Officer of The Windsor-Essex County Real Estate
Board and WEARCI's President. "Although our marketing has been
targeted to the Greater Toronto
Area, people like the Kellers find us online at
RetireHere.ca," said
Ms. Del Gatto.
Del Gatto also points out that as
many as 28% of the 422 families relocating to WindsorEssex moved
from the western provinces, with Alberta and British Columbia
accounting for 103 of the west's 120 families. She also emphasized
fifty of those families relocated from the Greater
Vancouver area.
The Windsor-Essex
Active Retirement Community Initiative (WEARCI : WE - ARE - KEY)
is a not-for-profit, cooperative, marketing partnership formed by
the Greater Windsor Home Builders Association, The Windsor-Essex
County Real Estate Board and the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of
Commerce. |
