The Villages Group offers new lifestyle choice for the active 50+s in France
The concept of communities dedicated to delivering services and support for active” 50+’s has been popular in the US and Australia for several years and now, finally, this opportunity has reached France, one of the World’s most popular retirement and second home destinations, courtesy of The Villages Group.
Originally started in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts in 2000, the Village concept arose from older community members’ desire to reside in their own homes while being able to access services that address their needs for an “active lifestyle”. The most recognized examples of the “active lifestyle” concept which includes no medical facilities can be found in “The Villages” in sunny Orlando, Florida. As an active retirement community, home to 55+’s, The Villages in Orlando pride themselves on offering the best in homes, lifestyle and amenities for their residents which include free entertainment in the form of music and dance, access to movie theatres, sports clubs and painting classes to name a few.
Indeed, The Villages in Orlando has experienced tremendous growth in only a few short years, reaching an astonishing 90,000 residents. As a result, the “Village” model has spread across other parts of the USA as well as Australia in recent years.
Danny Silver, expert in French real estate and MD of The Villages Group, comments,
“The Villages concept is certainly not a place where the older generation go to live out their remaining days in seclusion. For us, we have a positive forward thinking approach about our own Villages in France, providing a lifestyle that we believe will be most attractive to active 50+s who want to live their lives to the full in one of the top ten expat countries in the world that affords a relaxed pace of life, stunning natural landscapes and low living costs.
“The Villages in France will be moulded around our ‘active living’ principal with no medical or nursing facilities on-site. These Villages are places where the older generation can go to enjoy life. We will be initially launching 3 villages all of which offer residents something special. We are also in the advanced stages of developing vineyard and equestrian Village sites. All Villages are English speaking, located within a few kilometres of the local town centre and bring together like-minded people looking to enjoy France and all that it has to offer.”
The concept for The Villages Group in France has taken four years of research and development to create the first active living resorts in the country dedicated to the over 50’s. Designed for living, the Villages situated in three stunning French communities in Bordeaux / Perigord, Canal du Midi and Provence offer one-level eco-friendly homes set within outstanding natural environments with full on-site amenities including tennis courts, indoor pool, gymnasium and a quality entertainment programmes.
With this in mind, the Villages concept will provide a fresh alternative to buying abroad for the older generation offering a unique lifestyle choice for the active 50+’s. And, considering that more than 80% of the UK’s £6.7trn in wealth is owned by baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) seeing property become a good investment for this generation with one in five baby boomers owning a second home, The Villages in France are destined to be a hit with the over 50’s.
For more information please contact The Villages Group on + 33 1 4007 8625, email villages@pdfparis.com or visit www.thevillagesgroup.com