{"id":5299,"date":"2026-04-16T04:43:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=5299"},"modified":"2026-04-16T04:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:44:14","slug":"they-say-age-is-irrelevant-in-a-land-lease-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/lifestyle\/they-say-age-is-irrelevant-in-a-land-lease-community\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThey say age is irrelevant\u201d in a land lease community"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"5299\" class=\"elementor elementor-5299\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e69cdf4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e69cdf4\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-03ebfa3\" data-id=\"03ebfa3\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f83121e elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f83121e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>C<strong>hris Edwards signed the contract to move into GemLife Gold Coast at the age of 48<\/strong>.<\/p><p>He and his wife Julie moved in four years later, in February 2025, and they are among the growing number of homeowners in Over 50s land lease communities who still work.<\/p><p>Chris and Julie work night shifts \u2013 Chris in warehouse automation robotics and Julie as a personal carer.<\/p><p>They somehow fit in early morning or late afternoon 1km swims and are currently participating in ReachOut\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lapsforlife.com.au\/home\">Laps for Life<\/a> charity event.<\/p><p>\u201cWe sleep well at night,\u201d Chris smiled.<\/p><p>\u201cSometimes it\u2019s good to go back to work for a rest.\u201d<\/p><p>Since moving from Redlands Shire, where they had lived for nearly 30 years, the couple say their social circle has grown enormously.<\/p><p>\u201cHere everyone helps everyone,\u201d Julie said. \u201cYou can always count on a neighbour.\u201d<\/p><p>The couple fully embrace the active lifestyle available at GemLife Gold Coast including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theweeklysource.com.au\/gemlife-launches-229m-gold-coast-clubhouse-with-rooftop-sky-lounge-and-infinity-pool\/\">$22.9 million clubhouse<\/a> with rooftop sky lounge and infinity pool.<\/p><p>Before it opened in August last year, Chris and Julie created their own fitness routine, tackling five-kilometre walks to Coomera Springs and back, often joined by other early risers along the way.<\/p><p>Now that the Country Club is open, they\u2019re making up for lost time. Swimming, ten-pin bowling, lawn bowls, pickleball, billiards, table tennis, mahjong, dance fitness classes \u2013 and soon line dancing \u2013 fill their days.<\/p><p>\u201cIf we\u2019re not eating or swimming, we\u2019re at the Country Club playing some sort of sport,\u201d Chris said. Conveniently, it\u2019s just 202 metres from their front door.<\/p><p>Both are lifelong sports lovers who do everything together. Julie swam competitively as a teenager and later played netball, touch football, and tenpin bowling. Chris grew up enjoying swimming, surfing, cricket, and rugby. Now, with world-class facilities under one roof, they\u2019re expanding their repertoire.<\/p><p>\u201cWe spent a fortune on lawn bowls gear,\u201d Chris admitted. \u201cBut to be honest, we\u2019ve got all the gear and no idea what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p><p>Luckily, they\u2019re learning from experienced neighbours. \u201cAll the coaching is in-house,\u201d Julie said. \u201cResidents give up their time to help us learn. It\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cNo one is old \u2026 it\u2019s just a number,\u201d Julie said. \u201cThere are people here older than us who would run rings around us.\u201d<\/p><p>Community is what truly sets resort life apart. The Edwards first formed close friendships with several couples on a 2018 cruise to China, and now they all live in the same street at GemLife Gold Coast.<\/p><p>They are preparing for this year\u2019s GemLife Games, being hosted at their resort for the first time. Both have nominated for swimming, with Julie adding ten-pin bowling and Chris eyeing pickleball.<\/p><p>\u201cWe can\u2019t wait to meet residents from other resorts,\u201d Julie said.<\/p><p>Married for 15 years and together for 20, the couple credit their shared passions for their happiness. With no yard maintenance, the freedom to lock-up and leave for cruising adventures, and a full activities calendar, life feels brand new.<\/p><p>\u201cWe don\u2019t watch TV,\u201d Chris said. \u201cWe just keep doing us!\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e53b89f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e53b89f\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-00e22e6\" data-id=\"00e22e6\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f98f86b elementor-button-success elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"f98f86b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-md\" href=\"https:\/\/thedcmgroup.createsend1.com\/t\/y-e-ahjvdk-l-v\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Return to Newsletter<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chris Edwards signed the contract to move into GemLife Gold Coast at the age of 48. He and his wife Julie moved in four years later, in February 2025, and they are among the growing number of homeowners in Over 50s land lease communities who&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5299"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5307,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5299\/revisions\/5307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}