“We’re very much looking forward to the move – it sounds clichéd, but we’ve become one of those couples who bought a new home while on vacation!”
For Abhijit Roy, being offered the opportunity to move from his home in Delhi, India to Sydney for work was too good to pass up, and one that he and his wife eagerly jumped at. With a background in IT services, Mr Roy, who these day works as a project manager for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and his wife Ruchika, who works for Datacom, quickly settled into life in the harbour city, renting in Strathfield and Neutral Bay. But despite Sydney’s obvious attractions, finding the right home to purchase proved difficult after the couple received their residency visas. Fortuitously, it was around this time that they took a short trip to see a friend in Melbourne.
“We visited Melbourne for five days, and during our stay my friend talked to us about Country Garden Australia’s Windermere development, which he had been interested in himself,” said Mr Roy. “He spoke very positively about the company and gave us some good advice about the Melbourne market, although we also did our own research, during which I recalled seeing Country Garden’s ‘Ryde Garden’ project in Sydney. “Once we were confident about the developer and the land on offer at Windermere, we pretty quickly applied for a $20,000 First Home Owner Grant so we could purchase a block and start our new life in Melbourne.” Mr Roy said the opportunity to choose between ‘house and land’ and ‘land only’ packages at Windermere was important. “We weren’t necessarily looking for a house and land package, but just wanted to buy a block where we could build the home of our choosing,” he added.
“My friend is advising us on a builder, so having the flexibility to work with someone who comes highly recommended is great. “Plus, with the green spaces and other lifestyle options on offer at Windermere, we’re excited to be a part of the future community in this growing part of Melbourne.” Windermere will include a mix of standard, conventional, terrace and medium-density housing lots, surrounded by three kilometres of shared cycling and walking paths and over 50 hectares of open space dedicated to sports ovals, parklands and recreation areas. Residents will also enjoy local convenience shopping, as well as two public primary schools, one public secondary school and a private school. Proposed community facilities include a community centre, indoor recreation centre, and sporting ovals for AFL and cricket, as well as netball courts. “We specifically chose a block near the onsite wetlands and creek reserve, and we’re looking forward to taking evening strolls through this area in future,” said Mr Roy.
“We also selected an east-facing block, because my wife loves the sun, so we wanted our home’s position to take advantage of natural light as much as possible. “At this stage, we’re looking to build a three-bedroom home which will suit us as a couple right now, but which is also big enough to accommodate any extended family who come to stay, as well as our children in the future.” Mr Roy and his wife are planning to move to Melbourne in early 2019 to oversee the construction of their new home from July onwards. “We’ll probably rent nearby for a little while, which will be a great benefit in helping us get to know the wider community, although we’ve already done a little bit of exploring in the Werribee area, when we visited the sales gallery to sign our paperwork. “We were very excited to find a little Indian shop which sold the best parathas we’ve eaten since we left India, so that also brought us a little slice of home. “We’re very much looking forward to the move – it sounds clichéd, but we’ve become one of those couples who bought a new home while on vacation!”
