“It was just so easy.”

Sally Nelson’s journey into retirement living wasn’t pre-planned, it was a decision made two years after her late husband’s passing. “I had no vision whatsoever to come into a retirement village. But, you know, I had a big house, lots of lawn, lots of garden, and although I could do it now, I knew it would come to the stage where I wouldn't be able to do it any longer. So, I thought, right. I talked it over with my kids and they said, “Yeah Mum, do it.” Recalled Sally.

Moving from a five-bedroom house set on an 800m2 section, into a two-bedroom villa at Summerset Cambridge required Sally to downsize. While Sally had made a start on the big stuff, she engaged Summerset Moving Services to help with the rest. “I was the first person to sign up here (Summerset Cambridge), and when I signed up Sales Manager, Nikki said “You'll get a call from a lady called Trish, who's our Moving Specialist.” I was very lucky because when I sold my house, I had a seven-month possession date. So, I had seven months to start cleaning out stuff, I’d done a lot of downsizing before I saw Trish. Trish was wonderful, she was going around measuring everything. I didn't realise, but I was pleasantly surprised to get the floor plan of my new home with all my furniture fitted on,” said Sally.

After decluttering five bedrooms and the garage, Sally decided to leave the rest in the capable hands of Moving Specialist, Trish, and her team. “I thought, no, I'm not going to pack up anything in the kitchen, dining room or lounge, I had the packers do all that. And that was so good, it was just wonderful. They take photos of how stuff is set up, they pack it all up and then when they unpack it in your home, they put everything back exactly as it was. Even in the China cabinet, all the glasses were put back exactly as in the photos. It's all unpacked for you.”

In preparation for the move, Trish provided Sally with tips and checklists to help make the transition easier. “So much paperwork it seemed, but it was really useful, including a list of people to notify that you’ve changed your address, businesses, and things like that. The solicitor notifies the council but there's so many other people you've got to notify. I just went through and ticked off tasks as I did them. Nothing was a problem for Trish, she’d give me a form to sign for things to be done and then the phone numbers of the contractors to ring to come and do it. It was just so easy.”

Sally Nelson, Summerset Cambridge resident

Sally engaged Summerset Moving Services with additional paid services.