08.10.21
By Mike Gill, Managing Director of Midlands & North
It’s no secret that healthy people live longer and live happier. Already established as leaders in the facilities we offer our homeowners, Lifestory is turning its attention to emotional health, and our responsibility to ensure lifestyle rejuvenation is not a one-stop shop, but rather an organic investment in the future: your future.
It is predicted that by 2030, 15 million people will be aged 65 or over in the UK, and despite the general consensus that the housing sector must adapt to meet the requirements of a population that is living longer, later living communities are only just entering the mainstream, held back by an increasingly outdated stigma surrounding the connotations of retirement. By contrast, the US independent living concept is a model to be respected, integrated and communicated: 6% of the adult US population reside in a later living community, emphasising the belief that your golden years are yet to come, your later life chapters are your most social, your most vibrant.
At Lifestory, we’ve embedded this notion into our ethos: our mission is to redefine later living in the UK market, intertwining both exceptional product and service, innovating the lifestyles of the members of our communities by approaching health emotionally as well as physically. This way, we rejuvenate our customers’ lifestyles, enriching the homes we create, founded by a deep rooted understanding of our people. Across our diverse brand portfolio of Anthology, Pegasus and Renaissance, we focus on the identifiable, personal Lifestory experience - an unparalleled perspective that differentiates us from our competitors.
Although age exclusivity ensures the elegance, sophistication and tranquility of our Pegasus and Renaissance communities, our experience offering is never tarnished by age appropriation or conformity. Our homeowners and tenants do not fit the stereotypical mould of industry stigma, so why would we? Instead, we go against the grain, holistically focussing on health, connection and lifestyle improvements, tailoring and matching our communities to the people who belong to them. We sell homes, but we invest in the future of the wider population - we are all expected to live longer, but until the market has the capacity to effectively cater to this reality, we can’t be expected to thrive longer.
Underpinned by wellness, our developments are designed to delight your individual desires, to help you thrive. Although many communities boast an array of wellness facilities, including saunas, gyms and pools, centralising a healthy body/healthy mind mantra, it is the finer details we recognise as being the differentiable building blocks for a happier, healthier life. Instilled within us at Lifestory is an appreciation of the power in emotional connection between our homeowners and Lifehosts, an extension of family that unites us all as a wider community, and empowers us all to be part of one conversation. Our homeowners have the option to be as integrated, and as vocal, as desired. Our promise is detailed by locally-sourced produce within our on-site restaurants, ensuring nutritional and seasonal menu options are available throughout the year, arranging events and activities to involve homeowners and local communities, stimulating intellectual engagement, physical movement and promoting socialisation.
In essence, the currency of life is determined by our ability to progressively redefine happiness as we meander through the chapters of our life story. For us, this is tied into identifying the variations of health, and how we can continuously benefit the futures of our communities, founded by the belief that the best years of your life are still yet to come. Becoming a homeowner with Lifestory is not a destination; it is simply the next chapter.