Welcome to Chrit and Mia!
Welcome to Virginia Grove Mia, Chrit and family! We were thrilled to sit down with this family to talk about their inspiring Virginia Grove journey…
VG: Hi guys! To start with, can you describe your Virginia Grove story in five words:
Chrit: Accessible, Communal, Affordable, Upcoming and Exciting!
VG: How did you both decide on Virginia Grove?
Chrit: Our adventure started when we saw many of our friends in similar circumstances begin to build. That was our catalyst. We thought, if they can do it, we can too!
Mia: I would probably start by saying that our immediate family consists of myself, Chrit and our daughters. We co-parent with our eldest daughter’s mum (Mel) and step father (Brad) who also have a daughter of their own. Mel and Brad have also bought at Virginia Grove!
We are extremely excited for both families being around the corner for each other! This means all three girls will be able to see each other daily. We can’t wait for all that Virginia Grove means for our children.
Chrit: Mel and Brad informed us of a “really nice development in Virginia” that they were buying in. We drove down and immediately thought, “This is it. This is where we’re raising our kids”. We envisioned our whole life falling into place; home life, work life, school and one of the greatest deciding factors in our purchase was our eldest daughter living close to both mum and dad.
VG: We absolutely love your modern family story at Virginia Grove! Tell us a little bit more about how you guys all made this happen?
Chrit: When it came time for Mia and I to buy a home, the kids were our number one priority. The benefit of having Mel and Brad living around the corner from one another became immediately apparent. As this was still early days for our combined family, we sat down at the dinner table where Mia and I told Mel and Brad that we were also considering building in Virginia Grove. Since that night, all we’ve been saying is “This will be so much better when we’re all in Virginia!” at least once a week. Mel and Mia now have a weekly date night at Bingo, where Brad and I stay home with the kids. The number of unexpected advantages has been massive, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way now.
VG: So how did you make it happen? Tell us about your purchasing journey…
Chrit: Like many people still are, we were convinced that home ownership was completely inaccessible to us – impossible for your average family. In retrospect, I’m relieved to say that we picked a perfect time to secure our land. HomeBuilder was still on the cards and we were lucky there were still a few lots available to choose from. We took the kids coloured hairspray to the local park and sprayed the grass with the dimensions of the lots we were considering. After seeing it all side by side, we knew exactly what we wanted. We notified the sales consultant, and our contract was with us shortly after that.
VG: We know you’ve also got some friends who have bought at Virginia Grove – tell us about your adventure with Pat…
Chrit: Pat and I have been friends for over 10 years now – we worked together in Semaphore.
Both of us were convinced that the western suburbs was where we were going to end up living, until I checked out Virginia Grove. I crunched the numbers on the average price of land, the travel time to common destinations and what both suburbs had to offer – the numbers didn’t lie, Virginia Grove was the clear winner!
After explaining my thought process to Pat, he checked it out for himself and saw what all the fuss was about. The feasibility, accessibility and community of Virginia Grove was obvious. A bonus was that we’d now be walking distance from each other’s houses. Movies, games and BBQs are just a few of the spoils we’ll be enjoying amongst our families by living so close together. When Mena had told us about the tremendous demand for the newest release, we didn’t want him missing out on this opportunity. Me especially, as I’d taken all this time convincing him to do it!
Being partly responsible for his decision to buy in Virginia Grove, I thought it was only fair that I’d join him in the camp out to secure a lot of his choosing. Mia held down the fort at home with the kids while I packed my car with everything we could need. And more… An off-grid solar setup, Nintendo, electric mosquito swatter, Bluetooth speaker, lollies, air mattress… Safe to say we enjoyed our night and it was excellent to spend time meeting our future neighbours.
VG: What are you most looking forward to about life at Virginia Grove?
Chrit: We’re all very excited for home ownership. Not wondering where we’ll be living at the end of our 12-month lease will be huge weight off our shoulders! A permanent home for the kids to grow up in and a brand-new neighbourhood with everything we could ever want is truly the icing on the cake.
VG: Any tips for anyone making the move, or trying to decide how/where to build?
Chrit: Absolutely!
First – put your and your family’s ideals first. Everyone else will have something to say about where you choose to live. Nobody else can understand you and family’s needs like you can, so ensure you’re prioritising them over everyone else.
Secondly, when you think of living ‘close’ to somewhere or someone, don’t measure distance. Instead, measure travel time. Time is all that really matters. As a perfect example, it takes me 22 minutes to travel 14.6km to work from Largs North. It takes me 23 minutes to travel 31.4km to work from Virginia.
And finally, think long-term for your house and the occupants. While buying a house is exciting for the you of today, think about what your and your family’s needs might be in 5-10 years from now. Your kids will be older, attending a high school instead of the primary school around the corner. They’ll come home, unplug your electric vehicle so that they can charge theirs. Plan for this today!
To find out more about making Virginia Grove home, please give Mena a call on 0452 134 626.