Ideal Living - Summer 2014

Community Living

“One thing you must learn when you move to St. James is to say NO,” cautions Kelli Brown- field. “There are so many activities and so
many wonderful people that we actually had to set up a
whiteboard calendar to track our schedule. We have more
invitations than we can possibly handle. People here don’t
pass out business cards, they pass out retirement cards with
their name and contact info. It’s the perfect life for us.”
The Brownfields purchased a homesite in St. James in
Southport, NC in 2009, pre-retirement. As educators in Ohio,
they knew exactly when they would retire, so they planned
accordingly. “We have a nice pension in Ohio, so financially
this was a good move. The taxes in Granville, Ohio were hor-
rible, so now we pay one quarter of the taxes,” said Jim.

They sold their Ohio house in six days, and started
building their new home in November of 2012. Renting a
home in Ohio, they came to NC as much as they could until
their final move. Kelli led the retirement charge and moved
in June of 2013; Jim followed in March of 2014. Three of
their four children still live in Ohio; the fourth graduated
from college and has moved in with them in St. James.

If you do decide to make a move, be prepared for plenty of guests. Their first summer at St. James, the Brownfield’s had house guests seven out of eight weeks. And guests are likely to come back—as their guests sleep on 800-thread count sheets.

“We feel like we have been here forever,” said Kelli. “Now
I’m very good at retirement, playing golf & tennis.”
Jim adds, “The amenities here can’t be beat. There are
four clubhouses—lots of golf and tennis. I’m the kind of
person who wants to get out at 7 a.m. and return at 7 p.m.”
Jim played college baseball, so he joined a men’s softball
team.

“I love meeting people and living an active lifestyle. I met a man who was 67 and I thought he was 50. We want to be as active as we can. We are warding off the aging process,” says Jim.