From Southern California to Alaska, Idaho, Mississippi, Kansas and Canberra, it was the Adelaide Hills that Anne Marie fell in love with and ultimately Newenham where she has chosen to settle.
Anne Marie grew up in Southern California and, while working for a phone company, got her degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Social Work.
“I worked my way up in the company becoming an Employee Assistance Counsellor and then a manager in the Ombudsman office,” says Anne Marie. “I worked on resolving employee concerns, usually associated with mental health issues and conflict resolution.”
Anne Marie married and, with her husband, moved around the States living in Alaska, Idaho, Mississippi and then Kansas. While in Idaho, she opened an independent bookstore and became active in the community. However, it was while she was in Kansas that the study bug hit again and a career resulting in a career change.
“When we moved to Kansas, I went back to university and got a second Masters Degree in Theatre. I taught theatre as an adjunct professor at several local community colleges, and then Drama at a high school,” says Anne Marie.
Wanderlust hit the couple again, and Anne Marie suggested a temporary assignment in Australia for a change before moving anywhere else permanently.
“In 2008-09 we worked in Canberra. We loved Australia so much that we went back to the States and pursued a two-year effort to return,” says Anne Marie.
Adelaide is where they landed, renting a house in Skye until their place in the States sold. The couple then bought a house in Mylor on approximately three acres and quickly populated it with two Airedales, sheep, chickens, plus two alpacas. That was in 2013.
It was during this time that Anne Marie began to quilt. She became active in the Quilters’ Guild of Australia and sat on the Quilt show committee as well as the Executive Committee. However, she found she was spending too much time managing the maintenance and physical labour needed for such a large property and started searching for a new home.
“I wanted to stay in the hills with a smaller lot but found that most of the houses would need more re-modelling than I was willing to do,” says Anne Marie.
Luckily, Anne Marie came across the Newenham Facebook page with the description of the estate providing immediate appeal.
“On my first visit and tour, I was sold. Within weeks I picked a block (there were no roads or utilities even installed) and put a deposit on it. I loved the total concept of the estate,” enthused Anne Marie. “I loved the established trees, the reserves, the walking paths and the idea of living in a community with families, retirees, single people, working people — a real community.”
The social events also appeal to Anne Marie because it provides a great way to meet neighbours, like-minded individuals, and even the Newenham staff.
“The Newenham folks are fantastic. Ben, Marie, Olivia, Margaret, Sheryl and Damien have been so friendly and helpful during the entire process,” says Anne Marie. “And the neighbours I’ve met during my walks through the estate have also been very welcoming.”
In fact, Anne Marie already knows more people in Newenham than she does in Mylor, and she hasn’t even moved in yet!
Anne Marie loves that the lot sizes are generous without being overwhelming to landscape and maintain.
“I love gardening, and I want some room for the dogs to romp. I found the perfect lot, my piece of heaven for the rest of my life,” she says. “I have views of trees and a water reserve, open sky, I even saw a fox the other day on my walk with my dogs, Merlyn and Peppa.”
Over the years, Anne Marie has re-modelled every house she has owned. Newenham has provided her with an opportunity to build a house with everything the way she wants right from the outset.
“I chose Aspire Homes as my builder. The traditional style of their display home suits me. I found Steve Horsburgh, the owner and Tony Esposito, the architect to be open to my design choices,” Anne Marie says.
Before settling on designing the house, she reviewed every place she had ever lived in. She listed things that she loved and the things that she hated and made sure they were either in or not in the design of her new home.
“I especially like the high ceilings which featured in the Aspire Display house. I now have them in my new home as well. I see progress on the build every week and hope to move in before Christmas,” says Anne Marie.
With the dream of building a new home exactly the way she wanted in a little piece of the Adelaide Hills, seemingly a million miles away from Southern California, it will be a very Merry Christmas and a Newenham New Year for Anne Marie.
2021 update:
Moving in at the end of 2020, Anne Marie got her wish of having her first Christmas at Newenham and has since spent many hours designing and working with her landscaper, Adelaide Hills Lawn and Garden, to put the finishing touches on her newly built dream home.
“I have been busy planting flower beds with trees, scrubs, bulbs, and offerings from the gardens of my new neighbourhood friends” says Anne Marie.
But it hasn’t just been Anne Marie who has enjoyed the move to Newenham. Her two Airedale Terriers, Merlyn and Peppa loudly express their love for Newenham each day by greeting passing walkers or dogs. “I love walking in the neighborhood and seeing the progress of the homes still under construction. In a year or two all the tradies trucks will be gone and the streets will be lined with trees and gardens”.
“It is beautiful here in Newenham already but I can visualise the future growth and it will be fantastic”.
Anne Marie continues to explain “my house is warm and comfy, my neighbours are friendly and my dogs and garden give me joy – I am home”.
If you’d like to know more about joining our tight-knit community or securing a larger block for your family to grow at Newenham, simply call the Sales Team on 0429 107 497 or visit the Sales & Information Centre, at 164 Flaxley Road, Mount Barker – check the website for open hours.
We look forward to welcoming you to Newenham soon.
