Older Americans Month (May) is a time to highlight aging trends

(Arlington, TX) – Sometimes all it takes to make a major improvement in one’s life is to stop talking about it and take some action. Bev Havlicek, 76, and her husband, RJ Horsak, 79, had been thinking about selling their 4-bedroom, 3-bath home in Arlington, Texas for quite some time.

“We lived there for 15 years and loved it, but it was getting hard to keep up with everything,” said Havlicek.

“It was time to move on,” added Horsak.

In recent years, the couple had spent time looking into possible places to move online, but never actually went so far as making an appointment to tour a community. That all changed one day early last year after a trip to the gym.

“We decided to stop at Costco to pick some things up, and as we were driving by Overture Highlands I said to RJ, ‘Let’s just pull in there and see if we can get a tour,’” said Bev.

RJ agreed. The couple quickly found the place they were meant to be. “We fell in love with a 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment on the 5th floor. The balcony overlooks the pool,” said Havlicek.

Bev and RJ signed a lease at Overture Highlands, a 55 plus active adult rental community in Arlington, Texas, the next day, then started the process of right-sizing. The first step was to take an inventory of all their belongings and decide what they wanted to keep. They discovered a house filled with things they didn’t really need.

“You know why you keep all that stuff you don’t need in a larger home? It’s because you have a place to store it,” said Havlicek, who added that knowing they were moving into a place with a lot less square footage gave the couple the excuse they needed to give some things away and throw out the rest.

“In our new home, the bedrooms are nice sized, and the closets are nice sized,” said Havlicek. Plus, the couple has a storage closet off the balcony, and another closet they rent for just $25 a month to store the other things they aren’t ready to part with yet.

In addition to providing the excuse they needed to get rid of all the things they don’t need anymore, another bonus that came out of the move is no longer having to take care of things around the house. “We have an amazing staff and maintenance team here that are very helpful,”.said Horsak.

“And we have a pool and hot tub now. It’s like living in a resort,” said Havlicek.

“We enjoy it very much,” added Horsak.

These days, a typical day for the couple involves getting up and coming downstairs to the front lobby of their building to enjoy coffee and conversation with their friends and neighbors. Then they go to the gym and work out.

Some days they will also leave to run errands. Other days, they stay close to home and take advantage of the many amenities the community has to offer. In addition to the luxurious, heated, resort-style swimming pool and hot tub and state-of-the-art fitness center, Overture Highlands also has a yoga studio, personal movie theater, coffee bar and bistro, and daily scheduled activities.

Overture Highlands is located at 250 W. Arbrook Boulevard, Arlington, TX 76014. The community features maintenance-free living in one-and-two-bedroom apartment homes.

For more information about the Overture Highlands, go to Overturehighlands.com