Ron Cook is a Middle Tennessee native who’s spent his entire life just a stone’s throw away from Westhaven. But it wasn’t until he and his wife Peggy downsized from their 4,500-square foot home in Brentwood to a condo one-third the size in Westhaven that he learned just how much can be gained by living in a tight-knit community where everything you need is just a short walk away. As Ron says, “We can walk to the post office, we can walk to Kroger, we can walk to the dry cleaner. We can walk to two or three options for eating. [Westhaven’s] been absolutely perfect for that. Plus, it’s also a wonderful place for walking in general.”
Westhaven’s unique planning and design (the only community in Tennessee developed according to the principles of New Urbanism) features a mix of retail, dining, offices, and residences of all types – from condominiums to single-family homes. Town center offers everything residents could need – even a centrally located elementary school that many students can walk or bike to. For Ron and many others like him, Westhaven’s increased density comes with social benefits, too. “We absolutely love the community within the community of living in a condo,” he says. “When we first moved in, we didn’t know one single other person in the condo. Very quickly we got to know everyone in the building. After we had been here a month or so the girls put together a progressive dinner. We went to everyone’s condo, had drinks and appetizers, and stayed for just 20 or 30 minutes at each one, but we got to see everybody’s personality.”
The change of pace has been a welcome one. Ron is the first to admit that downsizing is no small undertaking. But, as he puts it, the switch to living in Westhaven “has made our life perfectly simple.”
To learn more about how Westhaven residents like Ron enjoy a more simplified life, watch Ron’s video!
#LifeSimplified
