Monique and her family found themselves moving to a new country and hemisphere when they decided to make their dream a reality and move to the UK.
With two young daughters, education was a top priority for Monique, alongside a home that provided the greenspace that the family were used too.
Nestled within a conservation area and next door to nationally recognised Simon Balle School, Monique and her family found their new dream home at Limsi Grove in Hertford.
Monique said: “Our two daughters are at key stages in their education, one five years old and the other almost at secondary age, so choosing the perfect school was as important to us as the perfect home.
“We were emigrating from South Africa where we lived in an award-winning eco-estate, so we also knew that we wanted to live somewhere modern, sustainable and with enough space for our growing family.
Monique, her husband Andrew and their two children found the perfect solution with Cala Homes. Bounded by a gentle slope running down to a stream on one side, a cricket pitch on the other and mature trees lining the development, Limsi Grove provides the best of both town and country.
Relocating to the UK was the ideal solution for Monique and her family: “My brother has lived in the UK for 20 years, and the past 10 in Hertford, and I always knew we wanted to join him eventually.
“We moved during the pandemic and stayed in a terraced rental in central Hertford. When we started to look for a Cala home, we viewed a different development, and while we were sold on the beauty and elegance of their homes, as soon as we heard about Limsi Grove in the Simon Balle school catchment area, our mind was made up.
“Being able to live in a home we really loved, opposite an outstanding school, meant we couldn’t ask for anything more.
“As you can imagine, moving to the other side of the world is quite a task! Which is why we were so grateful that the buying process was kept so simple for us. Once the sales office at Limsi Grove opened, it was an easy simple process with everything automated and online. The sales team, Andy, Karen and Anise all kept us regularly updated on progress -as we were first time buyers in the UK, their patience in helping us understand the process was greatly appreciated.”
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing: “We had a few unavoidable delays over Christmas, but my goodness, Andy and Karen should write the book on sales care. They were both so focused on solutions and prompt communication whilst always managing to make us laugh along the way.
“The site manager Brenton was also great! He gave us a sneak preview of the house as we stood peering through the fences longingly over December. Paul and Brenton did our home demo, they really explained and helped us to understand the absolute care, and attention that went into our new forever home. We’re so pleased now we’re in, it was worth the wait!”
When asked about her favourite part of her new home, Monique says: “That’s a tough one! a few favourites include our family lounge with the bay window – the sun streams in all day – and our open-plan kitchen is wonderful. Since we spend so much time in there, it’s where all our family’s news gets shared while we make dinner.
“The roof windows ensure there is amazing natural light around us during the day and at night, the additional kitchen lighting keeps the conversations going. My youngest daughter even did a whole dance show for me during dinner last night utilising all the space and light that floods through the room.
“Another favourite feature is the plenty and well-placed electrical sockets – with this new digital age, everyone has multiple devices. We moved with a bag full of every type of extension cord from our old rental – and have not needed any of it!
“Lastly, that our home is unique, even though it’s a development, we were able to put laminate floors throughout the house and in the back garden we managed to get a plot with a fully grown tree – in a new build – astounding!!”
Knowing their home was well built with energy efficiency in mind – was also a big factor for Monique, she says: “We knew we wanted to live in an environmentally friendly development, and coming from an eco-estate, we had high expectations. As a sustainability professional, it’s been amazing to have a warm home that we know is well positioned to be energy efficient.”
