For many of us, retirement is a time in our lives to enjoy ultimate freedom, fulfillment, joy, and peace. The challenge, then, is to find a place where dreams become reality, where our perspectives and experiences are shared, and where we are renewed, like each day, over and over again. Westport, Ontario is such a place, and more people are taking notice.
What Makes Westport, ON an ideal retirement community for active retirees:
1) Prime Location
If you’re looking to retire to cottage country in Ontario, there are so many lakes, small towns, and enclaves to consider. One very special place that offers the best of the Canadian cottage lifestyle is Westport, ON. Located on the Upper Rideau Lake in Eastern Ontario and surrounded by nature preserves, endless parks and trails, and 32 lakes within a 15-mile radius, Westport offers the peaceful, natural, restful environment you’ve dreamed of for retirement. Yet, you’re close enough to the region’s major cities — Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, even New York — to take a day or weekend excursion to visit family and friends, attend art and culture events, or enjoy a world-class dinner.
2) Lower Cost of Living
Residents of Westport enjoy an overall lower cost of living than their friends in the rest of Ontario — 27% less, in fact. This is attributed mainly to the reasonable cost of housing. In Westport, you can purchase a brand new, 2-bedroom, 2-bath, cottage-style home for as little as $699,900 — a deal when you consider even used home prices in other markets. Westport gives you the same (arguably better!) quality of life and allows you to save more of your hard-earned money.
3) Clean & Green
It’s hard to find a more pristine area of Ontario than the one surrounding Westport. Upper Rideau Lake is home to the Frontenac Arch Biosphere, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that is rich in biodiversity and a designated learning place for sustainability. There are summer camps, spring break programs, and weekend activities for your grandchildren to attend when they come to visit, and miles of hiking trails and scenic beauty for you to enjoy every day.
When you live in Watercolour, it’s not just your environment that’s clean and green. Your home is, too. Watercolour’s cottage-style homes are Net Zero Ready, which means they are already 80% more energy efficient than other new homes built to today’s Building Code. While the air-tight construction and high-performance materials and systems reduce your energy bills significantly, you have the option to add a solar energy system to bring your home to zero emission status. Your home comes equipped with the ability to produce as much energy as it consumes — a game changer for both you and the environment.
4) Health & Wellness
Here in Westport, the lifestyle is centered on health and wellness. There’s a major emphasis on living outdoors as much as possible, getting back to nature, enjoying quality time with family and friends, and taking the restful moments that you so deserve. Foley Mountain Conservation Area, just north of Westport, offers miles of trails — including the popular Rideau Trail — that offer some of the best walking, hiking, and biking opportunities in Ontario. And of course, there’s all the outdoor recreation living near the water brings — boating on a clear day, swimming on a hot one, camping whenever you feel the urge, and so much more.
Westport is also a walkable town. From your front door, you can walk to the pharmacy, grocery store, coffee shop, library, winery, historic downtown, or just to a friend’s house. In fact, from Watercolour, all of life’s conveniences are a mere. 7 km from the community’s entrances. Bring your car when you move from the city, park in your garage, then forget about it as you gain exercise, fresh air, and a wonderful sense of community by walking everywhere.
5) Activities & Events
Most of the time Westport is a quiet, peaceful enclave, but the town can also light up with energy for any of its popular events held throughout the year. MUSICWestport, hosted by the Westport Arts Council, is held every August in the downtown area, attracting musicians, vendors, and attendees from across the region. The Rideau Valley Art Festival is your opportunity to purchase unique art for your home or as gifts. All year long, you can enjoy the shops, restaurants, events, and the town’s charismatic energy just by taking a stroll along Bedford or Spring Streets.
6) Sense of Community
For those who retire to Westport, the terminus of a career means the beginning of an exciting phase where you can live how you’ve always dreamed. For many, that means enjoying an easy daily pace, taking time for the small things, and finding joy in a close-knit community. Westport is a quintessential Ontario village where neighbors know one another by name, the server at your favorite restaurant remembers your usual order, and where having coffee with a friend doesn’t require a month of planning and coordinating schedules. Retirees love living in Westport, and it shows in the pride they take in their surroundings and the relationships they cultivate.
7) Modern New Homes
The town of Westport offers everything you need to enjoy retirement to its fullest. The only thing better is to live in a completely modern, energy-efficient, cottage-style home with just the right amount of space. Watercolour Westport offers two to five-bedroom bungalows with open-concept interiors, thoughtful layouts, high-end finishes, plenty of storage, and lots of Ontario cottage charm. To learn more about new homes available now in Westport, ON, please contact us or schedule a visit.