Our pet friendly communities ticked all the boxes for one Berkshire couple

Anna and Robert Cobb moved to their new apartment in Renaissance Sandhurst with their dogs, Scooby and Radar in March 2022. When deciding to move, the community being pet friendly was a top priority.

“When we were looking to move the first question we asked was about the community being pet friendly. If we couldn’t have taken the dogs we wouldn’t have moved. We’ve had both of them for about 10 years and they’ve been brilliant dogs; I think animals do help you. We’ve met a lot of people out on walks; when you’ve got a dog people will come up to you and have a chat. At the moment, in the Summer afternoons, we’ll take the dogs and sit outside in the communal gardens under the umbrella. They’re very popular with everybody downstairs. They all make a fuss.”

The couple had lived in Sandhurst for 30 years before moving to the community so knew the area well.

“We lived about a mile up the road so we haven’t come far. We had a four bedroom house but it’s a different mindset when you move somewhere like this. The house was getting too much for us really. The garden was too much, we couldn't keep up with it and we had two flights of stairs. Here, we can sit downstairs and look out and think ‘there’s a weed over there, well the gardener will take care of it’. We knew if we didn’t move now we never would as we wouldn’t be able to.

“We had watched it being built over the years and then of course we went into lockdown, but then I had an invite through the door for the Christmas event here. Robert wasn’t so sure at first but I thought let's go and have a look and see what it's like. It was very good, we were shown several apartments and when we got to this one, Robert looked at it and said ‘we’ll take it’. We liked this particular apartment as it was big. Afterwards, we brought our children over and they were very enthusiastic about it.”

Their first impressions of the community were great and they feel they’ve definitely settled into their new home.

“We were very impressed, we thought it was very nice, well presented and looked upmarket. We’ve had friends of ours round and they comment that it looks like a hotel, the reception areas and the lounge; I think they never expected it to be so nice. Lots of our neighbours have popped in for a coffee. It’s a nice environment.

“This is most definitely home for us now. Everybody who has visited has been quite surprised at how nice it is. During the move, the removal team was brilliant and they packed most of our belongings in our old home up but left enough so we could spend the night there and then moved the rest of our items the following day. 

They’ve also enjoyed becoming a part of the community at Renaissance Sandhurst:

"We get involved in the community events most weeks; the keep fits classes, we have two coffee mornings a week, film night and Saturday night drinks. They also host a games night here but we’re not gamers. It’s a matter of personal choice, they’re there if you want them and you’re not obliged to join in. We’ll all often sit in the garden in the afternoon in the Summer too. Recently, one of the ladies who had just moved in joined us and was chatting with everyone in the garden and she said it was the most people she had seen for a long time. We’re definitely happy with our decision to move here. It was a good move and the right time to do it, we’ve even recommended the community to a few people.”