Owning a large house in a great neighborhood and raising a family seems to be a time-tested tradition in the city of Dublin. But what’s a couple to do when time passes and the family grows up and moves out?
Karen, 65, and Rex Zent, 74, decided to abandon their empty nest and move into a condo.
The Zents moved to Dublin in 1985 when their oldest son was just starting kindergarten.
“We wanted to give the kids the best education opportunities possible,” says Rex, “and we thought Dublin was it.”
The home they moved into had four bedrooms and two bathrooms, complete with a lawn. When their last son graduated and moved out in 2005, Karen and Rex just closed the doors to the kids’ rooms and let them be. The Zents also found home maintenance to be a burden, due to a stroke Rex suffered in 2001.
In 2007, with the desire to stay in Dublin, the couple looked to a condominium in the Villas at Glenealy.
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The condo the Zents now call home is much smaller than their old home, but it has every amenity they need. In the single-story condo, there are two bedrooms – one is used as a guest bedroom – a full bathroom, a modest living room and a room in the back that acts as storage for the Zents’ memorabilia and other items with sentimental value carried over from their old home.
The condo even comes with a two-car garage. If the Zents’ two sons – who are now 35 and 33 –living in Cleveland and Lexington, Ky. with families of their own – decide to come visit, it might be a tough fit with only one extra bedroom.
“We don’t have four bedrooms anymore; our extra bedrooms are the local motel,” says Rex.
Another important aspect of the condo for the couple is its location. In addition to being within the City that they’ve been a part of for the past 30 years, the condo is within a mile of OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital. The couple has made a trip to the emergency room before, so the proximity gives the condo just one more degree of comfort.
The ease of care for a condo fits perfectly into the Zents’ pace of life as well. Karen retired from LabCorp in 2010 and Rex from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in 1996. He worked part-time until 2005, so they’ve had the freedom to pursue their interests.
Both are active at Dublin Presbyterian Church. The couple serves on committees for the church; they’ve both been charter members since 1992, and Karen was even co-founder. Karen and Rex are also involved with the Dublin Community Recreation Center, where they occasionally attend the book club or play cards.
The low-key maintenance of a condo has also allowed the Zents to indulge in their love of travel. Vacations and trips sponsored by DCRC have been a favorite.
“If you want to take a trip somewhere, you just lock the door and tell a neighbor to keep an eye out,” says Karen.
A trip to Mount Rushmore was what first got the couple interested in the community center.
The neighbors have also been more suited to the Zents. The condo community is home to many older couples seeking simpler housing solutions.
“We used to be the oldest couple in our old neighborhood,” says Rex. “We’re probably in the lower third of the community, in terms of age, I’d say.”
Around the community in the Villas at Glenealy are other institutions and accommodations for older couples. With the additions of assisted living facilities and one-story condominiums, the Zents say they feel like they’re part of a fully comprehensive community suited for them.
The Zents occasionally think about their old traditional home life.
But they never think about returning to it.
“Sometimes you miss the dog or the memories the old house had, but the condo is just much more suited to our needs,” says Rex. “And we don’t need to take care of the lawn.”
Kyle Banfill is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
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