She works out at a local gym three times a week, walks regularly, and is a principal real estate broker for Windermere Cronin and Caplan Realty Group. He plays pickup basketball three to four times a week, walks regularly, and serves as webmaster for his wife’s incredibly informative website movingtoportland.net, which provides information about all things Portland. Together, they are traveling to Northern Spain in April to hike the famous Camino de Santiago, covering up to 100 miles in just 11 days.
With no other information, you might be inclined to think the previous paragraph describes a couple who is in their 20s or 30s. You’d be wrong. It describes Charter Members David Nackerud and his wife Susan Marthens. She is 65 and he is 71, and they are typical of the type of people who are attracted to Mirabella Portland.
Susan laughs as she describes their children’s reaction to finding out she and David were moving to a “retirement home.” She says, “They called and asked if everything was okay with us. Were we feeling okay, were our minds okay? We told them that Mirabella was not going to be that kind of place. I told them, ‘It’s going to have storage for kayaks and bikes—that’s the type of place it’s going to be.’ Then they understood.”
In addition to offering the active lifestyle they were seeking, Susan and David felt that Mirabella Portland was offering many other elements they found attractive. One very important element was the full continuum of care. As David explains, “My mother had to move three times as her health needs changed. That was very hard. There were so many decisions to be made each time. We looked at Mirabella’s continuing care package and realized we’d only have to make a decision once. That was very attractive to us.”
They also liked that Mirabella Portland was located in an urban setting, with easy access to the Streetcar. Susan says, “David and I met in New York City and we lived in an apartment there. We’re very urban people. We like to be in the city and take advantage of everything there is to do, so the Streetcar access was important.”
She and David also appreciated that Mirabella Portland is being designed as a LEED certified building. “Sustainability and conservation is very important to us,” says Susan.
The couple expects to move to Mirabella Portland sometime in 2010. Susan says, “We know it’s going to be a big change, but we consider it to be a new adventure!”
