Four generations, four homes, one community.

Barrie and Lorna Osborn’s big family is well known in our Arcadian Hills community in south-western Sydney. There are four generations in four separate homes just metres from each other. We talked to Barrie and Lorna about how this family tree grew so close.

Married for 64 years, Barrie and Lorna have long had a connection to the area. Back in 1963 they bought property in nearby Rossmore which they ran as a rose farm. Eventually there were three generations of the family living and working on the farm.

When the couple decided to downsize, Arcadian Hills caught their eye. Barrie says, “We liked the area as it was very countrified. We liked the style of the homes as they reminded us of our childhood, with the timber cladding and the corrugated roofs. And we just loved the home itself. We’d look at plenty of other places in areas nearby, but we always ended up back at Arcadian Hills. It was meant to be.”

A big attraction for Barrie and Lorna was the high level of inclusions in the home. “When you get your AVJennings home you move your furniture in, you sit down and you’re done. The lawns are done, the landscaping’s done. You don’t have to worry about ringing up the blinds man, the screen man, the security man. It’s all done and dusted.”

The couple’s enthusiasm for Arcadian Hills drew the interest of the younger family members and in no time their daughter Karen and son-in-law Patrick were two doors down and their grandson Chris and his family a few doors further. A year later another grandson Matt and his partner took a fourth house just along the street.

A family living as neighbours bring real benefits. “We don’t live in each other’s pockets, but if ever there’s a problem, you’re only a few steps away,” says Barrie. And of course, it’s easy for them to get together for the many happy family birthdays!