When Ravi and Shalini Anand embarked on their new home journey at Sovereign Hills four years ago it was inspired by the chance to build their dream and the convenient location, but they’ve gained so much more.

The couple made the decision to relocate from South West Rocks to be closer to Port Macquarie’s shops, restaurant and airport, while maintaining easy access to the Pacific Highway.

The bonus has been the close bond they’ve formed with their immediate neighbours who they celebrated Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, with recently.

“We called them over to give them some of the sweets we made and we regularly pass (food) over the fence. We were saying maybe we should make a gate, so we can go in and out from there,” joked Ravi.

Ravi and Shalini both work at the Nestle Australia Smithtown factory 60km from Sovereign Hills. They relocated from the Fiji factory 14 years ago and are both approaching 28 years with the company.

Today Ravi is the Health and Environment Manager while Shalini is Production Manager.

They love their roles and have even named their family pet after one of their favourite Nestle-owned treats. Baci the 3-year-old Dachshund has quite the personality and enjoys his neighbourhood walks, which the couple also attributes to making new connections.

“We have made friends while taking our little fur baby for his walks. There are a lot of dog loving residents in Sovereign Hills,” they added.

The couple, whose daughter is now based in Melbourne studying at LaTrobe University, built their home in Sovereign Hills’ Stirling Green precinct after falling in love with the Pycon 2-storey display home floor plan.

“We quickly put in an expression of interest for land at Sovereign Hills and it wasn’t long before we were signing documents and confirming our plans.”

The proximity to the Pacific Highway, for work, and Port Macquarie Airport, for visiting family members, are among the benefit of their location.

“As it is a new suburb, there are a number of facilities around such as parks, picnic areas, bicycle pathways and walking pathways. Having a number of shops; pharmacy, allied health services and vet at Sovereign Place makes it quite convenient for everyone. We do not have to go far to access these services. In fact, these facilities are just walking distance from our home.”

The couple also keep an eye on the Sovereign Hills community Facebook page for local updates.

“This is a great place to share ideas, get recommendations, and to communicate about what is happening in the area.”