Five reasons why people love retirement living

It is not at all uncommon to hear from residents that they wish they’d moved into their retirement village sooner because it’s given them a fresh and energetic lease on life. 

People can tend to have what is perhaps an old-fashioned view of retirement living: endless rounds of lawn bowls and never leaving the village. While bowls might remain a perennial favourite among residents, retirement living now offers much more recreation and activities. Your retirement does not have to begin and end at the gates of your community. 

Here are five standout reasons retirees love living in a retirement village.

1. Strong sense of community

Both residents and staff share a sense of community in a retirement village. Everyone wants to enjoy their time and stay as healthy as possible, so helping each other do that is a priority. Visiting family and friends will be welcomed with open arms and there’s always someone nearby to chat with and enjoy a cuppa, beer or a glass of wine with. 

2. No more home maintenance stress

You’ll probably only realise how much time you spend on domestic jobs and garden maintenance in your home once you have moved into retirement living. The low maintenance nature of retirement villages can remove a level of pressure you didn’t even realise was there.

Liberated from the endless cleaning of pools, clearing of gutters, unclogging of pond filters, fixing of roofs and mowing of lawns, you’ll find much more time to spend doing the things you enjoy. If you miss gardening? Don’t worry; depending on the village you choose, you may have your own space to curate a garden of your pleasing, or you could decide to join communal gardening groups.

3. Living a healthy lifestyle

Retirement villages encourage staying healthy in old age by offering plenty of recreational activities; all those things you wanted to do but never quite got around to become much more accessible when there’s a community around you with similar wants, needs, interests and desires. 

Those regular tennis sessions you were keen to try but couldn’t find someone to do them with? A retirement village has an abundance of potential tennis, yoga and swim partners or whatever your recreational activity of choice may be. The watercolour classes you wanted to commit to but felt too nervous to try? A move to retirement living is the perfect opportunity to let your creative side have free reign. 

4. Being independent

Retirement living can often help you stay more independent than if you were to remain in your family home. At Aveo, you can feel safe and secure doing the things that make you happy and sharing time with new friends because our retirement villages are purposely designed for older Australians. 

Being in a large family home that keeps you socially isolated and isn’t suited to your needs can whittle away your confidence and, in time, your independence. Having control over your life is one of the features retirement living residents value.  

5. New friends and new retirement hobbies

If you thought the days of making new mates were behind you, think again. Retirement villages give you so many opportunities to make new connections. You can join existing groups like cycling and gallery tours – you name it, entertain in your own home, start your own group, or enjoy day-to-day encounters around the community. 

Often with new friends comes the opportunity to explore new interests or even to return to hobbies you once had but haven’t had the time or resources to delve back into until now. 

If you’re keen to know more about why retirement living could be the best option for you, be sure to chat with residents when you visit possible locations to get their take on retirement living.