Is a retirement village the right move for me?

You are in the middle of your downsizing decision. You’ve seen the glossy brochures, toured the village and gasped over the facilities, but is a retirement village the right move for you?

There are many benefits to living in a retirement village and the vast, vast majority of people who move into a retirement village are happy with their decision. Often, the only regret is that they didn’t move into the village sooner!

But community living isn’t for everyone.

Some people do regret moving into a retirement village and while this is often articulated for a variety of reasons, the main issue is that they didn’t understand the terms and conditions of the residence contract when they bought in. This obviously won’t apply to you because you are doing your research and have found the best resource available to explain residence contracts! So instead, let’s talk about living in a community environment.

Retirement communities

Retirement villages are essentially communities of retired people of similar age and stage, who generally want the same things in life. Here are a couple of facts about retirement village populations:

Only about 5% of the population aged over 65 years live in a retirement village
Most occupants moved from the surrounding area and have deep roots to the local community
Over two thirds of occupants are female
The average age of residents at entry is mid to late 70’s
The average age of existing residents is low 80’s
People generally stay for around 9 years
Older retirement villages have an older average age of existing residents; new retirement villages have a younger average age
Retirement village residents are predominately white Caucasian

You don’t necessarily have to be an extrovert or highly social to benefit from community living. Some residents really engage around the social life and activities offered by the village, while others will rarely attend gatherings. Each to their own, and there is no pressure to engage if that is not your style. This can be an ideal environment for a couple where say the female is outgoing and social, and the male is more introverted – each can interact according to their own preferences.

Why do people move into retirement villages?

People choose to move into retirement villages for a range of reasons, which I like to summarise as “Push” factors and “Pull” factors:

Push factors

Circumstances and events can serve to “Push” people out of their homes into a retirement village:

House is too large and takes too much maintenance
House is not appropriate for “ageing in place”, in that it has several levels or steps
The dynamics of your suburb have changed
You want to free-up capital by downsizing
You are isolated, alone, lonely or bored
Your home is not conveniently close to amenities, such as medical facilities

Pull factors

Retirement villages offer several “Pull” factors that can entice someone to sell their home and move in:

Cheaper cost of living
Cheaper housing
Easy access to services and facilities – pool, gym, club house, village bus
Homes built for ageing-in-place (single level, low maintenance)
New or newly refurbished
Social life
Meals and care (where applicable)
Onsite staffing
Maintenance and gardening

Benefits of community living

Having a range of social activities and a ready-made network of friends right on your doorstep is the biggest selling point for retirement village living. Particularly as you become less mobile over time, it can be harder to support activities and interests outside the village and the retirement village community becomes even more important.

The value of the retirement village community as you age cannot be understated. Village residents look out for one another and support each other through the inevitable illnesses and bereavements. It can even be as simple as having an agreement with your neighbour to knock on the door if your kitchen curtain isn’t open by 9am (I’ve seen many of these arrangements!).

I recommend that you consider the benefits of community living not just for your current interests and social life, but also in the context of the next ten years.

Disadvantages of community living

Retirement villages aren’t for everyone and smart village sales staff will quickly identify you as suitable or not. Every retirement village has a different culture or “vibe”, and it is important to have new residents fit in appropriately.

In my experience, people who like to have control over their destiny and don’t like a lot of rules, like the rules around pets, are not a good fit for retirement villages. This kind of resident rails against the regime, feeling trapped and growing ever more angry, causing distress to staff and fellow residents alike.

Community living also requires a level of compromise, tolerance and acceptance, which can be a struggle for some. Living in close proximity with possibly hundreds of other people will inevitably result in personality differences and the odd clash. It is important to have the skills to resolve altercations quickly and move on.

The last word

I am a big fan of retirement villages (obviously). I have several close family members in retirement villages and over 50’s communities and I can assure you I would not have supported the moves if I thought these places were a rip-off.

Retirement communities offer a great quality of life to people as they age. It may not suit everyone, but those people are rare.

In my opinion the benefits far outweigh the additional cost of this lifestyle and remember, you are buying a lifestyle – this is not an investment.

Make the move today! 10 is to 1 you won’t regret the decision.