How to find the right retirement village for you?

Moving into a new home is a big decision, regardless of which stage of life you’re in. There are always many factors to consider and things that influence your decision. Moving into a new retirement village is no exception - lots of things to consider. We’ve written this article to help you work through some of the big factors and determine your list of priorities.

Factors to Consider

When you’re looking for a new home, the pressure can feel immense. It is no different when looking to find an appropriate retirement village. You are looking for a great location, a lovely space to live in, a nice community and a homely place to enjoy. In this section, we will outline a few key factors to help you identify what is important to you.

Location

This factor is one of the characteristics of a home that you simply cannot change after you move in! So it is important to be clear on what is important to you. Would you like to be within a certain radius of family? Would you like to be close to the ocean or to bushland? Would you like to be within walking distance to shops or entertainment? Consider what you would like to have within a reasonable distance and include this in your checklist.

Community

Another aspect you cannot really control is the community in which your new home is located. So consider this factor as part of your search. For example, do you want to live surrounded by people of a similar age? Is it important for you to feel supported by your community? Are there certain things you would like to contribute to your community? Keep these questions in mind when searching for your new home.

Access to Activities

As we get older, our lifestyle changes and we often prioritise different activities. Do you have interests you would like to continue, in your new home? Would you like access to new activities or inspiration to try something new? What about access to things like restaurants, swimming pools, libraries and activity centres? Retirement villages often offer certain activities on-site, so it is worth considering whether this is a mandatory factor you’d like to find alongside a new home and looking for it in your new neighbourhood.

Support / Healthcare

Access to support and/or healthcare can be an important characteristic of a new living environment. For example, do you simply want to be within walking distance of a GP, or would you like to have access to on-site healthcare? Would you like to receive visits from healthcare professionals? What kind of support do you need? This is something you may be able to access via a new retirement village, such as help with personal care, laundry, meals and other domestic duties.

Home

One of the fun parts of looking for a new home can be imagining what your new space might look like. How will you decorate it? What aspects of the interior are important to you? Are you looking for a lot of natural light or a sense of coziness? Consider these things before you start looking so you can develop an ideal feeling of what your new home will trigger.

Your Future Needs

As we age it is possible we’ll need to access additional services such as healthcare or certain in-home support. If you’re looking to settle into a home that you intend to keep for a long time, considering your future needs is a good way to insure yourself against having to move again. Retirement villages may be located close to Aged Care facilities - it’s good to know this and consider whether it is something you want in your new retirement home.

Cost

You may have a particular budget to play with when it comes to getting into a new home. This is also an important factor to consider. There may also be exit fees, moving fees and more costs, depending on where you’re moving from.

Identify Your Priorities

And decide *how* you’re going to decide.

Once you’ve been through the above list (and more, depending on your personal preferences) you will be in a better position to create your own personal checklist for your new home. You’ve identified what is important to you - now you can go through and prioritise what is most important, and what is perhaps a ‘nice to have’.

It is not always possible to find something that matches ‘everything on the list’, so identifying your priorities - and working out what is mandatory and what is not - empowers you to make a choice, when it comes to your final decision.

Setting up “how you’ll decide” before you actually start looking is a good way to stay relatively impartial once you start your research.

Research Your Options

And reflect on your priorities.
Now the fun begins! You have your prioritised list of factors, now you can begin researching your options for a new retirement home.

You can do this in several ways:

• Google - use the internet to search for retirement homes in the locations you’ve identified.
• Asking friends - reach out to people you trust and ask their opinion.
• Associations - consider associations you are a part of (or find new ones) and ask for recommendations.
• Publications - review magazines, newspapers, real estate guides for retirement village options.

As you go through the available properties, keep your priorities in mind. It is easy to be persuaded by ‘shiny things’ so the preparation you’ve done to identify what’s important will be a helpful tool to use during this phase.

How to Get Help

If you’ve identified your priorities and one of the beautiful Regents Garden properties matches your needs, we’d love to discuss it with you. Tell us about your dream lifestyle and your home desires and we’ll share how our properties could be part of your future.

Please get in touch for more information and to discuss how we may become part of your life.