The FastDay Forum

My OH & I being fairly fit & in our sixties have become very conscious of what to do to look after ourselves & remain fit & active as we age. We don't want to become a burden to our two sons who have their own careers & lives to lead, so we are considering moving to a retirement village. The ones we have looked at have a clubhouse & other facilities such as a swimming pool, small gym, restaurant & large meeting rooms for classes & other social activities but you own your cottage or apartment & have access to the clubhouse etc. We have previously lived in the Middle East in a housing compound with other expats of many different nationalities where your social life was very much what you made it & depended on how much you wanted to get involved or initiate new "happenings". We were very active & I ran cookery demonstrations & got lots of ladies involved demonstrating their own countries food that then developed into a dining club because their husbands didn't want to miss out There were also lots of other things going on for sporting enthusiasts with tennis, badminton, swimming competitions & lots of children related activities before mine were old enough to start primary schools nearby when there was the mothers bus monitor rota!
Anyway retirement wise we have downsized once to our current village location that unfortunately hasn't proved to be very welcoming to incomers who don't go to church so although I was advised to just attend to be seen to do so I'm afraid I am not that hypocritical even though I am an agnostic. So I won't regret moving again.
Can anyone give me the benefit of their experience living in a retirement village? Thanking you in advance.

Hi Isis

My friend and her husband live at The Elms in Torksey Lincs. This is the only type of place I know of. Its set in landscaped Gardens by the side of the canal.I don't think they have Gym's or Tennis Courts, I've never seen any. My friend sent me pics of the Red hatters at Chelsea flower show, its looks like the ladies were having a good day out. Sorry I can't be any more help.

Chris x

[wildmissus]

We have a place like that on the outskirts of our town - it's in the wood where the red squirrels run up and down the trees. I'm not sure if they call it a retirement village but there is an age restriction and other 'rules' like no children, no pets. Also you only own 1m all the way round you house the rest of the ground is open community space. I work in the local furniture shop so get various comments about it. Some people love it but others feel that they are being 'spyed' on to make sure they are obeying the rules. One older chap had a garage with a motor bike in it which he tinkered with and he was frowned upon. My advice would be to read the small print with regards to any 'rules'.

Yes I agree about the rules, they are strict. I don't think we could live in one, not with my OH we would be out the first week.

Chris x

One suggestion would be to move somewhere where there is a local branch of the University of the Third Age or U3A for short. They run lots of interest groups from walking, to photography, to bridge, etc etc., always want you to get involved and you get to know lots of people. They are all over the UK and also the rest of the world, and can change your life.

I live in one big retirement place up here on the North Welsh coast. It's fab with lots of stuff to do and with most people being incomers, very welcoming. My in-laws like it so much after visiting that they're coming here too.

It's really where you move to that makes a huge difference. You need like-minded people around.

Thank you BBT053 I am glad you enjoy living in one. We have visited three retirement villages & had positive comments from residents. We are thinking of staying locally in one just being built so we could both continue with our current activities & be accessible to friends & family. I belong to U3A & go to Adult Ed classes & my husband is on our village committee that they want him to continue plus his local model railway club etc. We wouldn't be moving until next year to give us plenty of time to think about it & also to gradually downsize because we cannot afford one of the cottages so it would have to be an apartment near the clubhouse. The houses in the Devon village were much cheaper but being near Gatwick airport bumps the prices up. We will visit another village in Hampshire built by the same company that is now up & running to get a feel of what a nearly finished village & Clubhouse looks like & hope to speak with some of those residents. So ongoing research