The most common thing we hear from our residents is that they wish they’d downsized to Oak Tree sooner, so they had more time to enjoy the countless benefits of the retirement village lifestyle.
Once you make the move, you’ll likely find that many aspects of your life will change for the better – you’ll have more freedom, budget certainty, a strong sense of community around you, stronger connections with family, and opportunities for personal growth. You’ll also feel safer, happier, and more relaxed knowing you’re well set up for the future!
While there are many positive life changes that come with making the move to a retirement village, these ones will have the biggest impact on your overall happiness and quality of life.
Newfound freedom.
You’ll quickly notice how much more freedom you have after downsizing to a retirement village. With Oak Tree taking care of the burdens of home maintenance, you’ll no longer have to spend hours mowing the lawn or fixing things around the house, giving you more free time to spend perusing things you enjoy like socialising with friends, connecting with family, or simply relaxing and savouring your retirement years. You won’t even have to worry about little things like putting the bins out anymore!
For Oak Tree resident Nancy Jones, the maintenance aspect of her home was what drove her to look at retirement options.
“I’d always done the maintenance on my own homes, and one morning while I was lying in bed I noticed my ceiling needed painting. Forget that! I wasn’t going to paint a house again. Instead, I went to Oak Tree and put down a deposit.”
“It’s the best move I ever made,” says Nancy.
The retirement village lifestyle also means you have the freedom to lock up and leave whenever you’d like! You don’t have to worry about getting someone to maintain your home or keep an eye on it while you’re away. Instead, you can make the most of your newfound freedom by booking a holiday, knowing your home is in safe hands and you won’t come back to an overgrown lawn.
A strong sense of community around you.
When someone new moves into an Oak Tree village, the existing residents always make them feel welcome. You’ll immediately feel the strong sense of community and comradery and have countless opportunities to socialise and get to know your new neighbours.
In each community, there’s a number of social activities that happen on a weekly basis that vary from village to village like Monday Mahjong, Wednesday morning tea, Thursday aqua aerobics, and Friday night happy hour. In addition to these, there’s celebrations for resident birthdays, and an abundance of other village events and group outings initiated by the resident social committee, which you’re more than welcome to join if you’d like!
If you prefer to do your own thing and keep to yourself, that’s totally fine too. Everyone respects each other’s privacy, and there’s never any pressure to join in if you aren’t up for it. Even if you aren’t a social person, it’s nice to know that a friendly wave or smile is never far away, and it makes all the difference if you’re having a bad day or feeling a little lonely.
Budget certainty.
For many retirees, the regular costs of living are a common concern, but once you make the move to an Oak Tree village, we take this stress away with a simple weekly fee that covers everything from gardening and maintenance around the village, rates, and water, to building insurance and the upkeep of shared recreational facilities like the pool and village bus. This gives you certainty and stability around your finances, and after moving in you’ll quickly notice how much easier it is to manage your cash flow!
At Oak Tree, you’ll also have added peace of mind and certainty knowing that the costs associated with buying, maintaining, and selling your villa or apartment are all governed under the Retirement Villages Act, so you’re constantly protected.
An enhanced sense of security.
At Oak Tree, you can rest easy at night knowing that all of our retirement villages are secure, gated communities with a Village Manager onsite during the day to help you anything you might need. There’s also an added sense of security that comes with having people nearby at all times, especially likeminded neighbours who genuinely care.
For resident Nancy Jones, having friendly neighbours around in her retirement was important, especially because she lives alone. Now at Oak Tree Goonellabah, Nancy thinks the strong sense of community and security that the village provides is the best part about her new lifestyle.
“I knew if anything went wrong, there would be someone there to help. If I wasn’t out having my coffee, my neighbours would notice – that’s not to say I don’t have my privacy though.”
Opportunities for personal growth.
Just because you’re retiring, it doesn’t mean your personal growth and development comes to an end. For most people, moving to a retirement village actually has the opposite effect, because it brings so many opportunities for new experiences and things to learn! At Oak Tree, our residents are always trying new activities and exploring new avenues – whether it be a resident hosting a masterclass in the Village Centre to introduce their passion or hobby to other residents, an external provider visiting to teach the residents something new like pottery or memoir writing, or the residents heading out of the village to see a show or go to the races.
For resident Nancy Jones, the endless opportunities for new experiences is one of her favourite things about the retirement village lifestyle.
“I’ve always been up for almost anything, and Oak Tree still keeps giving me new things to try. I couldn’t ask for better!”
Stronger connections with family.
A sometimes-unexpected benefit of making the move to a retirement village is a more relaxed and enjoyable relationship with your family. With burdens of home maintenance lifted, you’ll have more time and energy to spend quality time with loved ones and will no longer have to rely on them to assist you with things around the house. You’ll also have a brand new home for them to visit and stay at whenever you’d like, as well as great village facilities to utilise together! Host a family barbeque in the outside entertainment area, have a swim with the grandkids in the village pool, or play a board game in the village centre!
You’ll feel set up for the future.
Making the move to an Oak Tree retirement village provides you and your loved ones with much needed certainty and stability by setting you up for an easier, more comfortable future. Unlike aged care, at Oak Tree, we actively encourage you to live independently for longer. Our villas and apartments are more manageable than traditional family homes and have also been designed to enable easy future modifications, such as mobility assistance devices, if required. Even if you don’t have a need for features like wide doorways and step free floors right now, you’re setting yourself up for an easier, more relaxed retirement by future proofing your lifestyle.
Many couples decide to make the move together so they can have peace of mind that their partner will be safe and surrounded by a supportive community if something were to happen to them. It also means that someone won’t be left with the task of downsizing and selling the family home alone.
Making the move also means your family can rest assured knowing you’re safe, surrounded by people who care, and are in a villa or apartment that is purpose built for your changing needs, as opposed to a large house with stairs and various trip hazards.
Downsizing to a retirement village unlocks an array of positive changes that will enhance your overall wellbeing and happiness. The experiences shared by our Oak Tree residents across each of our villages reflect a common sentiment – a wish to have made the move sooner so they had more time to enjoy the many benefits that retirement village life has to offer!
When you make the move to Oak Tree, you say goodbye to the maintenance responsibilities that come with owning a family home, giving you newfound freedom to explore, relax, and make the most of your retirement years. Surrounded by supportive, likeminded neighbours in environment designed for your comfort and ease, you’ll be embarking on an exciting journey that could be your best chapter yet!
