We've all heard that New Zealand
has an aging population but
these days we're not just getting
older, we're living longer. Retirees are
maintaining active, independent, fulfilling
lives. Seventy is the new 50 and most
of our senior citizens don't look, dress
or act their age. They're frequenting
cafés, playing sport, embracing
technology and travelling the world.
In recent years, an increasing amount of
newly retired couples are selling the family
home and choosing to move into retirement
complexes. In the past such a move would
probably have been motivated by health
issues or the inability to maintain a large
property but these days it's just as likely
to be about the desire to free up equity in
order to travel or to enjoy a better lifestyle.
While most complexes are built to allow
optimum privacy, they tend towards a
sense of community. Some even offer a
busy social calendar of dinners, outings
and activities residents can join in when the
mood strikes.
Kerikeri Retirement Village offers such a
programme but residents Pete and Norma
Roffey aren't around that much to take
advantage. The couple, who moved into
their two bedroom home in 2009, had
considered themselves a bit young to be in
a Retirement Village. That was until a series
of illnesses within their family changed their
perspective on life and sayings like "just
do it" and "there's no time like the present"
seemed to resonate. They sold up, moved
into the village and have made the most of
life ever since.
In 2007 they decided to celebrate their
daughter's recovery from a serious illness
by taking the entire family on a cruise from
Sydney to Auckland. They loved it so much
they booked their next cruise even before
they disembarked from their first. Now, six
years later they are about to embark on
their sixteenth cruise.
