It’s hard to go past the convenience of retirement village living, especially for seniors who love to travel.
With landscaping and exterior maintenance taken care of you can just lock up and leave whenever you want, for as long as you want.
Knowing that you’ll return to your home just the way you left it is an immense relief. You can take extended holidays without having to worry about what state you’ll find your home and garden in when you get back.
Freedom and flexibility were top priorities for Ross and Pam Lyons when they decided to move into The Village Coorparoo, two and a half years ago.
The couple were already seasoned globetrotters and in retirement, they took the opportunity to travel even more, but being away so much they found that their home time was turning into one long chore.
“We were living at Carindale in a fairly large family home,” Pam says, and “every time we came home we had to get someone to clean the yard and clean the pool, look after this and that, and so we decided that it was time for us to shift.”
It was an excellent choice, Ross says. They “spend a great part of the year” in their motorhome or overseas and have previously toured Europe and North America for several months. Now, whenever they return to the Village it’s like they’ve never left, he says.
“Everything’s done, it’s fantastic! That makes a difference to your lifestyle. You haven’t got to worry about all those other things. 
Somebody is taking care of it for us.”
And when they’re not travelling, Ross and Pam are very happy to stay put and enjoy their “lovely home” at The Village Coorparoo.
With abundant services, including an on-site hairdresser and allied health services, “theoretically there’s nothing much to leave for,” Ross says.
“Luckily we’re both quite well,” Pam says, but when she strained her leg recently, being able to access a physiotherapist in the village was a boon:
“You haven’t got to worry about going anywhere else and if you need follow-on services they’re already there as well. It just makes life so much easier for us.”
The couple enjoys an active social life at the village and they never lack entertainment, Ross says: “If you want to do things, you’ve got a library, you’ve got a movie theatre, you’ve got restaurants. We don’t need much more.”
“We had so much on today that we had to go and pick our motorhome up yesterday because we couldn’t fit it in today,” Pam adds. “We’ve got lunch next and then we’ve got something else. There’s always something to choose to do.”
“That’s what life’s all about isn’t it, really?” Ross muses. “One day it’ll run out. I’ve just got to fit in as much as I can before it runs out and we certainly try to do that.
“I turned 80 this year and you think, ‘It’s getting up there’. But I think if you keep enjoying life and have something to look forward to then you’ll keep healthy.”
Ross and Pam have no intention of slowing down and they say that’s one of the greatest benefits of living at The Village Coorparoo.
They can come and go as they please and “the office looks after you. It makes life easier.”
Ross says that the village lifestyle is so beneficial that people their age would be “crazy” not to consider it.
“Some people, you know, if they don’t move into these sort of places they live in their house in their rocking chair and sit there and wait for something to happen,” he says, “well, nothing will happen unless you make it happen.
“Make a decision now to do it, because one day it’ll be too late,” Ross advises.
“Move in early and enjoy it while you can.”
