retirement LIVING
Top and above left Exterior and interior views of the roomy show house at Evergreen at Lake Michelle, which is built around a lake within a private eco estate in Noordhoek Valley in the Cape. Above right Entrance to Waterfall Manor. Frail-care facilities are on hand for the residents of the 55 apartments at Waterfall Manor.
intrusion response. Independent living is just that, but with a home care service available day or night should there be periodic or ongoing illness. The three interdependent living stages involve a gradual increase in assistance, with options ranging from meals in the resident’s dining room and general assistance with medication to day and night checks, domestic help, and nursing staff day and night. For dependent living, the 22-bed care centre, complete with trained sisters and carers, provides 24-hour care for residents. So, what does one want in a retirement complex? Different strokes for different folks, of course, but there are certain needs common to most retirees: on-site frail care or graded facilities which cater for different levels of ailing health; security; panic buttons; entertainment or sports activities, such as bowls, bridge and a clubhouse; and for some, a pet-friendly environment. Pets are a very important part of family life, and for many retirees the dearth of pet-friendly retirement complexes is proving to be a stumbling block. Amber Properties in Howick, in KZN, is cognisant of this, so wherever possible, pets are welcomed. The group’s key projects are Amber Valley Retirement Village and the new Amber Lee Country Lifestyle Estate, a secure, upmarket estate of 91 free-standing sectional
title homes, selling off-plan. Amber Lee is situated on a 176ha working farm where only 56ha have been set apart for retirees, while the existing 25ha avocado orchard and 95ha of planted pastures help the development to retain a country feel. In terms of lifestyle, you’re either country or city, and there’s more growth in the country retirement scenario because it’s simply more appealing to walk through a lush forest and listen to birds than to dodge traffic and inhale car exhaust fumes. Slowing down is easier in the slow lane. At Amber Lee, there are five stocked dams, walks, wildlife and views, and its close to top schools, so your grandchildren can be around the corner. The levels of plushness, amenities and privacy vary in retirement villages, of course, but there are many superb high-end developments offering everything to satisfy the sporty, the arty, the eco-friendly, the extroverted and the reclusive. Aside from the standard frail care and security facilities, Amber Valley, for example, offers two indoor heated swimming pools, an Astroturf bowling green and two tennis courts. Between Kyalami and Sandton, in Gauteng, Waterfall Hills, and now Phase 2, Waterfall Valley, are mature lifestyle villages developed by Century Property Developments. Waterfall Hills sold out
With thanks to … Amdec Property Development, +27 (0)21 702 3200, evergreenlifestyle.co.za Amber Properties, +27 (0)33 330 4000, amberproperties.co.za Century Property Developments, 0861 636 333, century.co.za Forest Village on Brettenwood, +27 (0)82 658 1181, forestvillage.co.za Le Domaine, +27 (0)31 716 8004, ledom.co.za Re/Max of Southern Africa, +27 (0)21 761 1110, remax.co.za Rob Roy Retirement Lifestyle Village, +27 (0)31 777 6218/9, robroylifestylevillages.co.za
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in record time and was awarded the titles of Best Retirement Development in SA and Best International Retirement Development at the 2009 CNBC International Property Awards. Century believes that people in the mature market wish to simplify their lives by removing the issues of maintenance, insurance and security that are normally associated with private home ownership. With state-of-the-art security, a multitude of lifestyle facilities, such as a deli and a spa, permanent on-site nursing staff and a fully equipped care centre, designed, they say, to feel like a five-star hotel, rather than a medical centre, at Waterfall Hills you’re going to be up there where you belong. Today, you can live within a whiff of vineyards or scent of the sea, enjoy wildlife on your doorstep or panoramic Drakensberg vistas. Some developments – Hillcrest’s Le Domaine, for one – have even cleverly incorporated an on-site hotel element to accommodate friends and family. Most retirees want to shed the burdens of home maintenance and security and swap them for, well, anything other than those. It’s all about choice. And that, after all, is what everybody wants, retiree or not – to retain a sense of dignity, enjoy life to the full, be secure enough to feel free, and to have a definitive say in where and how they live out their lives.