11 minute read
OPERATUNITY
Ernie Moore and his wife Val Moore have lived at the Acacia Cove retirement village in Wattle Downs, Auckland, for four years.
I have been dismayed by claims made recently by some retirement village residents supposedly unhappy with village life, and I feel compelled to speak up.
The impression this small number of residents give doesn’t tally with my experiences, and a lot of my fellow village residents agree. The claims are also insulting to the many people like my wife and I who did our homework on village life and made an informed decision based on the facts.
Despite suggestions from some people who claim they speak on our behalf, we are living life on our terms.
My wife and I moved into our home in the Acacia Cove retirement village four years ago and our only regret is not doing it sooner.
We had been living in a 440 square metre house in Clevedon set in 2.5 acres. We had been there for 14 years but we had a 15 year plan to eventually sell that, move to a retirement village, release the equity and live on the interest.
We haven’t encountered any problems at all. We spent two years doing a lot of homework to find the right retirement village for us. This was the first village we looked at and we liked it immediately but we went on to look at a lot of others before we made a decision.
We did our due diligence before we signed our occupational right agreement (ORA) – the village insisted on it. We went through everything with our solicitor and we knew exactly what we were signing up to and what the fees and conditions would be.
We like everything about living here – there isn’t anything we would change and other residents seem very happy here too. We like the fact that it is secure and all the maintenance is taken care of. I can sit and have a glass of wine and watch someone else mow the lawn.
There are 33 different things you can do in this village, if you want to get involved. It’s set up so that the residents plan events and activities, with a residents-appointed activity co-ordinator, so we choose what we want to do. We have regular social functions. I’m on the social committee and on our village’s residents’ association. There’s also a nine hole golf course just over the road, so we trundle our clubs over, play a round and then trundle back.
It’s very well run. There isn’t a care facility in the village but the management provides support to help people move if they need a higher level of care.
Our family enjoy visiting us here and we like the fact that they don’t need to worry about us, we don’t want to be a burden to them.
Being on our village residents association, I’ve heard about the voluntary reforms the industry is rolling out.
That includes asking operators to stop charging weekly fees once a unit contract is terminated, paying interest on the money owed to a former resident if the unit is not resold within nine months and providing better support for residents wanting to move into another facility.
The reforms are reasonable, and while we don’t have any of those issues in our village, I can see how they would work well for other residents. There isn’t an aged care facility in our village, but there’s one over the road and the management help residents if they need to move.
Our advice to people considering moving to a retirement village would be to do your homework, as we did, to find the right village for you and do your homework.
I’d also say, make the move while you can make the most of retirement village life and make new friends. We have a great circle of friends here – we call them our “village family”.
CLUBNEWS
PROBUS BOTANY MARKS 21 YEARS
On 17th of October, members of the Combined Probus Club of Botany Downs met at Eastview Church, Chapel Road, Auckland to celebrate the 21st anniversary.
Joining in the celebrations were Adele White, Chair of the Howick Local Board; Olwyn Grant, President of the Probus Association of Auckland and Dennis Kavanagh representing the Rotary Club of Pakuranga each of whom congratulated the Club on reaching the 21st milestone.
During the meeting, two members were made Life Members. They are Rosemary and Murray. Both members have given outstanding service to the Club.
John, 2006-2007 Past President from Wellington Combined Probus Club, presented this collar to current President Lesley to mark his appreciation of his long Club membership, and on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Most Clubs have a President’s Collar, but the Club didn’t, so this was a generous and thoughtful gesture.
A GENEROUS GIFT TO THE CLUB PROBUS TRIO AT THE EXPO
The trio pictured, from the Richmond Men's Probus Club, arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 9am to set up the Probus stand at the Positive Ageing Expo. They had this completed in short order and took turns talking to members of the community.
A VISIT TO EDEN PARK STADIUM
An excellent day was had by all at last month’s trip when the Manurewa Ladies Probus Club toured New Zealand’s Icon, Eden Park Stadium. They were met by Graham Walton, their tour guide who promptly hustled the members into lifts to the 6th floor, here the top corridor was like a huge cloud. They were shown into one of the many corporate boxes and they were told the stadium seating capacity is just under 50,000 and can be temporarily increased to 60,000 for Cricket and Rugby Union cup days.
A fabulous day and far more interesting than the Club first thought. There was also the Multiflora Honey pot, which a member had purchased that included a noted inscription on the back that stated, “Experience the unbeatable taste we’re buzzin about – almost sweeter than a win against the Aussies – straight from the Garden of Eden”
PROMOTING PROBUS AT DANNEVIRKE
Members from Dannevirke Probus Club celebrated Probus Day by hosting a membership drive at the local annual Market Day. President Murray is pictured with 2 new members that signed up to join Probus Dannevirke on the day.
PROBUS DAY FUN
HAPPY MEMBERS
Members from Kaiapoi Combined Probus Club recently enjoyed a bus trip to Ribblesdale Gardens in Oxford, North Canterbury. On the return trip home, they visited Ashley Gorge a popular camping and picnic spot. Some of the members posed for a happy photo by the river. The Probus Club of Takaro Palmerston North celebrated Probus Day in October 2022. They had a wonderful celebration with a beautiful cake, special morning tea, an interesting talk on the History of Probus and were entertained by the Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School Year 8 students. Foundation member Lorraine cut the cake which was shared by all. Each guest went home with a party bonbon filled with sweets and chocolate.
It was a fabulous morning, and the Club members really enjoyed this special time.
HAT-ASTIC DAY!
Papamoa Sunshine Probus Club held a High Tea to celebrate Probus day with many members bringing friends to join in. Dressing up with hats and beautiful china made it a fantastic day.
PROBUS IS ALL ABOUT FUN, FRIENDSHIP & FELLOWSHIP iN RETIREMENT
WHAT IS PROBUS
Probus provides retirees with the opportunity to connect socially, which is so important in today’s world.
Make new friends, learn a new skill, explore new interests and hobbies - there is so much to choose from when you become a member of your local Probus Club.
WHY JOIN PROBUS?
• Friendship with other retirees in your community • Local monthly meetings • Interesting guest speakers • Wide range of activities with fellow members to suit your lifestyle; active or not-so-active • Trips and Outings • Exclusive discounts • Active Retirees publications
Membership is open to anyone who is retired or semi-retired, so why not join the thousands of Probus members across New Zealand local Probus Club today.
Contact us:
Email: Tel: 0800 1477 6287 Website:
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