Comment

“I love the website that Alex created. The pictures are wonderful and his insights are helpful in coming to terms with transitioning into retirement for me. I will share it with Susan, thank you. It will be fun to peruse the site. Alex has a lot of information that he shared.” (M.N. Hawaii)

Reply

Hello Murray. Thanks for taking the time to share your encouraging words with me. It has been a heartfelt pleasure to work on the website — sharing some insights that are tying in with a major transition in our lives at this time. In some ways, it has been sobering — meeting retirees of well-advanced age. (The average age of the residents is now 80 years!) Living here, one soon meets with the reality of life and its impermanence — for example, across the street is a lady who has been hospitalised for five weeks, and may not be able to return to the Village. Also on our street are a number of ladies who came into the Village as a couple, but now their spouse has passed on. In closing, thanks again for your very uplifting words. May you and Susan have beautiful days marked by deep contentment, joy, and peace, even amidst any trying circumstances that might arise. Alex

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Comment

Hi Alex! I can imagine how moving into a retirement home can be sobering of reaching the last phase in one’s life in regards to the individuals that you meet and witness their trials and tribulations. That is a great idea to share your thoughts and experience via a web site which can help others who are going through similar experiences. 

Wow! I can’t believe that you met the couple that lived in the villa that you are moving into at the high care facility! What a blessing to have met them and they you. It sounds like divine providence to me. It sounds like a time of honoring each other in your respective phase in life and embracing the here and now. They were in your shoes at one point in life, excited to have purchased the property and to start a new phase in their life. And now, one step closer to transitioning. What a blessing.

I just love the place that you and Eva decided to purchase and move into. I was so excited for you that I started looking at places near me to see if there was something similar, which there wasn’t. I see all the positives with living in a retirement community and am so excited for you and Eva. The social aspect alone will be wonderful. The pictures on your website look wonderful. It looks like a fantastic place to live. I am happy for you both. Much love. (M.N. Hawaii)

Reply

Thank you so much, Murray, for writing again. You write with much thoughtfulness and sensitivity regarding our situation. Sharing our experiences of transitioning into a retirement village with others is based on the premise that we’re indeed all inter-connected in the web of life. And so, for example, your experiences are also my experiences, and vice versa. 

Meeting the couple who had been the residents at our villa was, I believe, indeed “divinely providential” as you mentioned. When we first moved into our villa, we were immediately impressed by the loving care that the previous owners had shown — at their own cost, they had installed shutters inside on the front windows facing the west (helping to mitigate the heat during scorching Australian summers), as well as exterior roller blinds on both the patio and porch providing extra shade and blocking the prevailing wind and low-lying sun. I had had a heartfelt aspiration to meet them and to personally thank them — which happened on that day.

In response to “Our Story” on the website, a lady kindly wrote about The Villages, 60 miles north of Orlando, Florida — “check it out, it will fill all your requirements”. The link is:   https://www.thevillages.com/  I have to concur that it also looks like a wonderful setting for retirement living — and an interesting option for anyone living stateside as you do. In reality, there are many, many retirement living options — and each couple or person needs to carefully navigate their lives to select the best choice for them. 

Another lady wrote, “I wouldn’t choose to live in a retirement village. But I do live in a small group of six houses, all independently owned. Living in a small town is wonderful. It’s funny how things work out. I have a lot of friends here and work at the local radio station as treasurer, presenter and technical/production. I never would have thought it would be something I like, but I love it. My closest friend is an artist/photographer and we would walk together most mornings taking pics of the sunrise which is often spectacular. But even when it’s not, it’s very peaceful. Life is good.”

Thanks again for writing, and may you and Susan explore and discover in time the very best retirement living option for yourselves. Alex

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