Retirement villages are an increasingly popular choice for retirees. They provide a wide range of services and amenities, helping people to maintain healthy social lives and stay active. Some Canberra retirement villages even have facilities such as gyms and spas, which can help you stay in shape. If you’re considering a move to Canberra, you might want to consider living in one of these villages instead of renting or buying your own home.
Financial considerations.
To work out if you can afford a retirement village, you will need to know the costs of living there. The cost of living varies from village to village and is dependent on several factors, including:
- The estimated average number of residents per villager;
- Size of the villa/apartment
- How many extra services are included (e.g., meals)?
Find a retirement village that suits you.
A retirement village is a residential community for the elderly, where residents live in individual self-contained units and share communal areas.
Aged care facilities are often in institutional settings such as hospitals or nursing homes and provide services such as carers who can help with daily tasks like dressing, showering and getting to appointments. Aged care also includes accommodation for people who require a high level of support with daily living activities.
Retirement villages in Canberra are distinct from aged care facilities because they provide much less personalised assistance than senior care. However, they can be more affordable than staying in your own home alone or finding another apartment after retirement.
Accommodation types.
In retirement villages, you can live in a self-contained or fully-serviced apartment.
- Self-contained apartments are known as studio apartments. These apartments have their own kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities. They don’t have a communal dining room and are generally smaller than fully serviced apartments.
- Fully serviced apartments come with all the amenities of a home, including meals at the restaurant, cleaners and maintenance staff on-site, and access to recreational facilities such as pools and spas.
Services offered.
There are a variety of services that Canberra retirement villages can offer, including:
- On-site meals
- Laundry facilities.
- 24/7 security.
- Transport to medical appointments and other events.
Many retirement village residents also take advantage of the amenities inside the village, like a library or swimming pool, as well as entertainment options such as bingo nights and movie screenings.
Location
The location is one of the most critical factors in choosing a retirement village. It would be best to consider where the village is located and how far away it is from your family and friends. The area of the village will also play a role in determining if you can travel back and forth to visit loved ones that live elsewhere. Another important consideration is whether or not the weather will be an issue for you during your stay at the retirement community.
Canberra has mild winters, with temperatures rarely going below 0 degrees Celsius or above 20 degrees Celsius in winter. Still, summers can get very hot, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius on average during July and August (temperatures may rise higher depending on the time of day).
Considerations
If you’re considering moving into a retirement village, getting all the information you’ll need to make the right decision is essential.
- Make sure you’re financially ready to move into a retirement village. The cost of living in one can be high, so make sure you’ve saved enough money for your lifestyle and any medical care you may require in future.
- Find a retirement village that suits your needs. Many kinds of villages are available in Canberra, some with more luxurious facilities than others. Consider whether what’s offered would suit your current needs and any future requirements and fit within your budget.
- Look at the accommodation types available in every kind of village; this will help narrow down where exactly it is that would best suit them.
- Look at the services offered by each type of village; these may include healthcare programs such as physiotherapy or occupational therapy.
So, are retirement villages a good option in Canberra? If you are looking for affordable accommodation for yourself and your loved ones, then yes. While there are some downsides to living in such an environment, there is also much to be gained by living with like-minded individuals who share similar interests.