Farrer Goodwin Village resident Sheila McAlpine. Photo: Liv Cameron.
Sheila McAlpine didn’t have any major illnesses or mobility issues, but she still up and left her home to move into a retirement village at the age of 70. Six weeks later, she set off on a three-month holiday overseas. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It was the best overseas trip I’ve ever had,” she says.
“I didn’t have to worry about housesitters or animals or anything like that. I just locked the door and went and came back and there was my apartment.”
Retirement villages might conjure images of walking frames and on-call carers, but for Sheila, who moved into a ground-floor apartment at the Goodwin Village in Farrer in early 2019, it’s not so much about the accessibility to medical and cleaning services as the personal freedom.
“That’s what Goodwin is to me – the ability to have the freedom to live my life without all the anxieties of owning your own home.”
And Sheila certainly knows about the stresses of home ownership, as one of the founding members of the Urambi Village in Kambah. Established in 1976 and comprising 72 townhouses, this community housing development pioneered a new Sydney-inspired style in Canberra and – along with Parliament House and the High Court of Australia – is on the Australian Institute of Architects’ Register of Nationally Significant 20th Century Architecture.
“I have always lived in communities and I believe in communities and the strength of them,” Sheila says.
“I see Goodwin as another community.”
Sheila lived on her own for many years, but after a divorce and her children leaving home, it became increasingly difficult to manage on her own.
“You’ve no idea what it’s like for a single woman to negotiate with tradesmen – very frustrating,” she says.
She, together with her friend of 40 years, moved to Goodwin Village Farrer in February 2019, drawn by the organisation’s not-for-profit business model and luxury-style facilities. Goodwin Village Farrer is a finalist for the Best Retirement Living Development Award of the National Retirement Living Awards 2023.
An average day now starts with breakfast, followed by an on-site exercise class a couple of mornings a week and an online course with a ‘University of the Third Age’ (designed for seniors).
“Then there’s shopping, cooking, gardening, catching up with friends – just generally relaxing and enjoying my life,” she says.
“It’s about the convenience of being free from the demands of living in your own place with all of the maintenance and moving in here at a time and age when I’m still able to enjoy the freedom it gives.”
Her advice is to move into a retirement village five years before you get to the stage when you think you might need to.
“Before you have chronic illness, or your partner has died, because trying to sell your house on your own is a nightmare. Do it when you’ve got a bit more energy, and you’re not having to cope with all this at the same time there is major upheaval in your life.”
Visit Goodwin Aged Care Services for more information.
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